Rebuilding St Andrews and Christmas Hills

The Communities

The historic goldfields town of St Andrews, with a population of approximately 1500 people, is the largest of the towns in this area. Its local economy is driven by the agricultural sectors. Local businesses include tradespeople, IT based businesses, artists and grape growers. St Andrews is no stranger to bushfires having been heavily impacted in 1851, 1893, 1962 and now, 2009.

Christmas Hills, home to the Sugarloaf Reservoir and Park, has a population of 566 and has a history of bushfires which includes the fires of 1893, 1939, 1962 and 2009.

The Bushfires

St Andrews was hit with the full force of the bushfires, with nine people perishing. In addition, it recorded large scale destruction with 65 properties destroyed and a further 20 sustaining damage.

Christmas Hills recorded no fatalities but eight properties were destroyed.

While there was no loss or damage to community assets and infrastructure in St Andrews and Christmas Hills, and no large businesses were directly affected by the fires, a number of smaller businesses in the agricultural sector lost crops and livestock, and tradespeople lost vehicles, tools and business records. The disruption to phone and internet services has created a loss of earning potential for IT and home-based businesses. It has also impacted on service businesses with gas and stock feed suppliers losing a large percentage of their market.

A significant amount of flora and fauna was burnt and local waterways suffered a large degree of damage. There was significant damage to road infrastructure and signs, with erosion damage to drainage infrastructure, culverts and bridges. Some of this damage resulted in property owners being denied access to their properties. Subsequent rain has also led to further erosion and flood damage in burnt areas, and further downstream in unburnt areas.

Recovery Plan

Since the 2009 bushfires Community Recovery Committees and the Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority (the Authority) have 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: