Framed by blackened hills, 69-year-old David Jeffries steps out of a small white campervan onto scorched ground. A hawk floats above the rubble of the farmhouse the former graphic designer was renovating on the outskirts of Harcourt. “I’ve lost everything. I’ve lost my grandfather’s books, my paintings. Family photos. It’s all gone, I’m not the only one,” he said.
Fire ignited north of the apple-growing region of Harcourt in central Victoria on Friday afternoon. By that evening, flames, fanned by fierce winds, were running down hills into the Harcourt Valley and the township, razing three local businesses and 47 homes. Mr. Jeffries’s home was one of them, and the pensioner wasn’t insured. “I can’t afford insurance,” he said. “So many people haven’t got insurance because of the cost of living. If you’re on a basic pension and you’ve got 45 acres and a five-bedroom farmhouse… it’s quite prohibitive.”
The Unexpected Threat
In a region famed for its lush pastoral farmland, Mr. Jeffries and others thought the area was less likely to be hit than neighboring bush towns Castlemaine and Barkers Creek. “I watched [the flames] from Harcourt, and every time I saw a big black plume I thought it was someone else’s life.” Despite the ordeal, Mr. Jeffries said he would stay on his property. He jokes that he still has cold beer in a solar-powered fridge and has been watching Blackadder and Carry On Up the Khyber videos on his phone to keep his spirits up. He doesn’t want sympathy; he said he was lucky. “I don’t want someone coming around here with a hanky. I want someone coming round here and steering me in the right direction.”
Over the fence on the neighboring property, Patrick Pratt and his wife Claudia Doolan survey the burnt-out ruins of what was once their rental property. Twin chimneys stand tall among a thicket of roof tiles and the remnants of a 130-year-old weatherboard. “This was a safe place,” Ms. Doolan whispers to herself. Mr. Pratt, 36, points to the stove and what was once above it. “The mantelpiece had my grandfather’s clock, Claudia’s mum’s ashes, our dog’s ashes.”
Community Bonds Strengthen
The musician, artist, and cafe worker left the property with his sons before the fire, with just his pets and guitar. Everything else from his home is gone. “It was pretty idyllic at times, we had good family times,” Ms. Doolan said as she stared at the oak tree still standing. The couple had recently separated but said the fire had made them reassess their priorities. They’ve reunited. “Now we’ve got nothing. [But] we’ve got each other,” Mr. Pratt said. His sister has started a GoFundMe page. Ms. Doolan said the couple’s biggest challenge would be to find a new home. “There was already a scarcity of houses available to rent. There’s a lot of holiday rentals in Castlemaine that take up the rental market,” she said. “There just isn’t enough to go around.”
The couple drives away to an appointment with the local op shop that’s opened specifically for them. The only possessions they carry with them are a metal goanna and an old coffee cup that belonged to Ms. Doolan’s mother. Amazingly, their chooks survived.
Economic and Cultural Impact
Harcourt sits in the middle of Victoria’s gold-rush district, a stone’s throw from the thriving artistic hub of Castlemaine. It’s a region dotted with boutique wineries, apple orchards, and cider farms, and its heart is the Coolstore Co-operative, an enormous metal structure. It’s where 85 local businesses store goods and it has operated continuously since 1917. But despite the brave efforts of locals and the CFA, the Coolstore and its neighbor, the Coolstore Cafe, were destroyed. Melted sheets of aluminum drape like cloth over steel beams as broken bottles spill out onto blackened earth. The sweet tang of burnt wine and beer hangs in the air as cockatoos circle and cry.
Harcourt resident Sam Upton has come back to see what’s left of the warehouse storing props for her real estate styling business. “To look inside and see nothing. Sofas, beds, dining tables, chairs, cushions, everything we had just gone. It doesn’t look like there’s been anything in there.” Like David Jeffries, she never thought Harcourt township would burn. “This is one of the reasons we decided to build a house on a block closer to town. Because I was worried about the threat of bushfires further out,” she said. Thinking of what’s next was almost impossible, Ms. Upton said, as residents were still without power, water, and communication. There’s little to no internet or phone reception within the township of Harcourt and surrounds.
Community Support and Resilience
Around the corner from the burnt-out Coolstore, the Harcourt Football Netball Club is an oasis of green with burnt, black edges. Club president Mark Dorian is carrying boxes of supplies to feed locals at a barbecue. “Harcourt is a big enough town that it has people of all walks and types but it’s small enough [that] we all know each other and that makes it a really tight bond.” The locksmith survived the deadly Black Saturday bushfires in 2009 in Clobinane and said the sirens, smoke, and choppers circling overhead in Harcourt were all too familiar. “We just need to be here for each other. More importantly, people together can overcome these things and that’s all we need at the moment, is each other.”
A few hours later, locals trickle into the recently opened Harcourt tourist attraction, the Victorian Miniature Railway, which was saved from the flames. They’re gathering to meet, talk, and thank their CFA volunteers. Rhian Selwood, 19, fills up tomato sauce bottles at a trestle table. She’s still reeling from the fires and said it was better to keep busy. Her family’s nearby home was saved by neighbors, but most in her street are gone. “Feel a bit of guilt that your house is still standing when everyone else’s is gone,” the Harcourt netballer said. “We were staying in Bendigo but it felt wrong being away from everyone, you just want to be with people. Especially knowing we have a house and clothes and everything and other people don’t.”
The family that saved her home stands just a few meters away. CFA veterans May and Peter Wilson had their granddaughter and her partner at home with them, and they used what they had on hand to save both their property and the Selwoods’. “Buckets and hoses,” 80-year-old Mr. Wilson said. The Wilsons’ children and grandchildren volunteer at multiple brigades in Central Victoria. But Stephanie Hull said when the flames bore down on them, the tankers were all busy, and she and her partner fought the flames alongside her grandparents. “Extremely scary. I honestly thought I was going to die,” Ms. Hull said.
Government Response and Future Steps
The Harcourt CFA brigade arrived at the barbecue to hugs, applause, and tears. Peter Wilson’s granddaughters Megan and Kate were among them. They’ve been fighting fires since Friday and said there was no rest in sight. “Fire doesn’t stop for anyone. People have lost everything so we just got to keep going. Lots of people are relying on us,” Megan Wilson said. “Being here today, everyone is so appreciative. It means a lot actually.”
As the locals gathered to thank their volunteers, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made a visit to the ruins of Coolstore a few kilometers away. Alongside Premier Jacinta Allan, the prime minister announced a $19.5 million joint support package for the fire-ravaged community. The leaders stressed it was only the beginning of government support they knew needed to be ramped up as the magnitude of the damage became clear. When David Jeffries heard the PM was in his town, he simply laughed. “Hope he brought his wallet,” he said.
The announcement comes as the community of Harcourt begins the long process of rebuilding and healing. With government support and the unwavering spirit of its residents, Harcourt stands as a testament to resilience in the face of adversity.
