Silvertop forced to weather the storm
by Keith Anderson Just as they were looking to open again after the COVID-19 lockdown the owners of Silvertop Cottages, midway between Erica and Rawson, have suffered another major blow.
The latest blow came in the form of gale force winds early in the morning of Monday of last week when the wind brought a tree crashing onto one of the three cottages and another onto a storage shed.
Steve Kent, who with his wife Sharon, bought the property about a year ago said plans to re-open have been put on hold.
It hasn’t been a great year to take over the business, Mr Kent said in something of an understatement.
The fallen trees were cleared last Tuesday and Mr Kent said another that split would be assessed for safety but was likely to have to be cut down.
Erica SES attended the property to help with the clear up.
Unit controller Tiff Moore said it was one of a number of call-outs the unit received in the wake of the high winds on early Monday.
They included to incidents of property damage and roads blocked by trees that had fallen across them.
Damage from the winds was widespread across Gippsland.
The SES’s community resilience off icer for the region Jane Fontana said that in the 12 hours from midnight on the Sunday SES units received more than 160 requests for assistance.
Warragul was one of the busiest units responding to 35 call-outs.
Most were about trees across roads and driveways and damage to fences from fallen trees.
Ms Fontana said there were also many reports of unsecured items such as outdoor settings and trampolines “flying away” on the wind, a reminder she said for people to make sure they are removed on tied down when sever weather is forecast.
Silvertop Cottages’ Mr Kent said he and his wife would consider in the next few weeks when they might reopen their facility to visitors.
“We had been getting some ‘phone inquiries over recent weeks” after the end of restrictions that prevented people from Melbourne, a major part of their market, from travelling to regional areas.
The cottages were initially built about 11 or 12 years ago.
Their main attractions are their peace and surrounding State forest, the nearby Walhalla historic village and townships of Rawson and Erica, the Walhalla goldfields railway, Mount Erica, Cooper’s Creek, the Alpine Walking Trail and Thomson River.