For over 50 years Richard Kemp has known this day would come. By Richard Kemp
I’ve lived at The Gurdies since 1957. I’ve seen my share of bush fires and I’ve fought in many. I fought my first fire in The Gurdies when I was 13. I’ve seen the destruction of the bush and the wildlife. In my 18 years at the GMH Proving Ground I spent eight years as the Fire Chief over 2200 acres of basically dense bush. It was a bit of a daunting job.
There’s always that fire risk if you live in the bush. I’ve always been aware that this day would happen one day. I’ve been in this house since 1972. I designed this place, I built it, I landscaped it. I said I’d never leave it. I thought I was prepared. The lawn in front of the house was cut short and was green. We’ve got a lot of English trees around the house that don’t burn real well. I had rigged up a powerful firefighting pump with a 50-metre hose and I was confident to stay and protect the house.
I’ve lived at The Gurdies since 1957. I’ve seen my share of bush fires and I’ve fought in many. I fought my first fire in The Gurdies when I was 13. I’ve seen the destruction of the bush and the wildlife. In my 18 years at the GMH Proving Ground I spent eight years as the Fire Chief over 2200 acres of basically dense bush. It was a bit of a daunting job.
There’s always that fire risk if you live in the bush. I’ve always been aware that this day would happen one day. I’ve been in this house since 1972. I designed this place, I built it, I landscaped it. I said I’d never leave it. I thought I was prepared. The lawn in front of the house was cut short and was green. We’ve got a lot of English trees around the house that don’t burn real well. I had rigged up a powerful firefighting pump with a 50-metre hose and I was confident to stay and protect the house.
The property is one and three-quarter acres. I left the lower acre as a wildlife sanctuary and had echidnas, wallabies and kangaroos from time to time, snakes (black, copperhead and tiger), monitor lizards, possums and a large variety of birds.
About 6 o’clock on the Friday [December 20] we came under heavy ember attack. I knocked down a pile of logs on fire and put out the drier grass but the hose was too short to get into the bush. It burnt the dry grass and landed on the lawn in front of the house which is cut short and green. There were burn marks in the lawn but that’s where it stopped. It burnt within 15 metres of the house
It was spotting in all directions. An ember blew over the top of our house, across the road and over the top of a double-storey house and landed on the lawn of the next house and started burning there. .
Maree was in the driveway screaming at me to leave. The language! I learnt a few new words. My daughter and my two sons were also on the phone telling me to evacuate.
I was relieved to see a 4x4 fire unit from Wonthaggi drive down onto my lawn. I had great confidence in them. As I was under extreme pressure from my partner and my three kids I decided to get out.
Maree had the car ready with the Old English sheep dog which was the most important item to save. We got down to the highway and a guy rang me up. As I spoke to him a motor bike policeman pulled up alongside and yelled “Get the hell out of here! – it’s about to cross the highway.”
We went down to the Grantville foreshore and I was walking the dog along the foreshore and met a feller who offered us a caravan which was nice of him. True Ausie mate ship. But we had been invited to stay at my sons place in Leongatha.
The next day we went back home and got medications and clothes and saw the damage. We stayed at Leongatha for two days.
Thanks to the Wonthaggi guys and all the CFA for not losing a house in The Gurdies. A brilliant job and many thanks. As a mate of mine said, “Santa’s new colours are yellow.”
The bush sanctuary used to look like this.
About 6 o’clock on the Friday [December 20] we came under heavy ember attack. I knocked down a pile of logs on fire and put out the drier grass but the hose was too short to get into the bush. It burnt the dry grass and landed on the lawn in front of the house which is cut short and green. There were burn marks in the lawn but that’s where it stopped. It burnt within 15 metres of the house
It was spotting in all directions. An ember blew over the top of our house, across the road and over the top of a double-storey house and landed on the lawn of the next house and started burning there. .
Maree was in the driveway screaming at me to leave. The language! I learnt a few new words. My daughter and my two sons were also on the phone telling me to evacuate.
I was relieved to see a 4x4 fire unit from Wonthaggi drive down onto my lawn. I had great confidence in them. As I was under extreme pressure from my partner and my three kids I decided to get out.
Maree had the car ready with the Old English sheep dog which was the most important item to save. We got down to the highway and a guy rang me up. As I spoke to him a motor bike policeman pulled up alongside and yelled “Get the hell out of here! – it’s about to cross the highway.”
We went down to the Grantville foreshore and I was walking the dog along the foreshore and met a feller who offered us a caravan which was nice of him. True Ausie mate ship. But we had been invited to stay at my sons place in Leongatha.
The next day we went back home and got medications and clothes and saw the damage. We stayed at Leongatha for two days.
Thanks to the Wonthaggi guys and all the CFA for not losing a house in The Gurdies. A brilliant job and many thanks. As a mate of mine said, “Santa’s new colours are yellow.”
The bush sanctuary used to look like this.
It now looks like this. Our buffer zone for the highway noise is gone.
I’m glad to see the back of 2024. We had the hurricane come through The Gurdies in February. I had open heart surgery on April the first, then last month a stone ricocheted off the ride-on mower and got me in the eye, cutting the eye ball.
Someone said it can’t get any worse. I said “Don’t say that!”
Postscript: Richard and Marie Kemp’s eventful year wasn’t quite over. On December 28, eight days after the fire, they found a tiger snake in their bedroom.
Someone said it can’t get any worse. I said “Don’t say that!”
Postscript: Richard and Marie Kemp’s eventful year wasn’t quite over. On December 28, eight days after the fire, they found a tiger snake in their bedroom.