‘That’s just love in action, as far as I’m concerned.’ 

Roger, a fourth-generation-Bailey, shares his experience of battling the Busbys Flat fire at his Rappville cattle farm, the damages to kilometres of fences, the emotional toll of the loss of livestock, and the outpouring of generosity to both him, and the broader community.

Interviewer, recordist and editor, Jarrah Dundler. Sound designer and mixer, Chris Wesely.

Steve Carrigg, coordinator of RAMHP (the Rural Adversity and Mental Health Program), has been working with people on the Northern Rivers whose mental health has been impacted by natural disasters. In this conversation with Jarrah Dundler (writer and former mental health worker) he discusses common emotional experiences and challenges during and after disasters, the ongoing mental health issues some people experience, signs and symptoms to look out for, and tips and strategies for managing your wellbeing post-disaster.

Interviewer, recordist and editor, Jarrah Dundler. Sound designer and mixer, Chris Wesley.

‘It’s about knowing what’s going on. It’s about being informed, not being afraid.

When Tara evacuated her house at Korinderie Ridge with her kids, her husband Alex decided to stay and defend. Worried about his safety and feeling uncertain of the severity of the threat, Tara and her friend set off to the fire-front to investigate.

Interviewer and recordist, Anastasia Guise. Editor, Jarrah Dundler. Sound designer and mixer, Chris Wesely.

‘It was really scary to watch other people go through terrible things.’ 

Fourteen-year-old April talks with Avida Guise and her sister Olive about the fear she felt for her community and family during the fires, the injury she suffered when walking through the bush after the fires, and the concern she felt for people that lost everything.

Recordists and interviewers, Avida Guise and Olive O’Reilly. Editor, Jarrah Dundler. Mixing, Chris Wesley.

‘We’re getting there, we’ve still got family.’

The Myall Creek Road fires destroyed Phil and Gloria McKenzie’s family home, living them, their son and two grandchildren homeless. Phil recounts the day the fire came, how they survived in the months after, the rebuild process, his personal health struggles and the much-appreciated help and support received along the way.

Recordist, interviewer and editor, Jarrah Dundler. Sound designer and mixer, Chris Wesely.

‘It makes you realise you can survive more than you think you can.’

When retirees Linda and Steve Cavanagh moved from Beenleigh in Queensland to their hundred-acre bush block near Rappville they found neighbours that they could rely on to help them out in times of need. They talk about how this community spirit shone during the Rappville fires and their own perspective on life that helped get them through the tough personal times that followed.

Interviewer, Lea Hine. Recordist and editor, Jarrah Dundler. Sound designer and mixer, Chris Wesely.

‘Time doesn’t exist. Your body doesn’t exist.’

When Paul Hutton purchased his bush block along Long Gulley Rd near Drake, he quickly got to work clearing trees around the house, knowing they posed a fire risk. When the 2019 fires hit, this prep paid off; his house was okay. Some burnt stringybarks down the gulley, however, posed another risk – falling limbs. Paul set off with his chainsaw to eliminate the risk and was ‘cleaned up’ by one in the process. As he lay in severe shock while his partner Belinda found him and called for help, as the chopper flew overhead Paul’s mind – his soul, his self? – travelled from his body, ‘Out there, in the universe…gone.’

Recordist, interviewer and editor, Jarrah Dundler. Sound designer and mixer, Chris Wesely.

‘It just felt like a miracle.’

Meredith lives at Clouds Creek near Nymboida in an old local schoolhouse she had moved to her seventeen hectare property. She is surrounded by State Forest and National Parks and deeply loves and cares for this biodiverse wilderness. As the fire approached the forest around her property, she got word from a neighbour that a back-burn along her road was being planned. She was aghast, concerned about all the threatened species that call it home, and did what she could to get her concerns heard.

Interviewer and recordist, Anastasia Guise. Editor, Jarrah Dundler. Sound designer and mixer, Chris Wesley.

‘I realised if I stay here and wait for the fire to come to me, it’s going to be that much bigger and more dangerous.’

With very little personal experience of fires before 2019, Ivy Young was instrumental in the community response to the Mt Nardi fire. Helping to organise support (boots on the ground), clearing trails with her trusty McLeod tool, putting out fires that had flared up in the weeks after. On New Year’s Eve, after the fires had died down in her own area, Ivy set off with her new found skills (and tools) to help her parents when their property was threatened in the Bega Valley. 

Recordist, interviewer and editor, Jarrah Dundler. Sound designer and mixer, Chris Wesely.

‘So when the fire started, it touched something deep.’

Terri (daughter of Nan and Hugh Nicholson) played a key role in the community response to the Mt Nardi fires – communicating with RFS and the community, and helping to mobilise volunteers. She shares her story of this busy and exhausting time, as well as her deep connection to her rainforest home.

Recordist, interviewer and editor, Jarrah Dundler. Sound designer and mixer, Chris Wesely.

‘I was lecturing my entire community, writing letters, getting on the radio, you know –  Pull your fingers out, this is serious!’

American born Charlie Cohen talks with Anastasia Guise about ‘washing up’ on the Northern Rivers in the floods of ‘74, joining the Nimbin Rural Fire Brigade soon after, the unprecedented 2019/2020 season and his dismay at how complacent locals were being in the lead up to the fires, and his ideas for creating communities that are better equipped to prepare for and respond to disasters into the future.  

Interviewer and recordist, Anastasia Guise. Editor, Jarrah Dundler. Sound designer and mixer, Chris Wesely.

‘We fought for this place. We lived there. We loved it.’

Soon after ecologists and conservationists Nan and Hugh Nicholson bought their property at Terania Creek, they got wind that Forestry was planning to log the neighbouring old growth rainforest. Adamant that this wasn’t going to happen, they got mobilised, as did others around them, and their home became the HQ for the famous campaign and Terania Creek Blockade to stop the logging. Years after saving the rainforest, Nan and Hugh were horrified to see that very rainforest on fire. They talk with ecologist and writer Anastasia Guise about their early activist years, the connection they forged with the forest over the years, working with the RFS and community to help stop the flames, and what they learnt about fires (and fire-fighting) during this time.

Interviewer, Anastasia Guise. Recordist and editor, Jarrah Dundler. Sound designer and mixer, Chris Wesely.

‘I was just thinking – get me out of here, my koalas are on fire!’

When the fires hit Maria’s first concern was for the local koala population that as a FOK volunteer she’d been helping to monitor, protect and care for. Maria talks about her post fire search for the koalas, at times with the help of Bear the Detection dog, how the koalas she found fared, and Makawee’s health when she finally reunited with her two years later. 

Recordist, interviewer and editor, Jarrah Dundler. Sound designer and mixer, Chris Wesely.

‘I don’t know how it happens, but the smoke rises and even though there’s not much wind, the trees and leaves are all dancing.’

Gulli-Bill elder Aunty Kali (Marcia McBride) – recalls her childhood experiences of rescuing a koala during a fire at the Anamoor State Forest with her father worked and how this fuelled her connection with nature and led her to rediscover her peoples practice of cultural fire. 

Interviewer, recordist and editor, Jarrah Dundler. Sound designer and mixer, Chris Wesley.