Razed hippy haven ‘will never be the same’, say residents
The fire captain of the northern NSW hippy commune in which 50 homes were razed to the ground in Friday’s deadly bushfires says they “will never be the same”.
- ‘I thought they were dead’: Dramatic firestorm footage
- ‘It’s frightening’: Fireys’ grim warning for summer
- ‘Sounds like apocalypse’: Bushfire victim’s final post
The fire captain of the northern NSW hippy commune in which 50 homes were razed to the ground in Friday’s deadly bushfires says they “will never be the same”.
The Wytaliba commune nestled along the Manning River in the Barool National Park was devastated by the fire storm, taking the lives of nudist George Nole and Vivian Chaplain.
The rest of the 120 residents are scattered, those with homes are sharing them with the homeless, others are still in hospital being treated for burns, some are living in the community areas and many have decided to never return.
The community hall has been filled with bags of donated clothes and baskets of canned food.
Outside it, shell-shocked Wytalibans sit, give each other hugs and laugh as horses roam freely, eating donated hay, while smoke still billows in the surrounding mountains.
The ground is black, trees charred and the air is still heavy with the smell of smoke and rotting meat.
Wytaliba Rural Fire captain Kym Jermey says the commune for people who wanted a life outside the mainstream would be forever altered by the scorching events of last week.
“This will change Wytaliba forever,” he said. “We will still be here but we will never be the same.”
Established in 1978, the commune has been home to hippies, greenies, nudists, ravers, stoners, academics and anyone who wanted to escape normality.
Glen Innes mayor Carol Sparks established a home there after famously riding a donkey from Armidale to the commune with her husband and their daughter.
On Friday, her granddaughter Storm lost her property in the fire as well as her neighbour, Mr Nole.
The rebuild of the 57 lost homes, water pipes and telephone lines would take a lot of time, Mr Jermey said.
“A lot of people said they aren’t coming back,” he said. “A lot of them have lost everything they have and it is too much to do it again.”
People in Wytaliba live off little but don’t have many expenses either.
To join the commune someone must be nominated by another resident.
For one year they have to live with the person who nominated them to see if they can fit in.
After the year is up, the person who nominated them has to put a case forward at the Annual General Meeting before residents vote to see if the person can set up a home.
If successful the new Wytaliban is given a “unit” for $600 and can begin to build their home at their own speed.
BUSHFIRE VICTIM A SEX PARTY DEVOTEE
Barnaby Joyce was wrong when he controversially claimed the two Wytaliba commune residents killed in Friday’s horror bushfire “most likely” voted for the Greens.
Wytaliba residents have revealed nudist George Nole and Vivian Chaplain, who died in the fire, didn’t vote Greens at all.
“George didn’t vote for the Greens, he voted for the Sex Party,” Wytaliban resident of 25 years Brett Miller said.
“The 86-year-old had a sticker on his car which read ‘Sexy Senior Citizen’.”
Mr Miller and other residents said Mr Nole, who previously worked for NASA and was a photographer in South African, was a nudist.
The man who was born in Greece and raised in South Africa before moving to Sydney was known to attend parties in Lederhosen.
“There was a bell at the front of his house that you would ring to tell him you were coming,” Mr Miller said.
“That would give him enough time to put some undies or something on. If you didn’t ring that and just went to the door he would just open it and you would get the full view.”
Mrs Chaplain, who died of her burns in hospital, was a staunch Labor voter and wouldn’t vote for the Greens, according to commune members.
Mr Joyce previously said when referring to Mr Nole and Mrs Chaplain, who are in his New England electorate, that they were from an alternative community.
“I acknowledge that the two people who died were most likely people who voted for the Green party, so I am not going to start attacking them,” he said on Sky News.
HEARTFELT COURAGE AMID THE HORROR IN FIREY’S RUN FOR COMMUNE PALS
Veteran firefighter Brett Miller has fought off fires that took 500 homes and left four people dead — but he reckons they still don’t compare to the firestorm that ripped through his Wytaliba commune on Friday afternoon.
The 52-year-old has been a firefighter for 18 years and fought in Canberra’s deadly 2003 blazes.
But heading into Friday’s infernos to save two of his beloved friends with two junior fireys in his truck was the most scared he has ever been.
Mr Miller was captured in dramatic vision by Wytaliba commune resident and rookie firey Nessie Leishman.
Mr Miller was driving the truck on the western road, with firefighter Lukas Smola in the passenger seat, and Ms Leishman in the back.
Only Mr Miller can be heard as Ms Leishman’s footage reveals the firestorm engulfing everything around them.
“We got a call from fire comm that the fire was impacting Marty and Jenny Tonk’s place,” he said.
“I took our fire truck and raced up the western road and the fire was spotting all over the Wytaliba property. It was on both sides of the road, visibility was down to 20m, that dropped to 5m very quickly.
“Then all of sudden with fire on both sides of us a tree falls right down in front of us.
“I called fire comm and told them ‘we can’t get to the Tonks, we have a firestorm’.”
Mr Miller choked up, believing at the time that the commune residents were going to die. “It was f … ing bad up there and I thought they were dead, it was tough because they are dear friends of mine,” he said.
However, the Tonks, who were being battered by the fire at their home, managed to survive after following fire comms instructions to use a wet blanket and shelter behind a tanker for about three hours.
After it blew over they walked over ruins for help.
Inside story: How Jo Haylen was brought undone
It was always going to end like this. On day one of the chauffeur car scandal, Chris Minns could have asked Jo Haylen to stand aside. Or she could have offered. Instead, they left the government deeply wounded, writes Linda Silmalis.
‘Let the public down’: Jo Haylen quits over chauffeur scandal
Transport Minister Jo Haylen has resigned over the use of taxpayer-funded ministerial drivers to chauffeur her to multiple private events including winery trips, private country lunches and weekend kids’ sports.