The Longwood fire burnt 140,000 hectares of land before it was tamed, with Ruffy one of the hardest hit locations. News senior journalist Bree Harding visited the tiny town on January 28, 20 days after the day of devastation, to see how the community’s recovery was travelling.
The Telstra exchange in the main street of Ruffy did not survive.
Photo by
Bree Harding
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Little remains of the town’s Telstra exchange.
Photo by
Bree Harding
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The former primary school had been used as a community centre in more recent times, where functions, yoga and playgroups were held.
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Bree Harding
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Fire trucks from North Gundagai and NSW’s Central Coast whiz along Ruffy’s main road.
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Bree Harding
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Asbestos now poses a danger in burnt out buildings.
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Bree Harding
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Scene from the Longwood Ruffy Rd between the Hume Fwy and Ruffy.
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Bree Harding
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Temporary mobile and internet service has been put in place at the Ruffy Public Hall.
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Bree Harding
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Paddocks upon paddocks have been burnt.
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Bree Harding
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A hay depot is in operation in the town of Ruffy.
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Bree Harding
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The hay depot is being operated out of a farmer’s paddock. Volunteers are campaigning for him to receive a discount or waiver on his rates for his contribution to the recovery.
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Bree Harding
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‘Welcome to the Ruffy (free) IGA’ — those in need are welcome to take what they like from the makeshift supermarket pantry within the Ruffy hall.
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Bree Harding
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An abundance of information is also available at the community hub within the Ruffy hall.
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Bree Harding
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Trestle tables act as makeshift supermarket shelves for donated non-perishable food for displaced community members.
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Bree Harding
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Felicity Sloman holds up a poster outlining how a community-led recovery should operate.
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Bree Harding
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A free communal laundry has been set up with two donated washing machines and a dryer in an unused shed behind the Ruffy hall. The idea came about at 10am one day in the shed that had no plumbing or power to it. By 3pm that same day, the first load of washing was on.
Photo by
Bree Harding
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The Ruffy Store was for sale, hoping for a revival after it closed during COVID-19 times. Sadly, the fire claimed it.
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Bree Harding
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Scene from the Longwood Ruffy Rd between the Hume Fwy and Ruffy.
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Bree Harding
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The CFA shed and the Ruffy Public Hall are the only two buildings in the town that survived the bushfire.
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Bree Harding
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Scene from the Longwood Ruffy Rd between the Hume Fwy and Ruffy.
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Bree Harding
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Scene from the Longwood Ruffy Rd between the Hume Fwy and Ruffy.
Photo by
Bree Harding
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Scene from the Longwood Ruffy Rd between the Hume Fwy and Ruffy.
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Bree Harding
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A handwritten sign at the Ruffy hall welcomes the community inside.
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Bree Harding
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Little sign artists have been trying to keep spirits high with positive messages around the community hub.
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Bree Harding
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The fire destroyed road barriers and signs.
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Bree Harding
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Scene from the Longwood Ruffy Rd between the Hume Fwy and Ruffy.
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Bree Harding
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The Tablelands Community Centre (former primary school) was razed in the fire.
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Bree Harding
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Ruffy CFA has two fire trucks. It has requested crews from other parts of Australia come to help. NSW crews were patrolling on the day of our visit.
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Bree Harding
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Scene from the Longwood Ruffy Rd between the Hume Fwy and Ruffy.
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Bree Harding
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The sign telling the history of the primary school remains untouched, while the building behind it has been reduced to rubble.
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Bree Harding
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Information signs adorn the hall.
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Bree Harding
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The community hub services the people of Ruffy, but also those in outlying areas.
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Bree Harding
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Scene from the Longwood Ruffy Rd between the Hume Fwy and Ruffy.
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Bree Harding
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Scene from the Longwood Ruffy Rd between the Hume Fwy and Ruffy.
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Bree Harding
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Scene from the Longwood Ruffy Rd between the Hume Fwy and Ruffy.
Photo by
Bree Harding
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Volunteers in the Ruffy hall’s kitchen — Colleen Furlanetto, Jacqui Hagen, Felicity Sloman, Anne Douglas and Olga Hill — are battling to cook 100 dinners each day with a temperamental stove that was never intended to be worked as hard as it has been in the past three weeks.
Photo by
Bree Harding
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Scene from the Longwood Ruffy Rd between the Hume Fwy and Ruffy.
Photo by
Bree Harding
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Colleen Furlanetto supplied this image of Phoenix the koala. Phoenix is a large male koala whose home patch has always been near the Ruffy hall. He suffered a burnt nose from what volunteers believe was radiant heat during the fire.
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An ‘asbestos caution’ tape warns people of the hidden danger inside the levelled buildings in the town, including the community centre you can see in the background.
Photo by
Bree Harding
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The main street of Ruffy.
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Bree Harding
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Scene from the Longwood Ruffy Rd between the Hume Fwy and Ruffy.
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Bree Harding
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A shelter shed and the town’s book swap inside the grounds of the community centre, which burnt to the ground, were largely undamaged.
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Bree Harding
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Temporary power has been connected to the Ruffy Public Hall, which has become the town’s community relief and recovery hub.
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Bree Harding
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Before it was the Tablelands Community Centre, it was the Ruffy Primary School. A sign detailing the history of the site up until 2005 remains.
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Bree Harding
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Scene from the Longwood Ruffy Rd between the Hume Fwy and Ruffy.
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Bree Harding
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Ruffy’s main road.
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Bree Harding
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Scene from the Longwood Ruffy Rd between the Hume Fwy and Ruffy.
Photo by
Bree Harding
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Scene from the Longwood Ruffy Rd between the Hume Fwy and Ruffy.
Photo by
Bree Harding
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Police road blocks prevent unauthorised vehicles travelling into the disaster zone.
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Bree Harding
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Community-led recovery is the approach Ruffy residents are determined to stick by.
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Bree Harding
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Many displaced livestock and pets, like this wandering guinea fowl, have not found their ways home.
Photo by
Bree Harding
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