Manager, Flowerdale Village 2009

Working in a quiet office at Halls Gap with familiar surroundings on a warm Monday morning I am wondering if I really did spend nine months living at the Flowerdale temporary village in 2009. One 40th of my adult life so far! Of course I did, I know I did, its just that so much happened in that time and yet when I think of Flowerdale village my mind seems to be numb! I can’t explain this, I suppose it doesn’t need to be explained, it will change, I may have some strong emotions soon, maybe.

The Flowerdale village is a temporary village set up on the local recreation reserve for families whose homes were destroyed in the Black Saturday fires. I accepted the offer to work for Uniting Church Camping as manager of the Flowerdale village and arrived in Flowerdale in late April. The landscape was stark and desolate, many people in the community looked shell shocked, they seemed to be at a distance; there in body but not in spirit. Many people shared with me what happened to them in the lead up to February 7th, what happened on the day and in the days afterwards. I didn’t need to respond or pretend to understand what it was like to experience such things, I just listened.

One of the things that seemed to be a common experience and a source of great frustration for many village residents was the loss of control they experienced after the fires. Many of the residents had been independent people, providing for themselves, owned their own home and perhaps some land as well; they did not need the assistance of community service agencies, churches and various government agencies. Suddenly and unexpectedly they were dependant on others for everything. Food, shelter, clothing, water, transport, everything!

This apparent loss of control over their own affairs was and still is difficult for many people. The strong desire to get back into their own home, to cook in their own kitchen, to do the washing in their own laundry, to spend time in their own shed, is both a driving force and a source of frustration for many. In some cases this need to be in control is lived out by trying to control other things, sometimes this is positive, sometime it becomes destructive.

The approaching one year anniversary of Black Saturday is an important milestone. Most of the families I worked with want it to be a quiet day, a day with close friends and other local community members, a date to get past; and then look forward.

When I left Flowerdale village in late January 2010 the shell shocked look on the faces of the locals was long gone. Determination is more likely to be evident, a strong determination to succeed by staying and rebuilding. Some families have left the district, only some of them will return. The community is regaining strength through the work of many and support from across the world, the future looks bright for the community as a whole, however, the emotional trauma is deep and the losses are great, the coping skills of many are depleted, for some there are still great difficulties ahead.