THE HEART OF TATHRA
Having recovered from disaster with aplomb, Tathra is a must on the NSW South Coast.
THE MORNING OF SUNDAY 18 MARCH, 2018, started out like any other for the locals of Tathra, on New South Wales’s idyllic Sapphire Coast. Karen Urquhart had taken Bailey, the family dog, for a walk and following breakfast back at home, had mown the lawn, admiring the adjacent bushland that had attracted her and her husband Ken to this block on Dilkera Road in the first place. The temperature was rising, and Karen was glad to have finished the job by 11am.
At the Tathra Beach House Apartments, right opposite the beach, owner Rob White had checked out the guests who were departing and was preparing for new arrivals due later in the day.
Down the road, Mitch and Alexis Creary were doing what they did most Sunday mornings in summer – they were at the beach watching their kids do nippers (learning skills that would set them in good stead to become surf life savers of the future) in front of the Tathra Surf Club. The kids were having a ball, and the parents were happy to be out by the sea as the day heated up.
Meanwhile, in Queanbeyan, Rural Fire Service (RFS) member Nathan Barnden, originally from Bega, began monitoring a fire that had started at Reedy Swamp outside of Tathra. As a former volunteer in Bega, where his father Clem and brother Michael were still with the RFS, he was concerned. An hour or so later he rang his brother Michael who had been called on duty and was on his way to Tathra. The conversation about the fire was enough to make Nathan jump in his car for the three-hour drive back home.
I was also paying close attention to events on this Sunday morning since two of my brothers and many friends also live in Tathra.
THE FIRE STORM
Karen and her husband Ken began to realise that the threat was serious by mid-afternoon. “We had a bushfire plan to leave – knowing that our
location was pretty high risk on that day and that there were high fuel loads in the forest,” Karen says. “The smoke was increasing rapidly and it felt dangerous. We made the decision to leave and started grabbing things. But,” her voice wavering, “we didn’t factor in the dog.
“Bailey started having problems breathing because of the smoke, so I put him in the car and we left, with Ken grabbing a few more things. We drove past fires and through smoke and finally got out of Tathra to head to Bega, shocked and shaken.”
The Crearys made the call to leave early, at about 2.30pm. Rob White, anxiously trying to find out what was happening, evacuated his guests to Tathra Beach, where otherworldly images would later emerge of people in the water and on the beach as the sky turned an angry black and orange.
Michael Barnden recalls heading towards Tathra into an unnerving darkness. His dad Clem was beside himself that he couldn’t take up his usual position of captain of one of the local RFS brigades, due to a leg operation the week before. All he could do was listen to the radio traffic between Fire Control and the trucks, as first Michael and then Nathan (who was actually put into the role of divisional commander for the Tathra fire as soon as he arrived) threw themselves into fighting a fire he sensed – he knew – was going to be catastrophic.
It was: the fire tore through tinder-dry bush between Reedy Swamp and Tathra in no time flat, and in the hot, smoky light of day on 19 March it was assessed that it had destroyed 65 houses, 35 cabins and caravans, with another 48 houses damaged. It was an intense and terrifying night for all involved. Michael said it was an awful feeling knowing he and his fellow firefighters could not save everybody’s homes no matter how hard they tried. Nathan choked back emotion as he recalled driving past the burning homes of his friends, his old school teachers, and people he had known his whole life and not knowing if they were okay.
Karen and Ken’s home was lost, and so was Mitch and Alexis’s place, but the Tathra Beach House Apartments were saved, with Rob White trying desperately to put out spot fires as quickly as they started. After a nervous wait, I found out that my family members were safe, and that their houses had been spared. In fact, the fire could have been much worse; no infrastructure was destroyed and mercifully not one life was lost. Most of the town’s holiday accommodation was intact, and the two icons of the town – the Tathra Wharf, built in 1862, and the Tathra Hotel, which dates back to 1888 – were still standing.
TATHRA BOUNCES BACK
All the reasons why people love living in Tathra and visitors love going there still apply, post fire. It still has its beautiful beach, which stretches for three kilometres right up to the mouth of the Bega River, perfect for a morning stroll, a swim in the crystal-clear water in front of the surf club, or for surfers and stand-up paddle boarders to catch a wave without the city crowds. You might even see whales, which often cruise off the coast and sometimes come closer in.
The wharf is still the only remaining timber deep-water wharf on the entire east coast of Australia. It is a hugely popular spot for fishing, and also has an exceptional gift shop and cafe – The Wharf Locavore. Upstairs, the Wharf Museum has many old photos of the wharf and the local area.
The two icons of the town – the Tathra Wharf and the Tathra Hotel, which dates back to 1888 – were still standing.
And Kianinny Bay, 1.5 kilometres south of the ruggedly captivating Tathra Head, is just as beautiful for a swim or snorkel, and is also the place the deep-sea fishing boats launch out to sea. When I visited on the first anniversary of the fire, four huge stingrays hovered near the surface of the water waiting for titbits from the fishermen cutting up their catch.
There are some amazing bush walks to or from Tathra, and mountain biking is becoming a big drawcard for locals and visitors alike, reports Karen. “The trails have been made by dedicated community members who had a vision for this town and truly have put hours into creating the most amazing trails for all capabilities.”
One of my favourite spots to visit is Mumbulla Falls in Biamanga Cultural Area, a waterfall that over time has shaped a natural slide that you can slip down before falling about a metre into a stunning rock pool. The water is fresh from the mountaintop so it’s cold, pure and invigorating.
THE SUM OF US
But there is so much more to Tathra than just natural beauty. It is the community spirit and the people of the Far South Coast themselves that set this part of the world apart. This was never more evident than during the firestorm and in its immediate aftermath. It was the locals who stayed behind to put out spot fires in their neighbourhoods, saving not just their own home but the homes of their neighbours and friends. It was the guy at the coffee shop who provided free coffee for residents and firefighters for days after the inferno. It was the caring people of Bega who looked after the Tathra evacuees at the Showgrounds, providing food, clothing, bedding and hugs.
It was this community-wide embrace that persuaded the people who lost their homes to rebuild. Mitch and Alexis are already living in their new house, built on the ashes of the old one. Karen and Ken agonised over the decision, but they kept coming back to the block that they had lived on for 20 years and where they had raised their children. The plans for their new home have been approved and building should start soon. “At the end of the day we love Tathra,” Karen says. I will second that.