Tasmanian volunteers, from left, Jim Cairns, Roly Proctor, Norm Cairns and Ben Olbrich demonstrate their fencing prowess. Looking on are Graeme Chester, Lyn Mullens and Colin Williamson. 31919
By Kath Gannaway
NORM Cairns remembers vividly the fires that destroyed his family’s Tasmanian farm on 7 February 1967.
He, and others around the communities of Kettering and Woodbridge in Tasmania, also remember the flood of volunteers and donations from the mainland as they faced the heartbreak and devastation and the daunting job of rebuilding.
Norm and his brother Jim, part of a 10-man team of Tassie volunteers rebuilding fences around Yarra Glen, were teenagers at the time.
“Where we lived, out of seven houses five went. Six miles from home one town had only five or six houses left out of 150,” he recalls.
“It was exactly the same – 62 people killed out of a population of perhaps 350,000 – and it was 42 years to the day.”
As news of Victoria’s Black Saturday reached Tasmania the parallels were inescapable and Norm issued a call to arms.
The Channel communities responded magnificently raising $27,000, which they donated to the Rotary Club of Healesville’s Bushfire Fund.
As the fundraising effort was winding down, Norm said he flagged the idea of helping out on the ground.
“I just said, ‘is there anybody who would like to go to Healesville fencing’ and hands shot up,” he said.
The Rotary Club of Healesville is co-ordinating the project, organising the fencing work through VFF Fencing Co-ordinator Lyn Mullens and working with the Shire of Yarra Ranges, which set up a temporary accommodation village at the Dixons Creek Reserve.
Rotary organiser Graeme Chester said the support from local contractors on either side of the Tasman had been phenomenal. The crew arrived at Port Melbourne, fully equipped with machinery including tractors and four-wheel drives, post-hole diggers, and they have been on the job ever since.
“A lot of people on the mainland were there when we needed help,’ said team member Roly Proctor.
“It’s given us an opportunity to be able to give back to this community a bit of what we received in ’67.”
Pauls Lane farmer Colin Williamson had six kilometres of fences burnt and says the Tasmanian volunteers have made a huge difference.
“It’s just a daunting task. You start enthusiastically and after a bit you realise there’s still a bloody lot still to do,” he said.
“To get these boys to come over is really appreciated. Anything they do is just a big bonus for us,” he said.
