As communities in the eastern Grampians count the cost of bushfires that raged for weeks in the region, small silver linings have emerged.

One of those is the work of the Moyston-Willaura Football Netball Club, which has served as a community conduit connecting affected residents with volunteers ready to help them rebuild.

President Terry Keilar said although the club had only played a ‘small part’ in recovery efforts, Pumas members were eager to assist in any way they could.

“As a club we’ve put out offers and had a couple of groups go out and support farmers in removing damaged fences and those sorts of things, once the dust had settled,” he said.

“Disaster-relief organisation BlazeAid has come in now, who are going to be very helpful with farmers who have lost things like fence lines, and some who have lost livestock as well.

“It’s about staying in contact, and we’ve reached out to all the farmers in the area to touch base with them and see how they are and what they might need.”

Mr Keilar said the club naturally functioned as a community network, enabling people to keep in touch with each other through the disaster.

“In the early days it was hard to know how everyone was impacted until we were able to touch base,” he said.

“You become that hub, I suppose, where people can get back to you.

“It’s just about having that contact and communication and support for the farmers to let them know that we are here if they need anything.”

Mr Keilar said the club would continue to act as a support network for members who faced challenging recovery efforts.

“While for a lot of us in the community and the township life has gone back to normal – we’re going back to work and so on – for those who are heavily impacted, there is still a lot of work ahead of them … in terms of getting paddocks and fences all set up again, the loss of feed, the loss of livestock,” he said.

“All those things add up, and it’s going to take a long time for them to bounce back and be up and running to the extent they were pre-fire.

“We’re a place where people can come together and share some stories and have a bit of a laugh. It’s a place where you do a lot of laughing together and crying together.

“It’s a real moral support network and a place for everyone to connect, and that’s important in small communities – for people to have those outlets and not feel like they’re on their own.

“They can come here and catch up with other people who are in a similar situation, or just take their mind off things for a little while. That’s what we’ll be as a club.”

Mr Keilar said the club was only a small part of the region’s recovery effort, but was glad to play a role.

“There are lots of other organisations in the community including the local council who are doing a lot to support those farmers to get back on their feet as well,” he said.

“From a club perspective we want to acknowledge the tireless work that the volunteers throughout the CFA and private vehicles did.

“Lots of our members are involved in the CFA and we want to acknowledge the work that they did, because they stopped their own lives and their Christmases to be there for others.

“That was really important, and our club would like to show our thanks and appreciation to those people who have done that.”

– Colin MacGillivray 

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