Kintsugi Heroes - Alpine Series

Kintsugi Heroes Originals
Kintsugi Heroes Originals
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Sharing stories of the 2019/20 Black Summer Alpine Bushfires in Australia. Kintsugi Heroes are partnering with the Myrtleford Neighbourhood Centre to improve community connectedness, cohesion and resilience following the Alpine fires by capturing and telling the overcoming adversity stories of some of the Alpine local "Kintsugi Heroes". The 2019/20 Black Summer was one of the most devastating bushfire seasons in Australian history — and for the Alpine communities, the impact didn't end when the fires did. The Alpine Series is a story about what happens after the smoke clears — when the trucks leave, the headlines fade, and a community is left to do the slow, quiet work of rebuilding. Not just homes and fences and paddocks, but trust, routine, and a sense of safety that fire takes years to return. Through honest, unhurried conversations with the locals who lived it, we hear what regional resilience actually looks like up close. Stories of neighbours who became family, businesses that found ways to reopen, families navigating grief and uncertainty, and a community that refused to be defined by its hardest chapter. From the volunteers and the first responders to the kids, the elders, and the everyday locals holding it all together — every voice in this series is a thread in something stronger than any single fire. Whether you've lived through a natural disaster, work in recovery or community resilience, or simply want to understand what regional Australia is really made of, The Alpine Series invites you to listen, witness, and connect. This is a special series of the Kintsugi Heroes Podcast, produced in partnership with the Myrtleford Neighbourhood Centre. Kintsugi Heroes is an Australian not-for-profit (DGR endorsed) dedicated to strengthening mental wellbeing through the power of storytelling. We believe lived experience is a gift to be shared, not a scar to be hidden. To find out more about Kintsugi Heroes and our other podcast series, head to KintsugiHeroes.com.au. Connect With Us: 🌐 Website: https://www.kintsugiheroes.com.au 📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@kintsugiheroes 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kintsugi.heroes/ 👥 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Kintsugi-Heroes-100084850387170/ ❤️ Donate (tax-deductible): https://www.kintsugiheroes.com.au/donate/#donate

