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Exactly one year ago Malua Bay couple Philip Bull and Susan Magnay were among thousands on the coast who returned to discover fire had taken their home. Mr Bull and Ms Magnay were first alerted to the danger heading their way by a 6am phone call on New Year’s Eve telling them to evacuate to the beach. “You could tell that there was something up because the sky was totally the wrong color for six o’clock in the morning,” Mr Bull said. “And I said, ‘Susan, we’ve got to get out of here fast’.” They hurriedly packed some belongings, a change of clothes, some insurance papers, photographs and a laptop. Later they would regret not taking more time to get more of their belongings together. But as Mr Bull said: “We kind of felt we’d be back home by tea time.” The couple made their way down the road to the Batemans Bay Surf Life Saving Club, located at Malua Bay beach. Throughout the morning they were joined by more than 1000 people seeking shelter from the encroaching flames. People brought dogs, cats and horses down to the beach, even a duck and rabbit were spotted. Many parts of the South Coast, including Malua Bay, Batemans Bay, Rosedale, Mogo and Broulee came under attack from the Clyde Mountain Fire on New Year’s Eve 2019. “One of the things I vividly remember is sitting inside the surf club looking out towards the sea,” Ms Magnay said. “The color of the sky above the sea would go from orange to red to grey to brown to black and then back to orange again, it just seemed to change every couple of minutes at the peak of the fire.” This continued through most of the morning until, as the fire became visible and headed in their direction, everyone evacuated onto the sand and looked back towards their homes as they burned. “I think I was sort of numb,” Ms Magnay said. “People say to me, ‘oh it must have been really frightening’, but I don’t remember being frightened. It was too overwhelming to take in.” Mr Bull added: “The emotions came later once we knew what had happened.” What had happened was that their Malua Bay home and most of their belongings had been extensively damaged. After losing their home – the fire rendered it uninhabitable – the couple have been on a long path of resolving claims with insurance companies, something many thousands of people around the country have faced in the year since the fires. While they had a relatively painless experience getting a payout to cover their contents, their home insurance was an ongoing issue, complicated by the fact their unit was part of a strata. “We’re just twiddling our thumbs now,” Mr Bull said. However, while they have experienced loss Mr Bull and Ms Magnay insisted they escaped relatively unscathed considering they’d been able to rent a home at nearby Denhams Beach. They previously lived in the Bega Valley and know of many people in that community, particularly around Cobargo, who were still living under tarpaulins. Both admitted they had been scarred by the experience, something compounded by the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr Bull put it, “I wobble a bit now and again”, and Ms Magnay said images of fire could transport her back to that day. But they agreed that, despite the trauma, the most pleasing thing to come from the experience was the support and unity among the community. “There were a lot of children [on the beach] and they sort of formed themselves into little gangs,” Mr Bull said. “The older ones were looking after the little ones, which was lovely.” People shared food, water and supplies for those in need. A couple whom Mr Bull and Ms Magnay had only met on the beach insisted they spend the night at their home. This community spirit has continued throughout the year, as the region attempted to rebuild.
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Exactly one year ago Malua Bay couple Philip Bull and Susan Magnay were among thousands on the coast who returned to discover fire had taken their home.
Mr Bull and Ms Magnay were first alerted to the danger heading their way by a 6am phone call on New Year’s Eve telling them to evacuate to the beach.
“You could tell that there was something up because the sky was totally the wrong color for six o’clock in the morning,” Mr Bull said.
“And I said, ‘Susan, we’ve got to get out of here fast’.”
They hurriedly packed some belongings, a change of clothes, some insurance papers, photographs and a laptop. Later they would regret not taking more time to get more of their belongings together.
But as Mr Bull said: “We kind of felt we’d be back home by tea time.”
The couple made their way down the road to the Batemans Bay Surf Life Saving Club, located at Malua Bay beach.
Throughout the morning they were joined by more than 1000 people seeking shelter from the encroaching flames.
People brought dogs, cats and horses down to the beach, even a duck and rabbit were spotted.
Many parts of the South Coast, including Malua Bay, Batemans Bay, Rosedale, Mogo and Broulee came under attack from the Clyde Mountain Fire on New Year’s Eve 2019.
Susan Magnay examines the damage to her Malua Bay home on New Year’s Day 2020. Picture: Karleen Minney
“One of the things I vividly remember is sitting inside the surf club looking out towards the sea,” Ms Magnay said.
“The color of the sky above the sea would go from orange to red to grey to brown to black and then back to orange again, it just seemed to change every couple of minutes at the peak of the fire.”
This continued through most of the morning until, as the fire became visible and headed in their direction, everyone evacuated onto the sand and looked back towards their homes as they burned.
“I think I was sort of numb,” Ms Magnay said.
“People say to me, ‘oh it must have been really frightening’, but I don’t remember being frightened. It was too overwhelming to take in.”
Mr Bull added: “The emotions came later once we knew what had happened.”
What had happened was that their Malua Bay home and most of their belongings had been extensively damaged.
After losing their home – the fire rendered it uninhabitable – the couple have been on a long path of resolving claims with insurance companies, something many thousands of people around the country have faced in the year since the fires.
While they had a relatively painless experience getting a payout to cover their contents, their home insurance was an ongoing issue, complicated by the fact their unit was part of a strata.
“We’re just twiddling our thumbs now,” Mr Bull said.
Philip Bull and Susan Magnay look out on a very different scene at Malua Bay beach compared with when they evacuated there with more than 1000 others. Picture: Dion Georgopoulos
However, while they have experienced loss Mr Bull and Ms Magnay insisted they escaped relatively unscathed considering they’d been able to rent a home at nearby Denhams Beach.
They previously lived in the Bega Valley and know of many people in that community, particularly around Cobargo, who were still living under tarpaulins.
Both admitted they had been scarred by the experience, something compounded by the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr Bull put it, “I wobble a bit now and again”, and Ms Magnay said images of fire could transport her back to that day.
But they agreed that, despite the trauma, the most pleasing thing to come from the experience was the support and unity among the community.
“There were a lot of children [on the beach] and they sort of formed themselves into little gangs,” Mr Bull said.
“The older ones were looking after the little ones, which was lovely.”
People shared food, water and supplies for those in need. A couple whom Mr Bull and Ms Magnay had only met on the beach insisted they spend the night at their home.
This community spirit has continued throughout the year, as the region attempted to rebuild.
