The Volunteer Firefighter

I'd like to share this poem I wrote out of respect and appreciation for all our volunteer firefighters.

All the men and women who risk their lives and give tirelessly to protect our beautiful country Australia.

Australia is at war with bloody red flames

burning our land until charcoal remains

Volunteer Firefighters, our heroes of hope

Risk their lives through billowing smoke

Through the crackling intensity and dreadful smell

Their eyes are straining as they push through hell

Pausing momentarily and gazing around

Seeing wildlife perishing – ash to the ground

Thirsty and shocked animals whimper with pain

They know our fauna will never be the same

The fighters may grab their water to share

with a wounded koala in a state of despair

Shattered, the fighter stares up in vain

Willing the heavens to send down rain

Though weariness shows on each blackened face

They won’t allow fatigue to slow down their pace

Julie Annette King

Yanchep National Park

This morning I was moved by an image showing a kangaroo and fresh vegetation emerging from charcoaled branches following the recent bushfires in Yanchep. A friend posted the picture on social media, thus motivating me to pack a few essentials, jump in my humble little car and head to the National Park to see the remarkable recovery of nature for myself.

One can never fully take into account, the area of destruction from bush fires until we actually witness it ourselves… images and reports through the media can never bring it home like this. 

Slowly I drove through the vast area where all that remains is blackened tree trunks and dirty brown bushes and branches, now sprouting with new green life upon the ashen dirt. I saw the remains of the fuel station which did not stand a chance in midst of it all and could plainly see how many homes were in the line of possible ruin.

Signs of new green life

When I veered into the entrance of Yanchep National Park, I felt the need to pull over and take a snap of the sign that stood lonely before the burnt out bush. The smell of smoke was still evident.

Birdlife is profuse in the wetlands

Once I parked my car, I set off on my stroll across the pristine picnic lawn area adjacent to the lake, teeming with birdlife. This brought back wonderful memories from my childhood where our family often came for picnics some fifty years ago, though it has changed a lot since then.

Koala sleeping

I have never seen so many Western Grey kangaroos grazing on the picnic grounds in Yanchep like this before and they don’t seem to mind the people either. They are clearly hungry.

just two of many kangaroos grazing

How shocked I was to see how really close the bushfires came to destroying this area. The fires burned as close as a few hundred metres from the koala sanctuary and walk trails are now closed off due to destruction from the fires that raged through.

"this is Australia"

Later I settled myself with a refreshing glass of sparkling under a canopy of trees and enjoyed the mellow music and singing by a duo playing in the beer garden of the magnificent Yanchep Inn. A cool breeze, adults relaxing, children playing and kangaroos grazing made for a typical Aussie Pub scene.

remains of a foot bridge

As I cast my eyes about a hundred metres from where I was sitting, there stood the remains of the footbridge over parched wetlands that previously flowed into the lake. Green shoots of vegetation are beginning to appear here as well from clumps of black roots. Frightening to see how close this came to the Inn.

new growth sprouting in dried up wetlands

The magnificent Yanchep Inn

I have a deep respect and appreciation for our volunteer firefighters who do an amazing job, working tirelessly to ensure the safety of humans and wildlife.