Sombre clean-up in full swing as Tathra reopens
WITH “free coffee and a hug”, cafe owner Mark Whitbread was out to show his hometown of Tathra, although battered and burnt, was not broken.
NSW
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WITH “free coffee and a hug”, cafe owner Mark Whitbread was out to show his hometown of Tathra, although battered and burnt, was not broken.
The owner of The Gap Espresso on Tathra Beach reopened his doors today, three days after the town was besieged by a catastrophic bushfire which destroyed or damaged almost 11 per cent of its 1675 dwellings.
His was among a handful of businesses plying their wares for free or accepting small donations for the town’s recovery.
Others busily swept out ash and embers, desperately trying to get life back to normal.
“They can come in here, have a cup of coffee and cry their eyes out if they want, whatever they need,” Mr Whitbread said.
“I’ve never experienced anything like this, I wish I never had.”
At local butchery Mimosa Meats, Brian Orr and son Josh were counting their losses after power to their cool room was cut for 24 hours, leaving Friday’s fresh delivery of lamb, beef and pork to perish.
With dozens fewer households now propping up the local economy and many more away until repairs are finished, Brian said business would suffer.
“It’s something we can wear, we’ll get back on our feet. We’ve got good mates who have lost their homes, that’s who we’re worried about,” Mr Orr said.
Tathra real estate agent Greg Coman went to the Rural Fire Service staging area this morning to see which of his holiday rental listings were still standing.
“There were five or six that were lost,” Mr Coman said.
“We have 20-something holiday rentals left and they’re furnished. People who have been displaced can stay there while they rebuild.”
TATHRA BUSHFIRE
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Peter Inkster returned to the charred remnants of is mother-in-law Muriel Appleby’s home to retrieve a treasured statue which was a present from her late partner.
“It was given to her by her boyfriend, so it’s pretty special to her,” Mr Appleby said.
Empty holiday rentals are likely to be used to house some of the victims of the Tathra bushfires while they decide whether to rebuild their homes.
Roads into the town reopened last night but a number of streets on its northern side, where many of the 69 homes were burnt down, remain closed with fears about asbestos and unsecured buildings.