Phoenix rises from Gondwanaland fire

It’s hard to believe this is where the fire tsunami hit Binna Burra Lodge barely 12 months ago, heralding the black summer.

Tour guide Abbey Roberts, on the stump of a 200-year-old tree burned by last year’s Binna Burra fire, and colleague Chris Audley. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

It’s hard to believe this is where the fire tsunami hit Binna Burra Lodge barely 12 months ago, heralding a black summer in which the bush burned from one end of the country to the other. The towering eucalypts are cloaked again in green, the grass thick and lush underfoot.

Chairman Steve Noakes is welcoming the first visitors to return­ since the historic retreat was destroyed, and what a relief it is. “We’ve worked our bums off to get to this point,” he said.

Everyone knew that Binna Burra was at risk of bushfire, perched atop an 850m mountain set back from the Gold Coast, surrounde­d by rugged forests in its idyllic corner of World Heritage-listed Gondwana rainfor­est, with only one road in or out.

But it was still a shock when the flames roared through last September 8, reducing the historic tallowwood lodge and dozens of accommodation cabins to charred ruins. The locals had never seen the like of it: prior to the blaze, the bush was so dry the undergrowth crackled in the blistering­ spring heat.

When 90km/h westerlies started up, a dropped cigarette was all it took to unleash the beast. To make matters worse, the road winding around Mount Roberts gave way in the firestorm. The heavy equipment couldn’t get in until three months ago to clear what was left of the main compound; it was only on Tuesday that general traffic was allowed­ through and Mr Noakes, 64, could say at last: “We’re back.”

After greeting the first arrivals, he told The Australian: “I never doubted we would rebuild, not for a minute. This is such a special place, we had a responsibility to do everything we could.”

Chris Audley, 43, a former Binna Burra employee who now runs an educational tour business catering for school groups, Second­ Nature, was astonished by how the bush had bounced back. “The regrowth is amazing,” he said, before setting off on a four-hour hike with colleague Abbey Roberts, 23.

It’s a case of small steps for Mr Noakes and his team. Overnight, guests were checked into the Sky Lodge suites which have been brought back to shining new from the fire and water bombing. The refurbished bar at Groom’s Cottage­, one of the few buildings left standing, was serving sundowners. The warm and inviting library that used to grace the lodge has been set up there.

Mr Noakes said the teahouse and campground should be operational within a fortnight, allowing more people to stay. The dormant business had to start making money again.

The $3m insurance payout covered only a fraction of the damage — estimated at up to $25m in infrastructure and building costs alone — while a grant of $1.7m from the Bushfire Recovery Agency had been swallowed up by repairs to the walking tracks, planning and keeping on a core of the once 60-strong workforce.

“We ran out of money a long time ago from a trading point of view,” Mr Noakes said.

The saving grace was no lives were lost among the guests and staff, evacuated as the flames bore down, or the volunteer firefighters. “We always knew it would burn if the conditions were right,” Mr Noakes said. “But we dodged a bullet for 86 years and I suppose last year we just ran out of luck.

“It was devastating.”