After Black Saturday destroyed their home, this couple saw their dreams come true.
Their Th i home h was reduced d d to ashes – but now this Victorian couple have everything they ever wished for writes KRISTINE TARBERT
When Paul Mercieca and Amelia Coombes were caught up in the worst bushfires in Australian history, they had no idea the tragedy would one day become the catalyst for the family they’d always longed for.
“We saw everything we owned burn in the Black Saturday fires,” explains Amelia.
But in a twist of fate, the payout they received as a result allowed the couple to try for a baby.
“We were going to use it to buy a house, but thought it’d be no use as we had nothing to fill it with – so we spent the money on IVF instead,” says Paul.
“It’s a funny scenario, because we’d never have been able to do one without the other.”
The couple had relocated from Albury to a farm in Mudgegonga, country Victoria, less than a year before the notorious blaze, which killed 173 people and wiped whole towns off the map.
After suffering the heartache of a miscarriage and an ectopic pregnancy, they had hoped for a fresh start when disaster struck on Saturday, February 7, 2009.
“We moved to the farm to heal and recover, but the fire changed everything,” says Amelia, 31.
They’d spent the sweltering 48-degree afternoon relaxing at their home, when they noticed a faint glow in the distance.
“It looked like a sunset but on the wrong horizon,” Amelia recalls. “We went for a drive to find out what was going on, and realised it was a huge fire.” Racing home, they turned on the sprinklers and started hosing down their property. But as the wind picked up, ember fires flared up around them and the fire front crept closer. To make matters worse, only one paddock had been ploughed, so their house was surrounded by dry grass. “I had to let the horses out to make a run for it,” says Paul, 41, still shuddering at the memory of fiery branches dropping to the ground all around him. Loading their pets into their ute they tried to flee, only to be forced back. “Smoke ignited in front of us, like a curtain of fire, so our path was blocked and we had to turn back,” explains Amelia. By now their beloved home was engulfed in
‘Even the ends of my hair were catching fire – it was terrifying’
flames. “It was like a fire tornado, there were trees and tyres flying past on fire. Even the ends of my hair were catching fire – it was terrifying,” recalls Amelia, who crouched in the back of the ute with the dogs as Paul drove.
In a stroke of luck, they caught a glimpse of a fire truck driving away from their property.
They waved frantically to catch the attention of firefighter Barry Mapley and his crew, who pulled up their truck and spent four hours bravely trying to shield them from the oncoming flames, hosing them down and throwing fire blankets to protect them.
If it wasn’t for them, Paul and Amelia wouldn’t have survived. Even so, the fire’s aftermath was devastating. “It didn’t sink in that we’d lost everything until I had a shower and realised I didn’t have clean underwear to put on,” says Amelia, who was overwhelmed by the kindness of strangers who brought them food and clothing.
In a bid to rebuild their lives, Paul and Amelia relocated once again, to the Tallangatta Valley. They led a class action on behalf of the residents affected by the fire, and were awarded a portion of that settlement in 2012.
The compensation meant they could try for a family once again, and Matilda arrived in February 2015. “She’s everything we’ve ever dreamed of,” says Amelia.
Now, eight years on from the tragic events of Black Saturday, the couple have something new to smile about: they’re expecting their second child, conceived naturally, this month.
“It’s incredible! There’s no comparison to our life before the fire,” says Amelia. “Even if someone said, ‘Here’s a million dollars,’ we’ve got everything we could ever possibly want.”