  1. 4 days ago ·  Bonus

    Complex trauma and self identity: Karl Germann's 20-year fog | Kintsugi Heroes

    The 20-year fog Karl grew up in apartheid South Africa in a wealthy but emotionally distant Austrian-South African family, experiencing what he now understands as complex trauma rooted in his mother's narcissism and his father's clinical detachment. For decades he dissociated, unaware he was queer until his late twenties when he met a partner and came out to indifference from his family. He moved to London at 27, then Australia, but remained numb and disconnected from himself until the last two years. Only recently, after leaving corporate work and experiencing a workplace sexual harassment case, has he begun to reclaim his creativity, healing practice, and authentic self. He now writes, mentors others in isolation, and teaches people that the answers we seek live in the quiet spaces we're taught to fear. Karl Germann is a queer South African-born Australian now based in Port Macquarie. He spent two decades navigating dissociation and emotional distance from a privileged but cold family before recognizing his lived experience as trauma. He has since become a Reiki practitioner, author of the children's book The Land Where Unicorns Are Made, and community support worker dedicated to healing and connection. In this Kintsugi Heroes conversation with John Dwyer, Karl shares the story behind the moments below. 🎙️ IN THIS CONVERSATION: • Dissociation and small-t trauma can persist silently for decades without dramatic incidents, rooted in emotional distance and hypervigilance from childhood. • Coming out as queer or reaching any milestone does not instantly resolve the foundational trauma that shaped you. • Authenticity attracts more meaningful connection and professional success than conformity or self-censorship ever will. 🕒 CHAPTERS: 00:00 Welcome and introduction 01:27 Growing up in apartheid South Africa 08:00 Dissociation, trauma, and the Austrian father 14:30 A narcissistic mother and emotional distance 19:22 Coming out as queer at 27 27:50 Leaving South Africa for London and Australia 35:00 Corporate work, authenticity, and walking away 41:00 Climbing Kilimanjaro and metaphors for life 46:35 Writing, creativity, and The Land Where Unicorns Are Made 50:14 Reiki practice and community connection through Ankali 54:20 Building community, smiling, and winning people over 57:51 Advice for younger selves and closing reflections 🎧 If this story moved you, follow Kintsugi Heroes in your podcast app so you never miss an episode. 📌 RESOURCES MENTIONED: Out of the Fog: outofthefog.website carlfox.com: carlfox.com Lightunitedreiki.com: lightunitedreiki.com ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ABOUT KINTSUGI HEROES ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Welcome. We're glad you found your way here. Kintsugi Heroes was created from a simple belief: every person has a story worth sharing, and sometimes the story we need to hear arrives exactly when we need it most. Our name comes from the Japanese art of Kintsugi, where broken pottery is repaired with gold. Rather than hiding the cracks, they are honoured as part of the object's history. We believe people are much the same. The experiences that challenge us, break us, shape us, and help us grow are often the very things that connect us to one another. This channel is home to honest conversations about resilience, hope, grief, recovery, courage, love, and what it means to keep moving forward when life doesn't go to plan. Here you'll find six podcast series, each sharing stories through a different lens: • Kintsugi Heroes, hosted by John Milham • Animals & Us, hosted by Natalie Stockdale • Grit Diaries: From Grit to Grace, hosted by Simone Allan and Maryan Bova • From There to Here, hosted by Emma Bellamy-Dodd • Golden Threads: Stories of Disability & Resilience • Pride in Stories, hosted by John Dwyer (launching 31 July 2026) Every story shared here is offered with the hope that it helps someone feel a little less alone. A little more understood. A little more connected. Whether you're navigating a difficult season, supporting someone you love, or simply looking for meaningful conversations, you're welcome here. New episodes are released weekly across our series. If you'd like to help us keep these stories freely available to everyone, you can support our work here: https://www.kintsugiheroes.com.au/donate Thank you for being part of this community. We help people tell the stories they need to share so others can discover the story they need to hear. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ CONNECT WITH US ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🌐 https://www.kintsugiheroes.com.au ▶️ https://www.youtube.com/@kintsugiheroes 📘 https://www.facebook.com/kintsugiheroes 📸 https://www.instagram.com/kintsugi.heroes 💼 https://www.linkedin.com/company/kintsugi-heroes #KintsugiHeroes #LivedExperience #ResiliencePodcast #PrideInStories #GoldenJoinery #QueerJourney #MentalHealth #Dissociation #AuthenticSelf #FamilyTrauma #HealingWork #CommunityConnection #CreativityHeals ——— Mentioned in this episode: Thank You For Listening Follow the show, share it with someone who needs it, or share your own story at kintsugiheroes.com.au. Your story matters. Support Kintsugi Heroes Kintsugi Heroes is a not-for-profit, and every story we share is free for the people who need it. If this show has meant something to you, you can help us keep going. Visit kintsugiheroes.com.au and click donate. Every contribution helps us keep telling these stories, and it's tax-deductible.

    Complex trauma and self identity: Karl Germann's 20-year fog | Kintsugi Heroes

  2. 05/11/2023

    Reflections on Black Saturday: Empathy, Community & the Ladies of the Black Belt

    Ros Addison is the wife of Quinton Addison, who's also shared a story about the Black Saturday bushfires. And her story is quite remarkable. Sitting there with three German backpacking young ladies who were staying with them at the time, doing all the things that they learnt to do to try and save their house, which they're unsuccessful, and sitting there going to the dam wall, watching the fires literally burn down the house. And yet after the fires, a lot of them were brought together through the idea of these women getting together and just catching up for coffee. And this became something they did on a regular basis to help heal and talk. And some of the women lost their husbands in the fire. And Roz talks about this and the need for talking, for connecting with others, and how that probably saved her and saved her sanity. And I'm sure that for the other women who were part of this circle of women, they would say the same thing. Roz gives a beautiful account of that journey and how it impacted her and also the girls in the community at large. Biography: February 7, 2009 was a life affirming event for me. I sat protected behind our dam wall, with three young female German backpackers, three neighbours and our three family dogs, and watched our early 19th Century iron-bark sheep shed and our house burn to the ground. My husband Q, a CFA firefighter was on a truck fighting the fire elsewhere. Before he left, he showed the girls how to start and use the fire pump and hoses. Well, we had done that but like so many other petrol driven pumps, it stopped after we had wet down the area in front of the house. Fortunately Q had drilled our fire plan into my brain and that combined with skills learned in 30 plus years of being an operating theatre nurse, enabled me to take the necessary steps to survive this horrendous event and keep our young visitors safe. Of the 173 people who died on this day, 14 were from my neighbourhood with 65 homes destroyed. In the days following the fire I recognised the need for women impacted by the fire, to support each other. Two of them had lost husbands, several of us had had lost homes, with many others significantly impacted. We were in a period of bleakness and blackness! A chance encounter over a cup of tea, with a friend whose house had been only partly damaged, led to the creation of what was to become a place of security if not serenity. The Ladies of the Black Belt – morning tea group was born. Initially we invited only women who had been directly impacted by the fires. We needed a safe place in which our tears and fears could flow freely. As well as a place in which our stories and information about supporting resources could be shared. Now fourteen years later, our core group still meets with friends on each Thursday for coffee, tea, hot chocolate and the occasional can of coke! And, of course a good chat, a bit of humour and occasional silences as we remember friends passed. ***** We hope that you enjoyed this episode of Kintsugi Heroes - Alpine Series. Please take care: if you have been triggered by listening to this episode we recommend you get in contact with someone who can help keep you safe and give you the support you need. This may be Lifeline, AA, a friend, a counsellor, or some other support group. If you’d like to share your story on Kintsugi Heroes, please get in touch by contacting us via the website here - https://www.kintsugiheroes.com.au/contact. We hope you continue enjoying the heroes stories! Warmly, The Kintsugi Heroes team YouTube || Facebook || Instagram || LinkedIn || Website Theme Song: "Broken" by Colin Lillie

