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Two agencies in Colac, Victoria, have joined forces to help the small dairy farm community get back on their feet after the devastating February fires.
Merryl Hilton of One Agency lives in the community and said that the destruction had had a huge consequence for the residents.
“Many homes in the areas surrounding the fire zone have no drinking water as it has been tainted by ash and soot. People haven’t just lost homes; they’ve lost their livelihoods as well,” Ms Hilton said.
Twenty-six homes were destroyed in the fire, with a further 40 damaged and countless milking sheds and paddocks ruined.
The government provided 40 B-trains of hay as the hay stocks won’t replenish until August due to weather conditions.
Drinking water has also been affected as the ash in the tanks has made it too putrid to drink and there is no way to rid the tanks of silt.
Ms Hilton’s property and supplies were spared, which allowed her to quickly start fundraising to buy drinking water.
Ms Hilton raised $1,800 for water and other essentials before making plans to hold an auction raffle to raise further funds for the community.
Ms Hilton has partnered with ANZ and rival competitor Michael Stewart of Charles Stewart Real Estate to raise money at the event.
“We will be swapping our corporate logo hats on the evening. Normally, you wouldn’t want a rival at an event, but this is about the wider community and letting egos go,” the agent said.
The goal of the auction is to raise $20,000 worth of hay for feeding the stock.
“But we would love to raise twice as much as that. I don’t think people know about the catastrophe that befell the town of Colac,” Ms Hilton said.
“People didn’t just lose homes.”
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