Tributes Wanted

Australian Community Media & Printing (ACM) is a trading name of Rural Press Limited, a media company in Australia responsible for over 160 regional publications. Its mastheads include The Canberra Times, The Newcastle Herald, The Examiner, The Border Mail, The Courier and the Illawarra Mercury along with more than one hundred community-based websites across Australia and numerous agricultural publications including The Land and Queensland Country Life.
They published the story below which says it all about the recent tragic events in Australia better than I ever could.
It has been a summer lost forever. 
A summer in which the traditions we cherish, of beach holidays, of camping trips, of watching fireworks on a grassy hill, have been stolen by the terrifying forces of nature.
Drought, hail, floods and, worst of all, fire have ravaged all parts of the nation. 
Homes have been razed, lives lost, millions of hectares of bushland burnt and unimaginable numbers of wildlife have perished. Businesses have shut down starved of their summer trade. Smoke has choked cities. Waves of dust have enveloped whole towns. 

It has been the summer that has tested us in ways that have defied experience, if not prediction.
The world has looked on with grave concern and responded with generosity. Tears have been shed on our behalf by people who have never been on our shores.
We have seen the best of our human qualities on display. In every village, town and city, every day. But through this extraordinary and this terrible time, it has been our strong community bonds that have helped us into the aftermath.

Volunteerism, that spirit of giving that is a pride of Australian life, has rarely looked more 
magnificent than in the brigades of firefighters putting themselves between life and property and the monstrous approaching fire fronts. Their bravery and dedication has moved us all. 
In the aftermath of the summer's fast-hitting disasters, or through the enduring grip of drought, we have seen the best of our human qualities on display. In every village, town and city, every day. 
Neighbours opening their homes to a displaced neighbour. Community groups of all types setting up kitchens to feed evacuees. People rushing to help rebuild burnt fences. Vets with the unspeakably sad task of euthanizing injured stock and wildlife. 
Fridges stocked with cold drinks for passing emergency crews. Wildlife carers converting their homes to animal sanctuaries. Truck drivers bringing load after load of stock feed or urgent supplies to drought-stricken or smouldering villages and farms.
Some people owe their lives to a stranger, whether that stranger was wearing a uniform or the summer dress of a holidaymaker. Selfless action in moments of utter terror.
For all of these kinds of stories that have already been told, there are countless more that deserve to be heard. And so at Australian Community Media we want to give voice to them and give thanks to the heroes of the home front.

Stories of efforts that have helped your community in its darkest times. Of the smallest acts of kindness and generosity that have reminded you how good people really are. 
Acts motivated by love for community and care for one another.
Please join us in sharing your stories of gratitude. It doesn't matter how, it doesn't matter where. 
We will publish as many responses as we can online and in special print editions in coming weeks.
We were treated with empathy and kindness by friends, neighbours, acquaintances, government workers and complete strangers during our week of evacuation and those that followed. The entire community came together during a time of crises which somewhat restored our faith in human nature which had started to wane over the last decade or so.
I look forward to reading the results of this ACM request.
When they do start rolling in I will put a link on this page.

Tribute1: click here

Australia Day 2020

January 26th marks the anniversary of the First Fleet's arrival in Port Jackson, New South Wales in 1788 and the first European settlement on the continent.
In previous times, this day was celebrated quietly by family get togethers, bbqs, council sausage sizzle breakfasts in parks, a concert of Australian music here and there, or a day at the beach and fireworks in the evening.
Then, gradually the day became a conduit for the ‘love it or leave it’ bogan (redneck) crowd to promote a nationalism that bordered on jingoism which became quite disappointing.
Also a ground swell of indigenous Australian protest of the day they saw as the beginning of colonial oppression also surfaced. For them it was Invasion Day.

Invasion Day is not only understood by growing numbers of non indigenous Australians, it  is now the dominant narrative on 26th January.
This year, tens of thousands of people gathered for Invasion Day rallies in the nation's capital cities and regional centres.
Personally I have thought for quite a while it’s time to ‘change the date’ to celebrate our nation to one that is totally inclusive. But the traditionalists in power are holding firm as conservatives tend to do.
However it’s like the ongoing Republic debate........it will happen one day.
On a more positive note, 454 citizenship ceremonies were performed across the country yesterday conferring citizenship on a record 27,419 new Australians.

