Gripping first-hand accounts of Wonboyn fires turned into a book to help the healing process

They were there to attend the launch of the book to which they had contributed, Fire Across the Water, by providing first-hand accounts of the Black Summer bushfire as it hit Wonboyn. Several had asked what a book launch was as they had never been to one before.

They had been guided through their story-telling by Wonboyn resident and children's author Susie Sarah who did minimal editing to allow people's own voices to cut through.

The first-hand stories recorded just weeks after the fires hit and then continued to return several times, paint a vivid picture. Several of the residents spoke about their own experiences.

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Caroline Henry who with husband Kel runs an oyster farm recalled "the emotional sight" of a desperate wallaby drinking saltwater and of a deer and kangaroo lying dead side by side.

Susie Sarah's own story included a request to Bega MP at the time, Andrew Constance because "we didn't have a toilet. There was nowhere to squat in the bush'.

"Andrew sent a couple the next day, he saved my life. It was the simple things that you didn't expect to be missing," Susie said.

Long-term resident and RFS volunteer Dave Boulton lost everything in the fires, his shed and his home.

"When it jumped the narrows (at Mallacoota) I knew we were gone, Dave said.

"There's nothing between Mallacoota and the bush to my backyard," He said.

Dave had already been alerted by the sight of crisp, brown bracken in the nature reserve which he knew would go up the minute a spark landed.

Current member for Bega and Labor candidate Michael Holland talked from a medical standpoint about the effect of bushfires on the unborn and said he believed 15,000 pregnancies could have been affected. He also said areas were affected by a type of community PTSD.

It was a theme continued by the bushfire chaplain Ray Flint who had moved to Wonboyn to retire "but in ministry you never retire".

"The job's not done and never will be; there are people who will never recover and some so badly affected they can never go back to their property," Ray said.

"We don't have the best of mental health. We're at the bottom of the pile here and this book has been therapy.

"There were 22 of us who stayed and in a funny way they were good times; we met people at another level. I've sat with dozens of people over three years, heard their pain, processed assistance and even sat and prayed with them. By the grace of God no lives were lost," Ray said.

Cr Joy Robyn recalled it being like Armageddon and talking with an ex-forestry executive who said the forests weren't being maintained as they used to be because of lower numbers in the forestry workforce.

Several people mentioned the need to engage with First Nation's people for cultural burning and their understanding of land management.

After the formalities people chatted in small groups sharing their stories, recalling events.

Some provoked laughter as we talked about our chooks, how we tried to catch them, how they'd run away and how they'd reappeared. But there were tears too from memories of a long time ago, re-ignited by the talk of the fires, and frustration with the need to apply for grant funding to buy core equipment for the RFS such as a hose drying pole for Wonboyn's RFS.

But April Merrick of the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal had said that creative recovery was a big thing.

"Art and writing, it's really cathartic," April said.

Mumbulla Foundation and the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal funded the publication of 2000 books which will be sold for $20 each with all proceeds going back to the Wonboyn Ratepayers Association.

But perhaps the biggest win is in the mental health benefits for everyone who participated.

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