KINGLAKE bushfire survivors are helping residents of a flood-ravaged central Victorian town in an informal mentorship they want governments to replicate across Australia.
Goldfields flood recovery officer Sonny Neale said Carisbrook residents were overwhelmed by a gift of $10,500 from Kinglake residents.
“This is a substantial contribution by a community who were themselves devastated by natural disaster not so long ago,” he said. “It indicates the support rural townships can give each other when disaster strikes.”
Two creeks near Carisbrook flooded in January last year, pushing water through 240 homes. Kinglake resident Anne Leadbeater said community radio presenter Kathy Stewart launched a fund-raising effort with a radiothon, supported by businesses and residents.
She said the catalyst was “the amazing support we got after the fires. This was an opportunity to give something back”.
Kinglake’s help is going beyond cash, with residents sharing their experiences of the fires.
Ms Leadbeater, a community development officer and Kinglake resident, will help run a planning workshop in May, while the former president of the Kinglake Ranges Business Network, Brad Quilliam, has offered advice on long-term business recovery.
While fire and flood were different, the aftermath was similar, Ms Leadbeater said.
“You lose homes, loved ones and community infrastructure,” she said. “Your environment is damaged. People need to tend to their own personal recovery before community recovery but some in Carisbrook are reaching that point.”
She said governments should look at Kinglake’s model and consider setting up formal mentorship programs after natural disasters. “We need to capture knowledge from these events … or we risk forgetting the lessons we learn from them and repeating our mistakes.”
