Test captain Tim Paine ‘proud to be Australian’ after seeing heroic fireys battling bushfire devastation

Saturday’s Bushfire Bash at the SCG will – weather permitting – be a day of fun and entertainment, but Australian Test captain Tim Paine has seen first-hand just why the match is so important.

Tim Paine and Nathan Lyon spoke for a nation when they gave personal thanks to the men and women battling the horrific bushfires in NSW.

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Tim Paine’s first job as Australian captain might have been putting out spot fires, but a visit to rural NSW this summer convinced him who the real heroes are.

As infernos blazed around the country and countless sporting stars were giving generously to the bushfire appeal, Paine approached Australian team management on the first morning of the Sydney Test and told them he wanted to do more.

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Two days after the Test, with no media fanfare, he and Nathan Lyon were on the ground in the Southern Highlands village of Wingello meeting locals at the coalface of the devastation.

Paine heard from one firefighter who was out putting out fires, oblivious to the fact his own house was on fire as he fought to save others.

Tim Paine and Nathan Lyon visit fire affected areas of NSW, including Wingello in the Southern Highlands.

Another firey told of the moment he was called to an address over the truck radio, which was his own house.

“That you could be out trying to save someone else’s house and your own house is on fire, and to keep going about your work is pretty impressive,” Paine said.

“They are just bloody, steady, hardworking, knockabout people. It was confronting, but it makes you really proud to be an Australian, seeing how they came together.

“You could be in that situation and be forgiven for just thinking about yourself and how you’re going to get out of it, but I felt they were all looking out for each other.”

Paine and Lyon are shown the devastation at Wingello by a RFS volunteer.

Paine and Lyon walked through the smouldering ruins of houses, with the deformed leftovers of what used to be kids’ bikes and toys strewn around a place that 48 hours earlier was a loving family home.

Saturday’s Bushfire Bash at the SCG will – weather permitting – be a day of fun and entertainment, but Paine has seen first-hand why the match is so important.

“The sheer size of it had me in disbelief. How big the fire front was and then going into some of the towns and seeing how fierce it was when it came through was absolutely mind blowing,” Paine said. “It’s something I’ll never forget.

“One of the areas they were saying it was 40 metres high and coming through at 20km an hour.

“Those fire fighters and communities who stood their ground and tried to defend their communities and their houses takes extraordinary courage that you can’t even imagine.

Paine and Lyon stopped by to pay tribute to tireless RFS firefighters in Mittagong.

“Seeing something that big, moving that quick, it would be absolutely frightening.

“That was shocking to me, and their bravery was amazing.”

Paine also visited the Rural Fire Service headquarters at Sydney Olympic Park and met with fire chief Shane Fitzsimmons, who just one day earlier had buried one of the firefighting heroes Andrew O’Dwyer, who was tragically killed when his truck rolled over south west of Sydney.

Fitzsimmons asked the Australian captain to address the command centre, and the respect between the two leaders was mutual, as Paine spoke on behalf of the nation, and said, ‘thank you.’

“Listening to him speak and seeing the respect the people in that building had for him … he’s been amazing the past four or five months,” said Paine.

“I was struck by his leadership and you just meet people every now and then, and you just know they’re absolutely the highest quality people, and he is certainly one of those.”

Originally published as Test captain Tim Paine ‘proud to be Australian’ after seeing heroic fireys battling bushfire devastation