Bushfires: Cobargo residents finally able to celebrate New Year’s Eve

The residents of Cobargo on the NSW south coast have finally rung in 2020 – two weeks after their town was razed by bushfire.

Cobargo locals gather at the Cobargo Hotel to celebrate their New Year's Eve after two weeks of bushfire recovery. Picture: Sean Davey.

For obvious reasons there weren’t any midnight fireworks, but the residents of Cobargo on the NSW south coast finally celebrated New Year’s Eve tonight – two weeks after their town was razed by bushfire.

“If anyone lit fireworks tonight they would be run out of town for sure,” said Brian Ayliffe, lifelong resident and former NSW Rural Fire Service captain of 30 years.

“But the community spirit here is absolutely incredible.”

A firestorm ravaged the historic township on December 31, killing two people. Picture: Sean Davey

A firestorm ravaged the historic township on December 31, killing two people, destroying dozens of shops and homes and leaving about 10 key businesses in ruins.

Despite the devastation and heartbreak, over 400 people gathered at the Cobargo Hotel on Sunday night to “celebrate survival” – just a few hundred metres down the road from where multiple businesses were burnt to the ground.

“This was advertised as the New Year’s Eve party we didn’t have, but really it’s the genesis of the rebuilding of our community,” Mr Ayliffe told The Australian.

A local shakes hands with Australian Army personnel. Picture: Sean Davey

“This is the next stage of survival; we survived the fire, and now we’ve got to survive the tough task of putting our lives back together.”

The 79-year-old, whose son Mark is the current Cobargo RFS captain, said the past fortnight had been incredibly difficult for the tight-knit town.

Mark and Brian Ayliffe at the Cobargo RFS station. Mark is the Cobargo captain and Brian has served in the unit for 55 years. Picture: Sean Davey.

“We lost two people here and that weighs very heavily on us all,” Mr Ayliffe said.

“We’re in denial, I think we’re too preoccupied with celebrating our survival. We’re all still coming to terms with the fact we survived and that survival phase will probably last at least another week before the rebuilding truly starts.”

Over 400 people gathered at the Cobargo Hotel on Sunday night to “celebrate survival”. Picture: Sean Davey.

Patrick Salway, 29, and his 63-year-old father, Robert, died while trying to save their home and farming equipment from the raging Badja Forest blaze in the late hours of December 30.

Their bodies were found by a family member early on December 31 at the property in Wandella on Cobargo’s outskirts.

“Those boys were our sons and that’s what this town is all about – family,” Mr Ayliffe said.

The revellers held a minute silence for their lost friends on Sunday afternoon before the festivities began.

Kids play at the Cobargo Hotel. Picture: Sean Davey.

There were also a few speeches to thank the NSW RFS and Australian Defence Force personnel who have been in the town aiding with recovery efforts.

The Cobargo Hotel, which put on a happy hour bar tab for its guests, was so packed there were people spilling out into the carpark as a local band played.

“Some people are complaining the band is playing too loud,” Mr Ayliffe said, “so I think slowly things are returning to some sort of normalcy around here.”