A Currowan Fire Update / 24th January 2020

It’s been about seven weeks now since fire activity began in our area.
After a short few days respite, yesterday conditions worsened with a 40°C day and strong dry winds.
The fire fronts across the region sprang into action and there was more property loss and injury.
Sadly the USA crew of a contracted Coulson C-130 large air tanker was killed when the plane crashed while dumping fire retardant on a major blaze in the high country.

We were enveloped in a dust storm for most of the day and then late afternoon were warned that a fire just to the north of us in the National Park had reignited. We had been confident that there was nothing left to burn around us but in the horrific conditions of the day this was not the case. Once again our RFS was on the job and had the fire under control. Thankfully the winds dropped a few hours later and a cool southerly changed arrived just before midnight.

The Currowan Fire and those that it spawned now covers an area of half a million ha.
It has now joined up with a major fire to the south so in total the fire ground on the south coast of New South Wales is 850 million ha (2100 million acres), stretching 220km (140 miles) from Bega to Nowra along the coast and west into and over the Great Dividing Range.

As said before, this environmental, wildlife and human disaster will not be over until we get at least 200mm of rain.
That does not look likely in the near future.
To say we have all had enough of this is an understatement.

A Currowan Fire Update / 12th January 2020

Fire conditions have eased across the fire grounds in our area over the last few days.
There was even a very small amount of rain.
This has given the RFS crews a chance to mop up active fire areas, back burn protective breaks and clear roads of fallen trees.
We are still warned to stay alert in case conditions turn again.
The Currowan Fire has spawned four adjacent fires which now total an area of just under half a million hectares ie. 1.2 million acres.
A time line of the fire’s life has been documented here with the accompanying map below.

Meanwhile at home we have assessed the fencing damage in detail and started to bring in repair materials.
Work will commence next week when Stirls comes down for a few days. Our boundary fences are a first priority.
We are still waiting for word from our insurance company on structural replacements.
A continuing supply of hay for the cows has been established as the remaining pasture is limited.
Water is still a concern. Our dams are looking very sad and we are on very strict restrictions in the house in case we need to start to use our tank water for the cows. Granted we still have 30,000L in storage but our cattle could consume up to 200L /day.

It can be a bit depressing living in the burnt landscape but today, on a boundary walk, I noticed that some of the eucalyptus trees have sprung into renewal mode.
Epicormic buds on the tree’s branches and trunk sprout when triggered by stress, such as wildfire, which can severely damage the crown. These buds, in the outer sapwood, are protected from fire damage by the tree’s bark. They quickly sprout if a eucalypt looses its crown. The new shoots, epicormic shoots, produce green foliage which enables the tree to survive.

Many other native Australian plants use fire to initiate seeds which have fallen onto the nutrient rich ash bed. We can expect a brand new under storey to also appear with time.
Even small shoots of grass are now beginning to grow through the ash.
When/if the rain comes, we can expect a real burst of life.

The Numbers Are In / Australia’s Hottest Driest Year on Record

2019 was Australia's driest year, exceeding 1902, Australian Bureau of Meteorology data shows.

Rainfall

Last year was also Australia's hottest for maximum and mean temperatures, eclipsing previous highs set in 2013 by large margins. 

Temperature 

Daytime temperatures were 2.09 degrees above the bureau's 1961-90 benchmark, topping the 2013 record by half a degree.
More details in BoM’s Annual Climate Statement 2019.

Australian Bushfire Situation / 7th January 2020

State by state update:

NEW SOUTH WALES
20 people dead, two missing.
130 bush fires burning on the South Coast, Snowy Mountains, Blue Mountains, Central Coast and Mid North Coast.
Almost 5 million hectares burnt which is equal to the metro areas of the five mainland state capitals.
1,588 homes confirmed destroyed but number expected to rise.

ACT
One small bush fire burning in Namadgi National Park.

NORTHERN TERRITORY
No bush fires burning.
Five homes confirmed destroyed

QUEENSLAND
30 bush fires burning in the far north, central, southeast and Central Highlands.
2.5 million hectares burnt.
48 homes confirmed destroyed.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA
32 bush fires burning, in the Goldfield-Esperance region, Wheatbelt, Pilbara, Perth region and southeast.
1.7 million hectares burnt.
Three home confirmed destroyed.

TASMANIA
14 bush fires burning across the state’s north, east and south.
More than 32,000 hectares burnt.
Two homes confirmed destroyed.

