December 29 2009, a date etched into history for the little Avon Valley Town of Toodyay.  Shortly after noon that day, a raging fire swept through the rolling hills of this picturesque town leaving nothing but ash in its wake.  The speed and ferocity of the fire was something one had to see to believe.  The front was moving 10km’s per hour with embers starting fires some 4kms away.  For this region, fire is just another part of the harsh summer, residents ensure their gutters are clean, firebreaks are cleared around their properties and then it really is just a lottery to see if a fire will break out.  The action of FESA and the Toodyay Shire with the many volunteer fire brigades that came from all over the state ensured that the fire was stopped in its tracks quickly.

Driving through the devastated areas of the town is a puzzling experience.  37 homes were victim to the fire that afternoon and it is really only luck that there were not more.  One side of the bitumen road a house stands tall with its lush green gardens and fencing in tact, yet on the other side is charred and twisted iron in a pile surrounded by burnt tree’s and native bushes, all that is left of someone’s home.  Driving through the worst effected area’s a house stands while its garage, which adjoins the home, is completely destroyed then the neighbour’s home is burnt to the ground and only the garage remains. 100m to the side of these homes a house is untouched by the fire. 

With the fire raging through the hills behind the racecourse that afternoon, there was little hope that the course and its historic buildings would survive.  Initial reports from those attending to the fire were that there was nothing left, buildings were reportedly affected and the racetrack completely destroyed.  When daylight broke the next day, reports came through that the racetrack had been badly burned and the outside running rail destroyed, however, all buildings seemed to be standing.  Due to the unsafe nature of the roads entering the racecourse we were unable to reach the racecourse to inspect the damage ourselves until several days after the fire.

Damage has been limited to the swabbing box which has been completely destroyed, horse stalls which have also been burnt, a storage shed and the racetrack and running rail.  Fire has licked the verandah of the Jockey Rooms, however, has caused no damage.  The racetrack, once lush and green is now black and crunching under foot, with just few green blades of grass every now and then.  During 2007 the Toodyay Race Club spent a little under $30,000 replacing its inside running rail so that it would meet the safety standards required to conduct its race meeting, thankfully this rail is still standing and appears to be in good order.  The reticulation system unfortunately has not been as lucky and has been completely destroyed.

While inspecting the course during the afternoon, a lonely white ute drove into the horse stalls.  The ute was loaded with hay bales and bags of horse feed and I wondered if it was just a passerby, popping in to assess the damage.  The driver approached John Prater, chairman of the TRC and myself and said that he had come to Toodyay that afternoon at the request of his daughter, Aimee, to donate what they could.  Aimee, he explained, was a keen horseperson and wanted to contribute to the people in town who had suffered from the fire.  John and I walked over to the vehicle to meet Aimee and thanked her for her kind donation.  Aimee and her father Ian, drove from Dardanup that day to make this donation as Aimee explained she herself in the past the been the recipient of generous support and it was important to her that she give something.  During 2007, Aimee underwent a double lung transplant to save her life as she was suffering primary pulmonary hypertension.  After the surgery, Aimee was unable to walk again, however the use of her legs did not stop her from her life long passion of riding horse’s.  As soon as she was able, Aimee was riding and competing and after receiving incredible financial support from the WA public she was able to represented Australia at a Para Equestrian Event in England in 2008. 

The word “Toodyay” translates to “Place of Plenty” and it is when we look around that we realize that this is truly the case.  Volunteer firefighters and FESA personnel that have been fighting and moping up the fire zone for days, the service workers of Western Power that have spent every hour of daylight replacing power lines and restoring power to the many effected homes and businesses of the area, the volunteers that have been supplying food and water to the many workers, the list just goes on, these people have chipped in where they have been able.  Toodyay has plenty, plenty of community spirit, and with the wider community of WA support through donations to the bushfire appeal and donations such as Aimee Blakiston’s, the rebuilding of this devastated area, just over the hill from Perth, will be made all the more bearable for those affected.