General News
25 February, 2023
How our footy club rose from the ashes
IT is not easy running a country football netball club - finding players, coaches, volunteers and sponsorship is an annual challenge. But a bushfire destroying your facilities is an unexpected and devastating blow. That is what happened to Taylors...
IT is not easy running a country football netball club - finding players, coaches, volunteers and sponsorship is an annual challenge.
But a bushfire destroying your facilities is an unexpected and devastating blow.
That is what happened to Taylors Lake in 2002, when a pile of dry fairy grass from an empty lake across the highway caught fire and spread to the football ground.
The club, based 20km east of Horsham, was left homeless for 18 months while it rebuilt from the ground up.
“It was a tough period for the club, not only were we pouring any available cash into the rebuilding process but we lost a lot of revenue,” club president Travis Mackley said.
“There was a lot of hard work from volunteers and we’ve now got ourselves set up so hopefully we never encounter a situation like that again.”
Taylors Lake life member and local Country Fire Authority group captain Robert Kelm said a number of factors combined to create a perfect storm for the devastating blaze.
“Green Lake, just across the road from the oval, had gone dry and the fairy grass had got out of control. It was a fire waiting to happen.
“It was stinking hot with the forecast of the wind getting up.
"I rang some people around the community tied up with the fire brigade and the footy club and we decided to take both the local Green Lake fire truck and a private unit down to the oval, just in case.”
It proved to be a move of foresight.
“I got down to Dock Lake and had a word to the Drung South (the home side) tennis players and asked them about their fire plan and they said they didn’t have one.
"I then went over and had a word to the cricketers and warned them to stay put on the oval if a fire did break out.”
The fire ironically started when tourists in a bus got out to look at the big pile of fairy grass and their hot exhaust set fire to it.
“I got a call from Al Brooksby who was manning the unit and he said he could smell fire - and then it was on us really quickly.”
The tennis shed and the football change rooms were totally destroyed, and the social pavilion sustained serious damage, but due to the quick thinking of CFA members at the reserve there was no loss of life or serious injury.
“It was a horror event, but all you can think of is that it could have been so much worse.
"At least having the trucks right there from the start we were able to ensure everyone was kept safe,” Mr Kelm said.
The fire had taught the entire Wimmera sporting community lessons.
“We’re confident we won’t ever have a repeat of that day because there have been a number of changes,” Mr Mackley said.
“Firstly, you’d just never play sport on a day like that now.
"We’ve got the fire indexes that tell you when it is safe to play, and when you had a horror day like that with temperatures in the 40s and wind, then you’d just pull the pin straight away.
"Secondly, across the region we’ve been really lucky to have the (Wimmera-Mallee) pipeline implemented since then, which means we have much better access to water, and locally we also have a bore near the reserve in case of emergencies.”
Mr Kelm said it was critical to plan for consequences of climate impacts.
“Now, I think we’ve been through those droughts, and we’ve realised we’ve all got to pull together.
"We all want what’s best for the community and the environment, and by using everyone’s skills, including those with a bit of local knowledge, we can avoid these dangerous situations.
"We can’t let things like the reduction of fuel loads get caught up in red tape.”
In the years since, the football club has been through ups and downs.
“We’re like a lot of country clubs right around the state.
"It’s getting harder to find both players and volunteers, but we’re battling on.
"The rebuilt facilities have been great, and just the fact we’re out here after what happened is proof of the hard work and community spirit of our members and the local community,” Mr Mackley said.