New South Wales police officer Travis Evans with Senior Sergeant Graham Gooding at Steels Creek last week.By Kath Gannaway
TRAVIS EVANS didn’t hesitate when volunteers were called for at the Castle Hill Police Station in New South Wales.
The 30-year-old leading senior constable was part of a 150-strong contingent of NSW Police officers from around the state who spent a week in the blackened Yarra Valley manning road-blocks, patrolling as a high-visibility deterrent to looters and relieving at local police stations.
“I jumped at the chance,” he told the Mail. The opportunity to help the communities affected by the Black Saturday bushfires, and to show support for what he describes as an extended family of police officers, is one he says he would not have missed.
“We hear about Victoria and other parts of Australia being in drought, but I had no idea of the magnitude of it down here,” he said as he and his Croydon-based colleague Senior Sergeant Graham Gooding drove out through Steels Creek last week.
“It’s much worse on the ground to seeing it on news footage, or in the papers, it’s horrific … very devastating,” he said when asked for an overall impression of what he has seen.
But there is another impression.
“There are so many volunteers engaging in a lot of different aspects of the recovery – in the middle of all that black and ash people have been laying down hay for the wildlife, and there are signs of new life coming up even now,” he said.
“We’ve been accepted incredibly well and warmly at the army barracks where we’re staying and especially by the Victoria Police.”
As Leading Sen Const Evans flew back home last week, another 140 New South Wales police officers arrived for five days, working out of the Yarra Glen Racecourse police command centre.
Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe praised the contribution of the neighbouring police officers saying they had been involved in the arrest of an alleged arsonist and in Warburton when there were concerns about possible wind changes last Monday week.
“The extra personnel have allowed our police to take time away from operational duties and interact with people within their local townships. It has also enabled some of our members who have worked unprecedented hours in recent weeks to take a well-earned rest,” he said.
