Bermagui Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism president Gordon Patterson is full of praise for the town's businesses and residents.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Early on Wednesday, October 4, they joined forces to support the hardworking members of the Rural Fire Service who for hours had been battling to control the Coolagolite Road fire and protect properties.
While some residents had left for evacuation centres in Narooma and Bega, those who elected to stay wanted to thank the firefighters.
One woman who preferred not to be named was so grateful to the firefighters for saving her home in Barragga Bay.
"They did an amazing job," she said.
READ ALSO:
Bermagui Country Club prepared some food and delivered it to the firefighters on Tuesday.
Mr Patterson said Woolworths and Honorbread donated food which Kelly Eastwood turned into meals for the RFS volunteers, while several women prepared large plates of sandwiches on Wednesday.
He said there were much-needed free caffeine hits for the firefighters too, from Eurolicious, Mister Hope and Horseshoe Café.
Meanwhile Mr Patterson is helping a couple who only recently moved to Cuttagee and lost everything to the fire.
A Disaster Declaration has been made for the Bega Valley LGA which unlocks initial support for affected communities.
The assistance is provided through the jointly-funded Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Arrangements.
Individuals, small business, primary producers and non-profit organisations can access a range of special assistance measures.
Rallying together to help those hit
The community has responded strongly to the plight of Coolagolite dairy farmers Byron and Richelle Jackson.
Their farm has suffered losses worth hundreds of thousands of dollars as it was hit by fires for the second time in four years.
Their friends, Honey Atkinson and Georgie Kite, set up a GoFundMe campaign on Wednesday, October 4, to raise $30,000.
Within 20 hours people had donated $37,000.
As of midday Monday, October 9, donations had reached $89,303.
At the Moodji Futures Dinner in May 2023, Ms Jackson spoke about their six-year effort to run a dairy farm in a way that is good for the cows, for people and for the planet amid drought and bushfires.
"The drought hit us hard and come September 2019, it had us on our knees.
"We had no staff and 700 acres," Ms Jackson said at the dinner.
"We were in a pretty bad spot when the fires came.
"We managed to save all our livestock, the house and shed but Byron watched three years of fencing and work go up in front of his eyes."
This week, people from Bermagui were already on the farm helping the family to rebuild fences.
All door takings from Bobby Sox's performance at the River Rock Cafe on Saturday, October 7, will go towards the Jackson's GoFundMe campaign.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.begadistrictnews.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking news and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter: @Bega_News
- Follow us on Instagram: @begadistrictnews