Regional Australian communities face a heightened risk from natural disasters, due to their geographic isolation and less extensive infrastructure and resources (vast distances with fewer roads and transportation links, lower population density, and limited telecommunication services). Populations are often more economically dependent on the land, creating greater vulnerability and threat in the face of destructive weather events.
The CFA, RFS and SES play an important role in mitigating the risk of natural disasters in regional communities. The Braidwood and Trentham regions each have well-developed CFA, RFS and SES resources, and these organisations feature heavily in the stories collected for the Voices of Regional Australia project. Through the stories, it is clear that these organisations also serve a central community-building function.
Braidwood
Photo by Jarrah Knowles
Braidwood was hit particularly hard by the Black Summer bushfires 2019-2020
- Catastrophic fires across south-east Australia
- “The most devastating bush fire season in NSW history” (RFS Bulletin 2020)
- 240 consecutive days of burning
- 25 deaths across NSW
- 2,500 homes lost, and more than 5.5 million hectares burnt (7% of the state)
Heart of the Storm podcast series
This 6-part podcast series, released in 2021, was made locally in Braidwood – created by Clare Young, and produced by Braidwood FM, Rose Ricketson, and Gordon Waters.
Over 60 people recounted their Black Summer bushfire stories, in more than 100 hours of recorded interviews with local film maker and podcast creator, Clare Young.
Find all six podcast episodes on Spotify
Full original interviews are housed in the Braidwood Museum and were made available to the Voices of Regional Australia project for analysis.
trentham
Photo by Nikky Fontana
Trentham has experienced several natural disasters, including bushfires and severe storms.
The 2021 wind storm
In June 2021, Trentham was impacted heavily by a severe wind storm that hit central Victoria .
- catastrophic storm with winds over 100km/hr
- collapse of masses of trees, causing loss of power and road closures cutting off access to communities for days
- over $10 million worth of damage
Photo by Lachlan Bence
‘the big storm’ publication
- ‘the big storm’ is a book comprising stunning photography, art, and first-hand accounts of the wind storm from the perspective of community members and emergency services personnel.
- Edited by Kathy Mexted and published in 2022 by the Hepburn Shire Council.
- The publication features the work of local photographer Sandy Scheltema. Her incredible collection of photos and stories can also be viewed here .
- The Voices of Regional Australia project was fortunate to have Sandy Scheltema join the team in 2024 as a community interviewer, conducting further local interviews recorded for analysis in the project.
Photo by Sandy Scheltema