Rebuilding Balook
The Communities
Balook and district is a Gippsland farming community to the south of Callignee on the border of the Tarra-Bulga National Park, along the Grand Ridge Road.
Located at the start of the Balook Pioneer Trail, the local economy and employment is mainly driven by sheep, beef cattle and tourism.
Other communities in the district include the Tarra Valley and Blackwarry.
The Bushfires
Balook and nearby communities in the Wellington Shire were threatened by the Churchill complex of fires in February 2009, during which some 12,000 hectares were burnt across the Shire.
Thankfully, no lives or properties were lost. However, the social and economic impact of the fires on the area has been significant.
Tarra-Bulga National Park suffered minimal damage, but local agricultural industries suffered significant pasture loss. The fires, as well as the continuing effects of the drought in the region, meant that hay and winter turnout pasture was substantially reduced, thus extending the financial pressures on farmers in and around Balook throughout the winter months.
An estimated $20m to $30m worth of damage was done to timber plantations across the Wellington Shire and Latrobe City.
Recovery Plan
Since the 2009 bushfires Community Recovery Committees and the Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority (the Authority) worked in partnership with the community, other government departments and authorities, the philanthropic sector and private donors to deliver outcomes for the vast majority of recovery projects proposed in the 33 Community Recovery Plans across the state. The plans have been pivotal in driving and directing the community rebuilding and recovery effort, through a focus on the needs and priorities of each individual community.
With around 1,100 projects and ideas identified in plans across Victoria, the Authority estimates that around 800 of these have been addressed in varying ways. Hundreds more projects identified outside this process have been delivered across affected communities.
The attachments below include the Community Recovery Plan and the response and funding status for all of the projects originally identified:
| Email the Fire Recovery Unit or call 1800 055 714 |
