Kintsugi Heroes - Alpine Series Kintsugi Heroes

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
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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
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Theme Song: "Broken"
by Colin Lillie

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
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Theme Song: "Broken"
by Colin Lillie

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
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Theme Song: "Broken"
by Colin Lillie

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
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Theme Song: "Broken"
by Colin Lillie

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

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Theme Song: "Broken" by Colin Lillie