Heart of The Storm — Black Summer Bushfires
As our regional community approaches the three-year anniversary of the Black Summer Bushfires, we’re forced to take stock on where our recovery journey stands today and reflect on the first-hand accounts of the residents who survived it.
Thanks to an original six-part podcast series entitled ‘HEART OF THE STORM’ made by Film Maker Clare Young, Producer Rose Ricketson, Sound Designer Nick Munnings, the volunteer team at Braidwood FM, and a generous handful of local collaborators and contributors, we can do just that.
Award-winning local producers Rose Ricketson & Clare Young.
Today, in the midst of another national disaster supercharged by climate change, it’s difficult to cast ourselves back to the black summer of 2019, where fires raged for nine excruciating months, decimating 46 million acres of bushland and driving many of our endangered species to the brink of extinction. For city residents, the summer of 19/20 was marked by the distant smell of smoke, masks and distressing nightly addresses from RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons. For regional residents at the heart of the storm, the burns of the black summer bushfires run much deeper.
Whilst the voices of Celeste Barber and Russell Crowe set social media feeds ablaze and reverberated across the globe, the voices from some of Australia’s worst-affected regional towns, such as Nerriga, fell silent. It wasn’t until the region’s much-loved community radio station ‘Braidwood FM’ started to broadcast critical updates from the front-line, that these stories began to surface and ripple throughout the region.
Among the hundreds of residents anxiously tuning in to hear community members such as ‘Phil on The Hill’ and ‘Villa in The Village’ provide updates from their respective vantage points, were Braidwood creatives Clare Young and Rose Ricketson. “Braidwood FM became the lifeline of our community.” says Young. “At the time, they were the only way we could find out what was happening and feel like we were all in this together’.
Driven by a burning desire to amplify these inspiring stories and generate collective community healing, Clare, Rose and Terry Campese from the QPRC Bushfire Recovery Team conceived the idea of an original six-part podcast series, entitled ‘The Heart of The Storm’.
The podcast series pilot episode ‘The Good People of Nerriga’, is a powerful retelling of the night an entire community sheltered in its lone pub, as the firestorm ripped though their 72-person town. Told through the emotionally-charged voices of thirty bushfire survivors including Bombay resident Cathy who shares through tears “I said we’ll be right Laurie, I don’t think it’s going to come here to us and then, all of a sudden, it wasn’t alright” and the lone pub owners themselves, Phil & Sarah Smith, the impact of this pilot is nothing short of profound.
As Leon Hagle, Nerriga resident and firestorm survivor reflects, “I listened to it (The Pilot) on the radio with my mate. He had rain on his face. We all did. Even though it’s been hard relicing it, I think it’s really important to have it recorded for the prosperity of future generations..so they understand what happened..all our stories of survival”.
With the support of Gordon Waters at Braidwood FM, Community Producer Rose Ricketson and Award-winning Filmmaker Clare Young will release five additional episodes which document the experience of more than 150 local bushfire survivors. As a nod to the genesis of the series, episode one entitled ‘The March to Town’ was broadcast live from the Braidwood FM Van during the series official launch on Saturday the 3rd of December, 2022.
At its core, this podcast series is an exemplary display of collective community healing in the face of shared tragedy. Through quintessential Australian humour, tears and compelling storytelling, each podcast offers listeners an insight into the past and existential lessons for the future. These lessons will be preserved and archived in the Braidwood Museum for future generations to draw upon.
As Composer and partner of the project Michael Simic composes so eloquently “stories are the lifeblood of community, they help us deal with our most difficult trials - fear, tragedy and loss - and then, give us hope and bind us together”.
About The Podcast
HEART OF THE STORM is an original six part podcast series documenting our community’s experience of the Black Summer Bushfires. Told entirely by local voices and proudly brought to you by Braidwood FM, the stories in this series illuminate the true grit and community spirit of those in our region.
Media Enquiries & Interview Requests
For interview requests and/or additional information, please contact heartofthestorm@braidwoodradio.com.au
Photography by Asha Kidd. Graphics by Elke Kramer.
