Charlotte Varcoe
MORE than $10,000 will be donated to Country Fire Service (CFS) crews who attended the recent Crater Lakes blaze after a series of fundraisers held at a local golf club.
Recently, residents of Mount Gambier observed the work of fire services as they battled a fire for three days at the popular reservation area.
Affected areas remain closed with Mount Gambier City Council continuing its recovery program.
Limestone Coast band Suburban Henry were already scheduled to perform at the Blue Lake Golf Links last weekend, with owner and operator Bill Burley deciding to transform the event into a fundraiser.
The popular golf club was one of many areas of concern while the fire was active with CFS crews back burning around the building to save the infrastructure.
Speaking with The Border Watch, golf club operator Bill Burley said there were about 200 people at the outdoor event, in line with Covid-19 regulations.
“All of the funds went to the local crews who helped with the blaze because the extent they go to in order to help us and the Limestone Coast is massive,” Mr Burley said.
“We want the funds to go as far as possible so we wanted to keep it to those who helped us.”
In addition to the musical event, Mr Burley will also host a trivia night tonight and a golf day scheduled for the end of the month.
“We have already sold out at the trivia night and there are 20 teams lined up for the golf day with all holes also sponsored,” he said.
“I never expected the kind of community response that we have received because there is a lot of hardship out there with Covid and people are affected financially but this shows how great the community spirit of Mount Gambier people is.
“Apart from Ash Wednesday, Mount Gambier has never had to worry about fires, this is as close to home as we can get and I think the efforts shown by the fire services shows how our community pulls together.”
Mr Burley said the atmosphere at the fundraiser on the weekend provided a great opportunity for residents to get out and about in a Covid safe manner while also enjoying live music.
“Sadly a lot of events have been cancelled because of Covid so we were very happy to provide that,” he said.
“The CFS did such a great job protecting our community and they saved our venue which has a lot of history here.”
