Milton BlazeAid: Volunteers rebuild fences destroyed by fire in Milton-Ulladulla district
What do a Bawley Point chocolate salesman and a Canberra-based financial adviser have in common? Plenty now after working together to help rebuild the fire-ravaged South Coast.
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One volunteer comes from Bawley Point and sells chocolate for a living. Another is a Canberra-based financial adviser. While a third person volunteers with marine rescue.
Although from all walks of life, what brings these three unlikely allies together is a desire to help rebuild the fire-ravaged South Coast through BlazeAid.
Over the past six weeks, Milton BlazeAid has cleared 104.7km of land, starting work on 51 properties across the coast, with 23 already completed.
Almost 1500 volunteers have helped with 741 people working on the properties themselves, and another 712 people completing other logistics tasks including preparing 880 meals for everyone.
Carl Noone, of Bawley Point, Brian Williamson, from Ulladulla, and Karl Vaivadas, from Canberra, have all spent time with Milton BlazeAid, rebuilding fences destroyed by the Currowan fire.
Mr Noone, a chocolate salesman, who lives near Willinga Lake, knows first-hand of the ferocity of the Currowan bushfire.
“I was affected in the first week of the bushfires,” he said.
Fire passed through his property and he was part of a Bawley Point/Kioloa community on edge as the fire crossed the highway and isolated residents in early December.
The fire passed through his land and came close to reaching the house.
Once the fire passed he said he had the “unfortunate situation of watching neighbours houses burn”.
As fire tore through the Shoalhaven over the next month, destroying homes and taking lives in the district, Mr Noone spoke to his wife about how he could help the recovery effort.
They came across BlazeAid on Facebook and he was one of the first to join.
Fellow volunteer Mr Vaivads travelled from Canberra for a week to help out with BlazeAid.
He said he felt compelled to help a community that has given him the space to unwind and relax numerous times.
“We holiday here. One of the parks we stay in was affected,” Mr Vaivads said.
“It’s OK to holiday here, but you have got give something back when they’re in need.”
Meanwhile, Mr Williamson, who lives in the Milton-Ulladulla district volunteers with Marine Rescue Ulladulla.
He was away at the height of the firestorm, but saw the devastation along the Kings Highway when he returned from his Western Australia trip.
Mr Williamson said he just wanted to help where he could.
Last Tuesday, the trio was in a group of seven sent to rebuild the perimeter fence of a Morton property owned by Chris Atkinson and his wife.
On the property, the volunteers see a familiar site of blackened trees, some with regrowth, a razed shed and broken fences.
Mr Atkinson said the Currowan fire passed through or threatened his property on four occasions.
The house he and his wife have lived in for 40 years still stands, but the bush may take some time to recover.
“Lots of the bush won’t recover,” he said.
Thanks to the tireless efforts of his son Rene Atkinson, who prepared the property for weeks and defended it from attack, fencing is his biggest worry.
Mr Atkinson listed with Milton BlazeAid and six weeks after he last faced the bushfires, work has already begun on his 2.3km fence line.
“It’s really great for them to come,” he said.