    Reflections on Black Saturday: Empathy, Community & the Ladies of the Black Belt

  3. 22/10/2023

    A meticulous record from a farmer's perspective with John McEvoy

    John McEvoy lives in the Alpine Region of Victoria where he is a school teacher and farmer. He tells the story of his experiences during and long after the catastrophic Black Saturday bushfires on February 7th 2009. Although his property did not directly impacted he tirelessly protected and supported his neighbours and the wider community. John has kept meticulous records of that time and pays tribute by naming many of his friends and colleagues who risked and a couple who lost their lives defending their homes and community. He is a humble man who made a massive personal contribution during the fires and the long recovery period. His story ends with a beautiful and touching account of a flock of sheep called the Marauders and a draft horse which defended them from the fire. Biography I currently farm with my wife Sharon, we run Angus cattle and Australian white sheep at Dederang in the Kiewa Valley. We were both teachers for many years. We have four grown up children, three of whom are involved in Agriculture. We love where we live and currently we are diving into Regen Agriculture. Contact the6maccas@bigpond.com ***** We hope that you enjoyed this episode of Kintsugi Heroes - Alpine Series. Please take care: if you have been triggered by listening to this episode we recommend you get in contact with someone who can help keep you safe and give you the support you need. This may be Lifeline, AA, a friend, a counsellor, or some other support group. If you’d like to share your story on Kintsugi Heroes, please get in touch by contacting us via the website here - https://www.kintsugiheroes.com.au/contact. We hope you continue enjoying the heroes stories! Warmly, The Kintsugi Heroes team YouTube || Facebook || Instagram || LinkedIn || Website Theme Song: "Broken" by Colin Lillie

    A meticulous record from a farmer's perspective with John McEvoy

  4. 08/10/2023

    Unsung heroes of the Myrtleford Neighbourhood Centre with Jill Graham

    In this episode of the Kintsugi Heroes Alpine Special, Ian spoke with Jill Graham who is Manager of the Myrtleford Neighbourhood Centre and also the Moyhu Neighbourhood Centre. Kintsugi Heroes are partnering with the Myrtleford Neighbourhood Centre to record the real-life stories of people who were impacted by or involved in supporting the community through the Black Summer fires as part of the Bushfire Recovery project. Jill’s passion for giving back to the local community comes through strongly in her story. She shares about the widespread confusion that arose in the community about what to do and where to go as the Black Summer bushfires increasingly took a hold in the Alpine region. Jill also shares the emotional heartache as members of her own family took on high risk roles to fight the fires and protect the local community. Jill’s story left Ian feeling a strong appreciation for people like Jill and the key role they play in supporting our local communities. ***** We hope that you enjoyed this episode of Kintsugi Heroes - Alpine Series. Please take care: if you have been triggered by listening to this episode we recommend you get in contact with someone who can help keep you safe and give you the support you need. This may be Lifeline, AA, a friend, a counsellor, or some other support group. If you’d like to share your story on Kintsugi Heroes, please get in touch by contacting us via the website here - https://www.kintsugiheroes.com.au/contact. We hope you continue enjoying the heroes stories! Warmly, The Kintsugi Heroes team YouTube || Facebook || Instagram || LinkedIn || Website Theme Song: "Broken" by Colin Lillie

