Roger Bailey, Rappville
‘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 […]
Mental Health and Disasters, with Steve Carrigg
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 […]
Tara Luca, Korinderie Ridge
‘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 […]
April O’Reilly, Korinderie Ridge
‘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 […]
Phil McKenzie, Bora Ridge
‘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 […]
Steve and Linda, Rappville
‘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 […]
Paul Hutton, Drake
‘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, […]
Meredith Stanton, Clouds Creek
‘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 […]
Ivy Young, The Channon
‘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), […]
Terri Nicholson, Terania Creek
‘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 […]
