General News
11 June, 2024
BlazeAid team helps mend broken hearts
Farmers are tagged tough and resilient, but even the most hardy are overcome with emotion when volunteers roll up and offer free labour to clear away fire-ravaged fences and put up new ones.
BlazeAid workers set up camp in Dadswells Bridge on March 2 and finished their work there last weekend.
The volunteer organisation works with residents in rural areas after natural disasters such as fires and floods.
In February this year savage fires raged across the Dadswells Bridge area as well as at Pomonal.
High temperatures fuelled the fires and ahead of an advancing cold front strong winds fanned blazes.
About 45 homes were destroyed as well as many farm sheds, 140 sheep died at Dadswells Bridge and thousands of hectares of grassland were burnt.
The fires started on a day of extreme heat on February 13.
During the almost three months that BlazeAid volunteers worked in the area, 90 volunteers descended on the organisation's Dadswells Bridge camp from across Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia, as well as from overseas.
They cleared away 70 kilometres of burnt fencing and put up about 50 kilometres of new fencing.
Camp co-ordinator Lyn Rasmussen of Bendigo said many did not have a farming background but were pleased to be able to help farmers in need.
"They consider the help that we're giving them as priceless," she said.
"Some have cried with joy because they again have a fenced paddock."
Mrs Rasmussen said overseas workers were grateful for a chance to contribute because their hours were counted towards fulfilling the visa requirement which would allow them another year in Australia.
The volunteers included one from Estonia, two from Taiwan and two from Brazil.
A typical day's pattern was breakfast in the hall about 7am before volunteers packed their lunches and then set off to wherever they were needed.
They returned to the hall about 4.30pm.
Most stayed in the town's campground.
Mrs Rasmussen said she and husband Stan, a former shearer and fencing contractor, had co-ordinated six camps to date.
She said the couple enjoyed being among rural people and were able to travel and at the same time help farmers in need.
About 65 farmers in the district had registered seeking help through BlazeAid.
Local farmer Keith Fischer said Rotary and Lions members across the area had also assisted in many ways.