2 minute read
Farming through fires
Editorial and photography: Jesse Wray-McCann
The moment Bairnsdale Constable Greg Coates finished work the evening of the fires, he raced home to his wife and two young children to defend his own house.
Having grown up in the East Gippsland town and on his family’s farm at nearby Buchan, Const Coates was all too aware of the fire threat this summer posed.
“Coming into the fire season, we had one of the driest three-year periods on record in East Gippsland, so everyone was more aware than usual that it could be a tough year,” Const Coates said.
“I worked up to about 5pm when the fires came through on 30 December and myself and my shift partner both had to go home to defend our own properties.”
Const Coates was thankful his home wasn’t impacted, but his concern shifted to his parents John and Janice Coates in Buchan, who were facing fire threats from all sides.
“The last contact I had with them that night was a picture message showing the fire crossing the mountains on both sides of their house,” he said.
“Then telecommunications dropped out and I didn’t hear from them until my brother and I went up there the next morning.
“It was a massive weight off our shoulders when we saw they were okay.”
While his parents and their house made it through, their beef farm had been hit badly.
Const Coates was due to work three more days before going on planned leave but was allowed immediate time off to help on the farm.
Const Greg Coates takes time off to help out on his parents Buchan farm, which was significantly affected by the fires.
For days on end, Const Coates, his brother and parents worked long hours to save cattle, fix fences and clear roads.
“To get access to our property and cattle over near the Snowy River, it took two days of my brother and I on chainsaws and tractors just to cut a track through the bush,” he said.
“We were able to get those cattle back and muster them with horses to the Buchan property.”
Crucial to their recovery efforts were the donations of hay and feed from across Victoria.
“All the pastures we had planned to get us through summer got completely wiped out,” Const Coates said.
“The donations have been an absolute godsend and we can’t thank those people enough.”
He also praised the support of police from around the state who were deployed into the area to give local police a hand and a break, as well as those from the Heavy Vehicle Unit who provided escorts for convoys of trucks delivering hay and feed.
“They’re out of their comfort zone, obviously away from their own families,” Const Coates said.
“It means a hell of a lot that they’ve come up here to help us.”