    Unsung heroes of the Myrtleford Neighbourhood Centre with Jill Graham

  5. 24/09/2023

    The ripple effect of trauma & human response to fire within government with Mark Kettle

    Mark Kettle shares his unique perspective in his story about the Black Summer fires in 2019-20. During the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires, he was the Fire Advisor to the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change. He describes in detail what happened behind the scenes of the government's response to a major emergency in managing and reporting the fires, always mindful of their accountability to the people of Victoria. He offers insight into the human face of the government and the toll it took on everybody involved especially as COVID followed immediately after the fires, with the same teams moving straight into that challenging period. Biography Mark was a highly regarded Labor policy and political strategist at State and Federal level with an reputation as someone able to influence outcomes with government. He was experienced in crisis management including advising senior ministers during the Black Summer bushfires of 2019-20, Royal Commissions, Hotel Quarantine Inquiry and the COVID-19 response. Mark is now a lobbyist with his own business called Axiom Public Policy. Contact markkettle90@outlook.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-kettle-05923945/ ***** We hope that you enjoyed this episode of Kintsugi Heroes - Alpine Series. Please take care: if you have been triggered by listening to this episode we recommend you get in contact with someone who can help keep you safe and give you the support you need. This may be Lifeline, AA, a friend, a counsellor, or some other support group. If you’d like to share your story on Kintsugi Heroes, please get in touch by contacting us via the website here - https://www.kintsugiheroes.com.au/contact. We hope you continue enjoying the heroes stories! Warmly, The Kintsugi Heroes team YouTube || Facebook || Instagram || LinkedIn || Website Theme Song: "Broken" by Colin Lillie

    The ripple effect of trauma & human response to fire within government with Mark Kettle

  6. 10/09/2023

    The generosity of community and the Alpine economic shift with Darren Murphy

    Although Darren was not directly affected by the 2009 bushfires, he was a member of the Lion’s club in Myrtleford. He describes the response based on immediate needs like water and fencing, helping people socialise and fund-raising. He also shares the problems experienced by the business community during and after the fire when COVID hit, including lack of housing for workers. And the influx of new people escaping the cities, pushing up prices. He is also concerned about the ageing population of people available for the service clubs and what that means for the future. Like other’s we have spoken to Darren explains about the importance of sharing experiences with the community as part of the long-term recovery process. Biography: Retired Army Major RAEME Logistician Club Secretary/Recovery Planner Alpine Black Saturday Bushfires District 201 V6 Lions Club International Contact drmurf@bigpond.com We hope that you enjoyed this episode of Kintsugi Heroes - Alpine Series. Please take care: if you have been triggered by listening to this episode we recommend you get in contact with someone who can help keep you safe and give you the support you need. This may be Lifeline, AA, a friend, a counsellor, or some other support group. If you’d like to share your story on Kintsugi Heroes, please get in touch by contacting us via the website here - https://www.kintsugiheroes.com.au/contact We hope you continue enjoying the heroes stories! Warmly, The Kintsugi Heroes team YouTube || Facebook || Instagram || LinkedIn || Website Theme Song: "Broken" by Colin Lillie

    The generosity of community and the Alpine economic shift with Darren Murphy

  7. 27/08/2023

    A perspective from inside the Alpine Fires with Trav Ledger

    Trav Ledger's fast-paced story keeps us on the edge of our seats as he describes the progress of the 2019-20 fires in a couple of locations from the point of view of an experienced CFA volunteer from Wangaratta coming into the Alpine region to fight the catastrophic fires. One of many powerful moments he shares with us is that, although he was inspired to join the CFA by the Black Saturday fires in 2009, he and his crew had not lost houses in the previous fires they had fought. The loss of many houses this time was devastating for them.  'I've let it go; it was like, we're only a team; we can't do the impossible. And we gave it our best, and we passed it in some ways and failed in others. But it is what it is. I feel the loss of those people. But I know now that our crew did all they could, and they were so invested like I said, that they wouldn't have tried any harder if it was their own home.'    Bio Although a long way from the ocean he is a keen scuba diver, having undertaken 150+ dives in Australia and overseas.   He is married to Brooke and has two children Tom,12 and Ivy, 9. He works in the family business of training racehorses.    It was the 2009 Black Saturday fires that inspired him to joined the CFA, joining Killawarra Brigade late in 2009. Contact travisledger@bigpond.com We hope that you enjoyed this episode of Kintsugi Heroes - Alpine Series. Please take care: if you have been triggered by listening to this episode we recommend you get in contact with someone who can help keep you safe and give you the support you need. This may be Lifeline, AA, a friend, a counsellor, or some other support group. If you’d like to share your story on Kintsugi Heroes, please get in touch by contacting us via the website here - https://www.kintsugiheroes.com.au/contact We hope you continue enjoying the heroes stories! Warmly, The Kintsugi Heroes team YouTube || Facebook || Instagram || LinkedIn || Website Theme Song: "Broken" by Colin Lillie