VICTORIA
Two people dead.
14 bush fires burning in Gippsland, northeast and alpine regions.
More than 1.2million hectares burnt.
More than 200 homes confirmed destroyed but number expected to rise.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Three people dead.
Five bush fires burning (four on the mainland, one on Kangaroo Island).
About 270,000 hectares burnt.
161 homes confirmed destroyed.

A Currowan Fire Update / January 5th 2020

As predicted, Saturday 4th January was a very difficult day for all those in and around the fire grounds across the state and over the border in Victoria.
Temperatures were in the high 30s, early 40s and dry winds were gusting from the west.
In fact, western Sydney recorded their highest temperature ever, a staggering 48.9℃ (120℉).
We thought we were fairly safe but at 2pm the power went out and we noticed a significant smoke plume just over the hills to the north of us.
An unburnt area between Lake Burrill and Lake Tabourie had caught fire and was heading once again for the latter village.
Being surrounded by a now large fire break caused by the previous fires we were not in immediate impact danger but any wind change could bring an ember attack.

No power meant no pump so we didn’t have access to any high pressure water.
We spent a few hours watering down the roof and gutters of the house using my battery operated vine sprayer unit and listening to our national broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, for fire updates on the car radio and enjoying a little aircon. The ABC covers much of Australia with city and regional stations and during emergencies dedicates those to providing updates and warnings. Despite all the modern methods of communication these days, old fashioned radio still comes through when the chips are really down. And a good battery operated transistor radio (remember them?) seems to still be essential equipment.

It became apparent from reports we were cut off both to the north and south but still had safe places to go in case the need be.
We were aware a southerly wind change was heading up the coast and arrive it did with a vengeance around 6pm. It howled through the area with gusts up to 90km/hr for around 20 minutes covering us in dead leaves, small branches, dust and ash. While driving the Tabourie fire away from us we knew this would cause problems for a whole lot of people on the northern edges of fires which from reports on Sunday morning it did.

Firefighter’s boots with soles melted off

So there we were again. No power, no mobile phone coverage, no internet. So it was another romantic candle lit dinner of a hard boiled egg and salad wrap, warm beer then early to bed.

I awoke around 3am and had a walk around the house in now very cool conditions to check for spot fires. There were ominous red glows on the distant horizons both north and south and the ash was falling on us like snow.
Today we are still cut off by road in both directions from our two major towns and await advice as to when power and mobile phone (although we do still have a landline) service will be restored*
* restored around 3pm today.

A Currowan Fire Update / January 3rd 2020

As predicted, New Years Eve produced horrific conditions over the fire ground.
High temperatures over 40°C and strong dry westerly winds drove fire into new territory.
The tourist town of Mogo just to the south of us was first to suffer with many buildings lost.
This part of the fire then got into the suburban and out lying areas of Batemans Bay with numerous house losses. It burnt to the beaches there.
North of us the community of Lake Conjola was devastated. People were forced onto the beach and into the water to avoid the inferno. A huge number of homes were lost.
Further south, the town of Cobargo was decimated. In Victoria, just over the border, huge fires consumed east Gippsland. Thousands of holiday makers were forced into the water at Mallacoota and are being evacuated, as I write, by the Australian Navy.
In east Gippsland, a very large rural area, there has been loss of life, loss of property and homes and huge livestock losses.

Despite being warned to stay away from the south coast, huge numbers of tourists flocked to the area for their summer holidays. The fire situation has caught them all with nowhere much to go. Power has been cut, communications are, at best, patchy. Major roads have been cut and as a result there is a lack of food and fuel supplies in all the major centres.
Today the government declared a state of emergency and ordered all non residents out of the area.
Obviously with so much fire around, the major road to the south and north had been opened and closed numerous times. The traffic jams trying to get out of the area are horrendous. We cannot get into town for supplies at all. Our highway between Batemans Bay and Ulladulla is a 55km parking lot. People were sleeping in their cars last night on the road. A normal journey from our area to Sydney is four hours. For many it is taking 24 hours!

This brings us to this weekend.
Conditions are predicted to be worse than New Year’s Eve so we are girding our loins once more.
Theoretically we are safe due to our area being burnt out a few weeks ago. But we have been warned once again to be alert for secondary fires caused by flying embers from the distant fire fronts. Lots of dead fallen leaves are now on the ground and many trees are still smouldering.
So that’s the situation to date.
Obviously there will be more to come.

Goodbye 2019, Hello 2020