Jasmin Murray
Six months have passed since the devastating bushfire season of 2019-2020 but the small town of Cobargo on the south coast of New South Wales is still suffering.
Although nature has begun repairing itself with new grass and trees growing, the structural damages throughout the town will take years to be reconstructed.
Photo: Delia Holzhauser
Cobargo has a population of only 776 people however, as they are all heavily involved in the community, repairs to the town began as soon as it was safe to start.
The collaborative and committed nature of the people of Cobargo has made the clean-up following the fires easier as they work as a team to clear out the mess and start rebuilding the damage done to each other’s properties.
Delia and Barry Holzhauser’s Cobargo property suffered significant damage as the blaze came within metres of their home causing damage that will take years of repairs before the property returns to its original state.
In the month following the fires the Holzhauser’s never closed the blinds throughout the house,
“when we slept, we slept with the blinds open”
Delia Holzhauser
as they waited for the amber glow of the fires to make a return.
Photo: Delia Holzhauser
The fires that tore through their property burnt down all the fences, took out a chicken shed, caused their orchard frame to disintegrate, and removed the trees that once outlined the front fence.
They have already begun repairs to their property by planting 62 new trees which line their fence along the highway, rebuilding the chicken shed and rose house, along with replacing most fences.
Since the fires damaged their property, the Holzhauser’s have received support from other locals with the rebuilding of their property.
Home-made fire truck saves house from crumbling under flames
To protect their home while the remainder of the property was covered in flames Mr and Mrs Holzhauser were using hoses along with a sprinkler system set up around their house.
However, the main tool the Holzhauser’s used to protect their home was a fire truck built by Barry from an old box trailer holding a 1000 litre water tank, a RVC and a petrol pump. Barry connected the trailer to a tractor to move it around the house.
Photo: Delia Holzhauser
When Cobargo lost electricity for 36 days the Holzhauser’s were not able to use the pumps, however, they could still use town water which had very low pressure during this time due to a high volume of people using it.
While the fires were still ablaze Barry would
“start the generators up first thing in the morning, which would run the fridges and the pumps, pick up debris, and pushing fences and trees over”
Barry Holzhauser
to further prevent the fires from getting closer to the house.