Open for Business: How Bateman’s Bay and Mogo recovered from the flames
In the early hours of New Year’s Eve 2019, residents in one NSW town received a text message that would change their lives forever.
In the early hours of New Year’s Eve, 2019, residents in the New South Wales towns of Bateman’s Bay and Mogo received a text message that would change their lives – and the place they called home – forever.
Horror bushfires had cut the areas off from the rest of NSW and the ACT, with residents told to head toward the beach as the skies turned blood red and ash rained down.
In an interview for a new video series supporting bushfire-affected communities, Open for Business, managing director at the Mogo Zoo, Chad Staples, recalled receiving the message “to essentially flee” at around 6am.
“The message was to leave wherever you were and to head toward the beach, because that was the refuge,” he said.
RELATED: Photo we thought was lost forever
As many as 500 homes were lost, countless sheds and livestock, Bateman’s Bay Chamber of Commerce Mathew Hatcher said, as well as, devastatingly, three lives.
“It was an absolute catastrophe what happened here,” he said.
“It’s something that, I guess, the town will never forget.”
What was remarkable, though, was the response of the community to their situation, both men said.
RELATED: Surprise town to find ‘best pie ever’
“What was amazing (after we received the text message) is that I then had another 14 zookeepers turn up,” Mr Staples said.
“They chose not to stay at home and fight the fires at their home; they didn’t choose to stay with their family – they came to defend this place and our animal family and without them it wouldn’t have been possible.
“There was no other decision but to stay. You can’t just pack these guys (the animals) up and flee to the beach. So there was no plan B. We had to stay, we had to defend them, and we had to beat it off.”
RELATED: ‘You’re not prepared to lose everything’
“This is a very resilient town,” he said. “Everyone did anything they could to assist their neighbours, their family, their friends, to take that step forward and to start to recover.
“Even people that lost everything seemed to be willing to offer anything that they had to help somebody else.
“Luckily, enough people were around to help,” Mr Hatcher added.
“Community helped community in so many instances.”
RELATED: Aussie town’s surprising best kept secret
Today, more than a year later, Mr Hatcher said the overall recovery in Bateman’s Bay has been positive “and we’re starting to get on with things, we’re really gearing up the town”.
“It’s never looked as good as it does, it’s bustling again and we really look forward to welcoming the tourists this season,” he said.
In terms of the attractions and experiences that the area as to offer, there’s a little bit of something for everyone.
“This region’s got it all, in my opinion,” Mr Hatcher said.
Tourism, Trade and Investment Minister Dan Tehan said now, more than ever, bushfire-impacted communities need our support.
“A year on from the black summer fires, the best way we can help these communities is by visiting them,” he told news.com.au.
“Stay a few nights … visit the destinations that surround these communities and support the ones that have been so heavily impacted.”
“If you want to get away from a city and experience true Australia, you’ve got the most beautiful national parks around, then they kiss right against the beaches,” Mr Hatcher said.
“We’ve got great surfing spots, great rivers and estuaries. The oysters here are better than anywhere else, eateries all up and down the coast, so there’s so much to experience.”
And then, of course, there’s the Mogo Zoo – home to “an amazing collection of animals from all over the world”.
“It’s about 200 individuals, ranging from rhinoceroses, giraffes, great apes like gorillas and orang-utans and of course, big cats like lions and tigers. And it’s something that you feel from the moment you walk in,” Mr Staples said.
“And people can shoot through in an hour or you could just stay here for days.”
Mr Staples said the more time he spends on the south coast in Bateman’s Bay and Mogo, “the more time I want to spend here”.
“It’s just such a picturesque place,” he said.
“All I can do is encourage people to come down, spend some time here, and I can almost guarantee, you’ll make it a yearly return.”
For the next 14 weeks, news.com.au in partnership with Tourism Australia and the National Bushfire Recovery Agency will showcase bushfire impacted regions that need our support. For the full video series, check out Open for Business