Alpine Series
What the fires taught us about staying
Geoff Dinning
A Rotarian stays present three years after bushfires, learning that recovery means showing up when the cameras leave.
Kintsugi Studio
Alpine Series
Geoff Dinning
A Rotarian stays present three years after bushfires, learning that recovery means showing up when the cameras leave.
You don't have to be in crisis to call.
In early January 2020, as fires tore through the Upper Murray region in Victoria, Geoff Dinning and other Rotarians realised they needed to act. What started as a simple idea to get books into burned-out schools grew into something far larger: a three-year commitment to help a community rebuild far beyond what the cameras captured.
Geoff's district bushfire committee tackled needs as they surfaced. They delivered dairy pellets to farmers, coordinated two or three hundred semi-trailers of hay (though they learned the hard way that hay needs tarping when rain comes overnight). They arranged temporary caravans for families with no homes. They worked closely with Gateway Health to reach isolated farmers in the hills where phone signals didn't reach, handing out over 40 compassionate grants of 2,500 dollars. Young ambulance drivers raised the alarm about suicides, leading to a memorial walk from Kaji War to Corryong. A toy library brought young families together. Three years on, Geoff's committee is wrapping up its formal work, but new cases still surface.
What strikes hardest is what Geoff observed in winter: people who wouldn't light their fires because seeing flames brought back memories they couldn't face. Some homes still aren't rebuilt, waiting for permits and builders. The frustration strains marriages. The work of recovery continues quietly, through other organisations now, but Geoff's insight remains clear: what makes people feel looked after is seeing the community show up, whether Rotary clubs, rugby clubs, or churches. It doesn't matter if you were playing football against each other before the fires. When the going gets tough, people pull together. That's what stayed.
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