Too close for Toolangi

By Kath Gannaway
TOOLANGI, by the narrowest of margins, has survived the Black Saturday bushfires as a green oasis in the mountains.
It did not escape unscathed.
Local couple Steve Fisher and Kate Ansett died in the blaze. A number of houses were burnt out as was the Demby Saw Mill, the rose farm, acres of bush and farmland.
Prominent local Steve Meacher said that as fires devastated areas to the west, including Castella, residents closer to the town fought off ember attacks that continued throughout Sunday and Monday.
He said a wind change had saved the township from the full force of the fire.
“It was so scary hearing the fire roaring in your direction and knowing there was nowhere to go and that you had to in the end stay and fight,” he said.
“We were so fortunate that at the 11th hour we got a reprieve with the wind change.”
Mr Meacher said Toolangi was on threat alert for six continuous days with fires surrounding the town, from Pauls Range and Chum Creek across to Myers Creek in the east, Glenburn and Murrindindi, Mt St Leonard and Kinglake and Castella.
In the days immediately after the fire town community meetings were held, the C J Dennis Hall opened as a relief centre and services including the Salvation Army, Centrelink and DHS were brought in.
An internet cafe set up with the help of Telstra enabled the district’s young people to keep in touch in their most familiar medium.
“The Singing Gardens and Toolangi Tavern have been doing an absolutely stellar job feeding not just the community but the CFA, DSE, police manning the road blocks and others working on restoring services in the area,” Mr Meacher said.
His estimation that the Toolangi community had “shown incredible backbone in sticking together and supporting each other”, was supported by Jan Williams, owner of the Singing Gardens.
“We have had all the food donated, a lot of it brought up by Healesville RSL. At the height of it, when people needed to see each other, we fed 60 people and everyone got up and did their own dishes,” she said.
Mrs Williams said workers from the Sugarloaf Pipeline project had been doing their bit also, using their machinery to help bury livestock and in one case, digging a dam.