Lake Conjola: First homes rebuilt after bushfires arrive at Ingenia Lifestyle village
Neighbours gathered to cheer the arrival of two rebuilt homes delivered to Lake Conjola almost six months to the day since deadly bushfire tore through the village “like a train”.
The South Coast News
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Three Ingenia Lifestyle Lake Conjola residents who lost their homes in the January bushfires can begin healing with the arrival of their replacement homes – the first homes to be rebuilt in the Lake Conjola area.
Bob and Pat Prisk, and Gabrielle McNeill lost their homes to the New Year’s Eve bushfire that destroyed 89 homes in the Conjola Park and Lake Conjola suburbs.
Neighbours came to cheer the delivery of the Prisk’s home on May 20 and Ms McNeill’s home, which arrived on Monday, June 1.
“I’m very mindful that I’m one of the lucky ones,” Ms McNeill said.
“I’m conscious of (the fact) when I drive out of Conjola I see tents. I’m lucky.”
Ms McNeill, who had only moved in on December 23, evacuated her residence to the Ingenia Clubhouse on New Year’s Eve. That morning the “hot, terrible wind” reminded her of the conditions when the 2003 Canberra bushfires tore through suburbs of the nation’s capital.
She took her two poodles and sheltered with about 50 others who were mostly unknown to her as the firefront approached the over 55s village.
“It tore past like a train,” she said. “It was quite frightening.”
She recalled the fire impacted her home about 1.15pm. Her car caught alight from an ember before it exploded, igniting her house, she said.
Despite being a newcomer, she was embraced by her new, tight-knit community.
“The residents were fantastic, I had only known them for a brief minute,” she said.
“They fed me, the clothed me, a lady lent me her car for a month.”
Ms McNeill and the Prisks have been living in temporary accommodation at the site.
“I took the offer of accommodation in the village – the thought of coming back was a little daunting but I thought I’d just be detached from the community if I stayed somewhere else, and I’d made the decision to live here, so I felt OK about coming back,” Ms McNeill said.
“The people in this Ingenia community, and others elsewhere, have been wonderful and so kind and thoughtful.”
For the Prisks, who have been living in the community for more than a year, the arrival of their new home is a chance to move forward after the devastation of the bushfires.
“We lost everything – we just walked out the front door with our little dog and the clothes on our back and that was it,” Mrs Prisk said.
“But you’ve got to be positive about it and look to the future. Everything will work out in the end – as long as we’re alive, that’s the main thing.
“We are now just waiting for the new house to be put right so that we can move in and start our lives again.”
The couple have been renting temporary accommodation at Ingenia Lifestyle that was provided fully furnished with essentials and have been surrounded by the support and compassion of their community.
“We’ve only known these people for about 12 months and the support has been absolutely fantastic – it’s unbelievable,” Mrs Prisk said.
Ingenia Lifestyle Lake Conjola project sales manager Catherine Brasier said they have had the ability to reconstruct the homes exactly as they were before they were destroyed, and in the exact same location.
“We cleared the site in February and engaged a private contractor as soon as we could so that we could help Bob and Pat and Gabrielle rebuild their lives after such a devastating event,” Ms Brasier said.
Ms McNeill said the past few months was if she living in different stages since she lost her home on New Year’s Eve.
At first she had to come to terms with what happened. Secondly, she began questioning what was ahead. Thirdly, there was hope of life getting life back on track as plans for her new home begun and now, the reality of her new home arriving is sinking in.
“Life was put on hold for a while,” she said. “I was taking it a month at a time.”
Ms Brasier said that the new homes were a sign of something far more significant for Lake Conjola.
“This rebuilding is the beginning of healing – not just for these residents, but for the broader community,” she said.