How Victoria’s Upper Murray fire-affected towns are bouncing back

They are towns that bore the brunt of recent bushfires, but Corryong, Walwa and Cudgewa’s pubs, cafes and festivals are luring tourists back to the Upper Murray region.

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The spirit of an Aussie icon is helping revive the fire-struck Upper Murray region as a trickle of tourists kicks off an economic comeback.

Corryong bore the brunt of the bushfires with a caravan park, buildings and swathes of farmland destroyed.

But the town’s community spirit is shining through.

The Man From Snowy River Bush Festival commitee’s Jane Saxon, Jenny Boardman and Andrew Whitehead.

Man From Snowy River Bush Festival at Corryong. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

It’s pushing ahead with the famous Man From Snowy River Bush Festival which sees the population swell from 1200 to about 10,000 in April.

Local Frank Maguire, on the organising board, said he was constantly asked how the people of Corryong were feeling in the wake of the fires.

“It depends on who you talk to. A farmer who has lot everything is going to be very down,’’ he said.

“But the people in Corryong itself haven’t been hit terribly, so they’re going out and helping the people who have been.”

Visitors flocked back to the area over the Australia Day weekend — something Corryong Courthouse Hotel worker Mikayla Tyrell says must continue to get the town back on its feet.

“It would mean the world if people come to places like here.

“Even if they spend a dollar, it helps a lot,” Ms Tyrell said.

“Any sort of money they spend, or even if they put on their working boots and came down to help for a bit, that’s all we ask.”

Nearby, Hotel Cudgewa owner Tracey Fair, who took over the business less than a year ago, said it had become a hub for the community.

“We’ve been pretty much non-stop,’’ Ms Fair said.

“We didn’t buy the business to be full time but we’re very happy that we’re able to provide a community service — somewhere for people to come and connect with each other, share their stories and get away from their reality for a bit.”

Calls for tourists to visit Walwa as the area recovers from bushfires.

In Walwa signs of recovery are starting to show too.

The army, along with a slew of volunteers from across Victoria and NSW, have arrived to help farmers repair fences and clear away ashy debris.

After weeks with no power, Walwa’s Riverside Caravan Park reopened in time for Australia Day with business off to a promising start for owners Kevin and Heidi Conway.

“We had a full park before the fires hit and this weekend we managed to get nearly half so we were pretty happy about that,’’ Ms Conway said.

“It was just lovely to have caravans back here and to see everyone in the park.”

Getting back to normality isn’t without its challenges though.

The General Store and Cafe in the heart of Walwa was busy last weekend but is running a slimmed-downed menu due to limited power and food supplies.

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After losing so much revenue since the December 30 blaze the business — struck during its busiest period — also can’t afford more than a skeleton staff for now.

“It’s really hard,’’ shop assistant Sarah Hamilton said.

“The weekend was quite busy, which was great, but people get quite irritated because they can’t get what they’re looking for.

“But if you’ve never been in the situation, you don’t understand it, do you?”

Major roads in the region have reopened including the Murray Valley Hwy which was cleared on January 25.

Tourism North East acting chief executive Sarah Pilgrim declared the area open for business, pleading for Victorians to show their support and visit.

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Originally published as How Victoria’s Upper Murray fire-affected towns are bouncing back