We acknowledge and offer our thanks to the Kangaroo Valley Volunteer Rural Fire Brigade and Beaumont Volunteer Rural Fire Brigade whose members worked tirelessly and bravely for many weeks before the 4th January, as the Currowan fire made its way from its ignition point near Nelligen on the South Coast towards Kangaroo Valley. The work was often extremely hot, dangerous and exhausting and as time went by, it was accompanied by the very real fear that the fire was approaching our Valley.
Your courageous efforts in the lead up to and including the 4th January and in the weeks after, until rain finally suppressed the fire, will long be remembered and greatly appreciated.
We also recognise and express our gratitude to members of the NSW Ambulance Service, the NSW Wales Police Force, especially our local paramedics and policeman, RFS and SES volunteers from outside our community who contributed to our community’s safety during the Currowan crisis. Your incredible professionalism, skill and care were invaluable to us during this time.
We extend our recognition and deep appreciation to those who responded with amazing initiative and selflessness to set up and run ‘The Hive’ community recovery centre in what seemed like only hours after the fire had impacted us. The Hive was an invaluable hub, a meeting place and source of great practical and emotional support to our community over several months, enabling the support of both our people in crisis and our surviving wildlife. Besides those who lead this incredible effort there were many, many volunteers from amongst our community who enabled its continued success…we thank you all.
We recognise the support shown to our community by all the retailers, service providers, trades people, farmers and hospitality venues throughout the summer of 2019/2020. Your commitment to providing essential goods and services and places we could be together both in anticipation of the looming disaster and in its aftermath helped maintain a level of safety, normality and emotional connection that was essential to our wellbeing throughout those difficult weeks and months.
To all those in our community who stepped up in many and varied ways…to those who supported their neighbourhoods as Bushfire Ready Neighbourhood Group coordinators, to those who kept an eye out for and assisted those whose needs were particularly great, to those who rallied as neighbours to help each other prepare and later recover, sometimes offering many weeks and months of support, to our wildlife rescuers and feeders…and to so many more we haven’t mentioned…we are so grateful.
We acknowledge that all of you who supported our community as mentioned above did so as you also prepared your own homes and properties and worried for your families, friends and animals. We know that came at great physical and psychological cost and we are indebted to you for that.
Finally, and most importantly, our thoughts turn to those who were directly impacted by the Currowan fire on 4th January 2020. To you who lost family homes, beloved animals, hard earned livelihoods, valuable infrastructure, beautiful gardens, treasured bushland and felt deeply the loss of our precious wildlife…we recognise the magnitude of your long journey of recovery. We know for many of you this journey is ongoing.
We also know that we have learned much over the last five years and grown to be a more connected and caring place.
Our community-based organisation, Resilient KV, has evolved from the Kangaroo Valley Community Bushfire Committee (KVCBC) that was established in 2018. As members of the current Resilient KV committee we would also like to acknowledge the significant contributions made by past members of KVCBC and particularly their advocacy for our community before and after the Currowan Fire. We are proud to be a part of the Kangaroo Valley community and look forward to doing what we can to keep us stronger together, in good times and when new challenges come our way.
We wish you all a very happy and connected 2025,
The Resilient KV Committee
Paul Cooper, Kate Watson, Bill Hyman, Hugh Sinclair, Mike Gorman and Cathy Gorman
