On behalf of the Shire, we extend our deepest gratitude to everyone who showed extraordinary kindness, resilience, and dedication during and after the recent snowstorm. I especially want to acknowledge:
- Those in our community who opened their homes to stranded travellers and locals – your generosity made a world of difference.
- The Council staff, who worked tirelessly through the weekend to clear roads, assist stranded travellers and residents, and to keep diesel generators running at McMaugh Gardens. A special acknowledgement for the Council team who responded to an urgent call for help from Walcha Hospital to delivery diesel for the hospital generator at 3am Sunday to ensure patients were kept safe and warm during the power outage.
- The McMaugh Gardens staff, who braved the conditions, stayed overnight, and covered shifts to ensure continued care.
- The Tablelands Community Support team who went above and beyond to check in on our vulnerable residents and ensure they were safe, had food and heating as soon as possible.
- The team at the Uralla Neighbourhood Centre and everyone involved in arranging a safe place for around 50 people to sleep at the Centre on Saturday night, and to Rotary for providing a cooked breakfast on Sunday morning.
- The local pubs and clubs, who generously opened their premises to people who couldn’t make it home, providing blankets and a warm space to sleep, food, beverages, phone access, and bathroom services and the staff who stayed way beyond their shifts to ensure the comfort and safety of those stranded.
- The Community members, who stopped to help stranded drivers, gave directions, checked on neighbours, and delivered food, blankets, fuel, or wood.
- The Council staff and all those still helping with fallen trees, clearing roads and green waste removal.
- Our local police Constable, the sole policeman in Uralla during the event, who calmly helped coordinate emergency operations.
- The Rural Fire Service, for directing traffic and responding to emergency calls.
- State Emergency Services, for handling an overwhelming number of call-outs with professionalism and dedication.
- Uralla Fire & Rescue for helping with so many stranded motorists and providing urgent assistance in a medical emergency.
- Wayne Howard Electrical for helping wire up generators, assisting many residents with household electrical needs, and supporting our own Council staff with the delivery of critical diesel fuel to Walcha Hospital to keep the hospital generator running.
Your actions reflect the strength and spirit of our community.
Thank you for being there for one another. Your support and patience are also appreciated as our teams continue working to restore services, clear roads, and ensure the safety of all residents.
While our teams have worked to remove immediate hazards to make our roads trafficable and our parks and reserves accessible, the scale and impact of this event means this work will necessarily continue for many months to come as teams balance business as usual requirements with ongoing storm recovery efforts.
Council appreciates and welcomes the State Government’s disaster declaration which will provide disaster funding assistance to cover Council storm damage costs.
While Council cannot assist with the clean-up on private land, this disaster declaration may enable residents, businesses and community groups to submit claims for losses and obtain support through a variety of means.
The response from our community, businesses, individuals and staff has been nothing short of exemplary and we are all justifiably proud.
To thank the community, Council well be hosting a free Community BBQ at Alma Park on Sunday 31 August from 11am to 2pm.
This is an opportunity to acknowledge our exceptional community and their demonstrated resilience and compassion during a very difficult 48 hours, and for the community to come together again to celebrate the wonderful Uralla spirit!
Uralla Shire Mayor Robert Bell
