A shopping centre, an indoor pool complex, chain-saws and log-splitters --- these are some of the facilities now in use in bushfire-flattened districts, thanks to Rotary aid and initiatives.

Tony Thomas, RC Central Melbourne Sunrise, reports on Recovery to date.

Mev Connell of the Rotary Club of  Melbourne, is actively involved, being chairman of Rotary's Unified Victorian and Tasmanian Bushfire Recovery Committee. 

Speaking at the Camp Getaway (Axedale) Community Services Forum on August 1, he said that Victorian and Tasmanian District Funds collectively raised about $4m.

District 9800 raised nearly $1m. Most of that came from interstate districts, and from the UK, US, Canada, NZ, and PNG. But three clubs, Melbourne, Brighton and Melton Valley, raised large sums themselves.

Of course, the total Rotary contribution was dwarfed by the near $400m raised by the general bushfire appeal. But Rotary's good name was well used in leveraging the $4m through approaches to authorities about useful projects.

About $180,000 remains available in the District fund, plus capital equipment worth $65,000 that can be sold when no longer needed.

"We have additional funds committed like $100,000 for a Youth Centre at Kinglake.  Two other Districts are contributing a similar amount, for a $300,000 total", Mev says.

Funds have gone mainly to projects and not individuals, although one project involved a respite holiday to New Zealand for a group of 26 from Kinglake.

One success involves the large Motor Museum shed at Marysville, which survived the fire. The shed and land were on the market at $1.2m. Rotary saw the potential for it to house a shopping and business centre, with associated job creation. “We helped push the State government into buying it and Federal Parliamentary Secretary Bill Shorten secured another $1.2m towards conversion costs of what has now become Marysville Central.

Four Rotary Districts including District 9800, pledged a total of nearly $400,000 for the project, which now includes a supermarket, pizza parlour, cafe, a realtor, craft and farm produce shops, and consulting rooms.

Together with the re-opening of the primary school, Marysville Central has given the community quite a lift. "The locals now need to become more pro-active in maintaining the centre, since outside help is only part of the exercise", Mev says.

Another success was Rotary funding to help the YMCA re-establish an indoor swimming pool. This was in an undamaged spa centre behind the Cumberland Hotel, which was burnt out. The pool is 20m by 5m and up to 1.5m deep. "When we pulled the blanket off the pool the water was perfectly clear", Mev says.

The hall also had intact carpets, change rooms, lockers and \massage rooms. The Cumberland Hotel owners were not keen on the government agencies running the pool but were happy for the YMCA and Rotary to get behind the project. Rotary District 9800 put in $20,000 and Rotary Club of Brunswick put in another $20,000.   

Other Rotary initiatives include chainsaw safety training courses at  Kinglake and near Bacchus Marsh, partly to ensure firewood supplies for the many people living in caravans and annexes. At Kinglake we have provided two trucks, 12 chainsaws and four log splitters for this and other work.

Read Last week's Bushfire Update

Marysville Central on Opening Day

North Balwyn Rotarians at Kinglake

Handing over chainsaws and a log splitter