Rebuilding Gormandale and surrounds
The Communities
The rural community of Gormandale is located in the Merrimans Creek Valley approximately 183 kilometres east of Melbourne. Adjacent communities include Carrajung, Carrajung Lower and Willung South.
Home to approximately 750 people, Gormandale is essentially a farming community with an emphasis on dairy and beef cattle, sheep and grain.
A growing number of vineyards and wineries in the Gormandale area have added another dimension to the local economy.
The Bushfires
Gormandale and surrounding communities in the Wellington Shire were threatened by the Churchill complex of fires in February 2009.
No lives were lost in the Gormandale region, but eight properties and more than 12,000 hectares were burnt across the Shire.
While the dairy industry recorded significant pasture and stock losses, all farmers in the Gormandale region felt the impact of the fires coming on top of the continuing effects of sustained drought conditions.
Timber plantations across Wellington Shire and Latrobe City are estimated to have sustained $20m to $30m worth of damage.
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 |
