“As they watched the pictures of towns on the New South Wales south coast and in Victoria being devastated by flames, members of the Wollombi Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade felt compassion for those communities and wonder at how lucky their own village had been.

While the fires had physically and mentally tested many of the volunteers, and it had hurt the village’s tourist trade as roads were closed, Wollombi’s volunteers believed the community spirit had been fuelled by this extraordinary summer.”