    A perspective from inside the Alpine Fires with Trav Ledger

  8. 13/08/2023

    The impacts of bureaucracy on communities after disaster with Ron Janas

    Ron Janus, a retired local police officer, has been with the Country Fire Authority for thirty-two years. He is currently a member of the Buffalo River Fire Brigade and a Councillor with the Alpine Shire Council. His major ongoing concerns are firstly that mandatory evacuations are often through unsafe areas. He wants to see local safe zones set up. His other concern is that although mental health initiatives are very important, many country people just want to get one with it so maybe more funds should be directed towards fixing infrastructure. His advice to everyone in living or visiting in high-risk areas is: ‘Preparation and planning are key to it… Have a written plan within your house so everybody in the house knows what they're going to do.’ Biography: Ex-Military, Retired Police Officer. Active member of the Buffalo River CFA, Former Mayor and current Councillor of the Alpine Shire. Living in this community for 34 years. Married, Children and grandchildren. He enjoys the solitude of his garden, trees and natural wildlife. Contact: rgjanas@netc.net.au We hope that you enjoyed this episode of Kintsugi Heroes - Alpine Series. Please take care: if you have been triggered by listening to this episode we recommend you get in contact with someone who can help keep you safe and give you the support you need. This may be Lifeline, AA, a friend, a counsellor, or some other support group. If you’d like to share your story on Kintsugi Heroes, please get in touch by contacting us via the website here - https://www.kintsugiheroes.com.au/contact We hope you continue enjoying the heroes stories! Warmly, The Kintsugi Heroes team YouTube || Facebook || Instagram || LinkedIn || Website Theme Song: "Broken" by Colin Lillie

    The impacts of bureaucracy on communities after disaster with Ron Janas
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Sharing stories of the 2019/20 Black Summer Alpine Bushfires in Australia. Kintsugi Heroes are partnering with the Myrtleford Neighbourhood Centre to improve community connectedness, cohesion and resilience following the Alpine fires by capturing and telling the overcoming adversity stories of some of the Alpine local "Kintsugi Heroes". The 2019/20 Black Summer was one of the most devastating bushfire seasons in Australian history — and for the Alpine communities, the impact didn't end when the fires did. The Alpine Series is a story about what happens after the smoke clears — when the trucks leave, the headlines fade, and a community is left to do the slow, quiet work of rebuilding. Not just homes and fences and paddocks, but trust, routine, and a sense of safety that fire takes years to return. Through honest, unhurried conversations with the locals who lived it, we hear what regional resilience actually looks like up close. Stories of neighbours who became family, businesses that found ways to reopen, families navigating grief and uncertainty, and a community that refused to be defined by its hardest chapter. From the volunteers and the first responders to the kids, the elders, and the everyday locals holding it all together — every voice in this series is a thread in something stronger than any single fire. Whether you've lived through a natural disaster, work in recovery or community resilience, or simply want to understand what regional Australia is really made of, The Alpine Series invites you to listen, witness, and connect. This is a special series of the Kintsugi Heroes Podcast, produced in partnership with the Myrtleford Neighbourhood Centre. Kintsugi Heroes is an Australian not-for-profit (DGR endorsed) dedicated to strengthening mental wellbeing through the power of storytelling. We believe lived experience is a gift to be shared, not a scar to be hidden. To find out more about Kintsugi Heroes and our other podcast series, head to KintsugiHeroes.com.au. Connect With Us: 🌐 Website: https://www.kintsugiheroes.com.au 📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@kintsugiheroes 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kintsugi.heroes/ 👥 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Kintsugi-Heroes-100084850387170/ ❤️ Donate (tax-deductible): https://www.kintsugiheroes.com.au/donate/#donate

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