Bushfire tragedy: Robert and Patrick Salway killed as ‘inferno' ripped through Cobargo

The widow of Patrick Salway, who died with his father near Cobargo has posted a moving tribute to him.

Patrick Salway, seen here with his wife Renee, died trying to defend his property at Cobargo with his father Robert. Picture: Facebook.   

The widow of farmer Patrick Salway, 29, who perished defending his home from bushfires near Cobargo has posted a heartfelt tribute to her husband.

“I love you now, I love you still, I always have and I always will.” said Renee Salway on Facebook.

“I will see you again Patrick, my best friend.

“Hope you are up there “fixing things in the stars tonight. Love forever Harley & Me”.

Mr Salway and his father Robert, 63, both died after deciding to stay as fires approached their home last night and defend their property.

Renee and their little boy, Harley, left the property before the fires arrived.

“(Thank you everyone for your concern. We are broken) Goodnight.” she said at the end of her post.

Patrick Salway with his wife Renee and son Harley.

Robert and Patrick were killed in the firestorm that razed the historic NSW South Coast township of Cobargo, destroying dozens of shops and homes and leaving one man unaccounted for.

Patrick and Robert, described as “salt of the earth blokes”, died while trying to save their home and farming equipment from the raging Badja Forest blaze on Monday night.

Their bodies were found by a family member early on Tuesday at the property, called Ashwood, in Wandella, about 10km northwest of the Bega Valley township of Cobargo on Tuesday.

Patrick’s wife Renee is expecting a child.

Patrick Salwaywith his wife Renee. Picture: Facebook.

“A woman has told police she’d left the property (last night), but her husband and son stayed behind to defend the home and farm equipment,” NSW Police said in a statement. “She returned this morning and discovered their bodies.”

The main street of Cobargo was wiped out. Picture: Twitter.

Cobargo Hotel owner David Allen, who had known the family for most of his life, said their deaths were “a bloody tragedy”.

“They were really good guys, just some salt of the earth blokes. It’s sad, it is a bloody tragedy,” Mr Allen told Sky News.

“Patrick was a really good, affable guy, he would always help everyone out when they needed it. He loved his horses and showjumping, he played footy. It is really sad. Robert was a really community-minded bloke. A great guy. It is terrible, horrific.”

.@danielsutton10 has the latest on the two men who were found dead, and the third man reported missing, in the bushfires at Cobargo. #NSWfires #AustralianFires pic.twitter.com/uXrqFy5SQA

— 10 News First (@10NewsFirst) December 31, 2019

Residents said the fire roared up Cobargo’s main street, destroying buildings in its path. Naroom RFS firefighter Neil Crawley told The Telegraph “it was like an inferno."

“There were seven shops lost on the main street,” he said. “When the shit hit the fan this morning most of the trucks were in isolated positions.

“They just had to do what they could to protect homes and shops.”

RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said a “tragic set of circumstances” led to the men’s deaths.

“We can say certainly that the two men at Cobargo are residents of Cobargo. A father and son, as we believe. It is a very tragic set of circumstances,” he said.

“Obviously they were trying to do their best when the fire came through in the early hours of the morning”.

The main street in Cobargo in NSW has been wiped out. Here are the before and after photos.

If we had those 8 US Forest Service Hercules firefighting planes in Australia right now, would this have happened?

Do we need another major loss of life to force us into action? pic.twitter.com/2VDpkqNlQm

— Jon Dee (JonDee.com) (@JonDeeOz) December 31, 2019

Authorities were on Tuesday evening still trying to locate a third man in Belowra west of Narooma, understood to be a 72-year-old man, who was also defending his property.

There were early reports the man was an off-duty volunteer firefighter, however Commissioner Fitzsimmons said that information was yet to be confirmed.

Police were still trying to access the property in order to confirm the man’s whereabouts on Tuesday evening, with Mr Fitzsimmons saying grave fears were held for his welfare.

At least seven shops on the main street of Cobargo were destroyed in the fire, with the total loss of property yet to be assessed by authorities.

Residents were told to evacuate the town at 4am on Tuesday morning but some stayed behind.

“We live next to the school on the church side, when we left (around 5am) there was a fire truck at the church,” Trish Thompson wrote on Facebook.

“The firefighter told me they were only there to save the church and the school. As we left the fire in the back paddock behind me was coming up to my house, the church.

“I’m not sure if my house is OK.”

The main street of Cobargo after the fire swept through. Picture: Twitter.

Mr Allen said the sight of flames raging through his town was “what hell looks like”.

He said he helped to fight the flames after seeing how tired local firefighters were.

“I came back into town and that’s when embers started spot fires everywhere,” he told Sky News.

“We got the fire hoses out, the fire brigade guys were flat out and we thought, we’ll just try and save the pub.”

Mr Allen broke down as he described the ferocity of the blaze.

“This is what hell looks like, and we saw it last night,” he said.

“It’s just so fast, and that’s what caught people unawares.”

Long-term residents Brenda Whiffen said the approaching flames sounded like the “roars of the ocean”.

Ms Whiffen and her husband spent the night working to protect their property after embers brought the fire through about 1am.

“We came outside and you could see the red glow, but you could hear it roaring, that was the scary bit. You could hear it roaring like the ocean,” she told the ABC.

“And it just came so quick, because of the embers. One would start up here and another one would start somewhere else.”

Together the pair saved two homes on the property, about three kilometres from Cobargo’s town centre, but their farmland and other buildings were destroyed.