Tilba Bushfire Resilience
Preparing Central Tilba village
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Central Tilba is a unique National Trust village that simply cannot be replicated if it were to be destroyed by a natural disaster such as a bushfire.
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Following the bushfires of 2019-20, the Tilba Chamber worked with Eurobodalla Shire Council, the RFS, NPWS and Minderoo Foundation (a grant provider) to appoint Susan Courtney, who is a bushfire expert with EcoLogical Australia, to help Central Tilba village prepare for any future bushfires.
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During 2023, EcoLogical prepared a Central Tilba Bushfire Resilience Plan and also prepared individual property plans for those businesses and residents in the village who wanted to be involved.
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A committee has been formed to work with Susan Courtney from EcoLogical to implement the village plan, using funding provided by Minderoo Foundation.
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The Central Tilba Bushfire Committee members are:
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Janine Halasz (Halls Committee)
0400 992 246
John Matthews (Central Tilba General Store)
0411 040 555
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Jason Meale (Passionfish)
(02) 4473 7474
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Tarquin Moore (Arcadia Jewellery)
0418 590 756
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Mark Stubbings (Tilba Chamber of Commerce)
0414 223 925
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John McMahon (Community Member)
0488 221 113
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What area are we talking about?
The village plan focuses on this area:
Preparing other parts of the Tilba District
In addition to helping Central Tilba village prepare for any bushfires, the Committee is providing information to, and advocating for, other parts of the Tilba District, including Tilba Tilba and Mystery Bay.
What have we done?
The Committee has been busy during the second half of 2023, including:
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Holding a Community Forum on 30 August 2023 at which Susan Courtney (from EcoLogical) presented the findings and recommendations in the Central Tilba Bushfire Resilience Plan.
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Starting to implement EcoLogical’s recommendations in the Central Tilba Bushfire Resilience Plan (See Document).
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Delivering to businesses and residents in Central Tilba village a newsletter with useful information (See Newsletter).
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Delivering to businesses and residents in Tilba Tilba village a similar newsletter with useful information (See Newsletter).
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That newsletter was also sent by email to people on the Tilba SCPA email list and an email list for Mystery Bay landowners and residents.
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Susan Courtney and Mark Stubbings met with senior representatives of NPWS and the RFS to discuss with them the need for an appropriate Asset Protection Zone into Bellbrook Farm to the west of Central Tilba village, along with the update of two important planning documents – a new Gulaga Reserve Fire Management Strategy (for Gulaga National Park, including Bellbrook Farm which will become part of the Park) and the Far South Coast Bush Fire Risk Management Plan (to appropriately recognise the value of our villages, buildings and landscape).
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John McMahon and Mark Stubbings attended a demonstration at Four Winds of an automatic sprinkler activation system, created by a company called Embarr, which operated on 3 October 2023 to save the pavilion and other buildings from the Coolagolite fire. We are talking to Embarr about potentially adapting that system to be used in Central Tilba village. It can also be installed at residences and other buildings.
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We are also working with different parts of the Tilba District to help establish communication networks (eg phone, email, WhatsApp) for each area or group of residents for use in a bushfire situation.
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Need more information?
If you need more information; have some suggestions; want to get involved; or to be added to an email list to receive future updates, please contact:
Mark Stubbings: stubbingsmark@gmail.com 0414 223 925
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