A YELLOW ribbon tied between two remembrance rails signaled something the Haven community would rather not have experienced.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Next week marks 10 years since the Remlaw fire destroyed 11 homes in the area, multiple sheds, the Horsham Golf Club clubhouse, fencing, stock and thousands of trees.
On Saturday, the community gathered at Haven to commemorate the anniversary of the day now known as Black Saturday.
The opening of the two remembrance rails was the centrepiece of the event, with the yellow ribbon the official symbol of the 2009 Victorian bushfires that claimed 173 lives across the state.
Victorian Governor Linda Dessau, the patron for the state’s Black Saturday anniversary commemorations, cut the ribbon before placing a lock on the rails to symbolise the community’s strength.
Community members were then invited to place their own locks.
Haven’s Kevin and Sandra Wallis, who lost sheds, trees and livestock in the fire, said the way the community banded together during and after the fire was amazing.
“We feel very blessed to be part of this community,” Mrs Wallis said.
“People really did rally to support each other.
“Everyone had a lot of work to do – it hit pretty hard.”
Margaret Pope, who lived in Haven at the time of the fire before moving to Horsham 18 months ago, lost everything but her house.
“It really looked like a moonscape afterwards,” she said.
“I had a caravan up against the house, and one of the firemen reckoned if the caravan hadn’t been there, the house would have gone.”
Kevin Lane, whose forebears helped establish the Haven school, said it was hard to explain what such a day meant to the community.
“There are lots of hardworking people here to support each other,” he said.”
“There’s a lot of passion in this community.”
Ms Dessau said she and her husband Anthony Howard had been travelling around bushfire-affected areas across the state.
“One thing Tony and I both noticed is just how generously people have shared their stories with us,” she said.
“I think as we reflect back on the 10 years that have passed, we can understand why milestones are just so very important.
“They do remind us to look backwards, but they remind us to look forwards as well.
“We need to remember the past, we need to remember what people have been through, but we need to remember too the wonderful first responders who helped so much at the time and all those who have continued to help and rebuild and help in recovery ever since.”
