“The unrest of not knowing what’s going to happen from one day to the next is unnerving and there’s uncertainty around because people are in shock,” Geoff Richards, owner of Bay Signs in Batemans Bay on the NSW South Coast, told Wide Format Online. “Local people are doing their best to prop up the morale of the villages and towns but some people have had their livelihoods taken from under their feet with this devastation.”
- 23 Dec, 2019
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| Popular holiday destination Batemans Bay on the NSW South Coast has been cut off from tourists during the Christmas season. Photo: ABC News |
Richards is one of thousands of Australian small business owners whose companies have been hit by unprecedented bushfires that have so far burned through more than three million hectares across New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia, taking at least ten lives and destroying hundreds of homes and properties.
Bay Signs has been disrupted by a bushfire that's been burning for weeks north of Batemans Bay, causing off-and-on closures to the Kings Highway and the Princes Highway, which connect the town to Canberra and Sydney.
“It’s the small things like deliveries and transport, with roads opening and closing causing uncertainty, alongside the real issue of our life blood from Canberra and Sydney being cut off,” says Richards. “It certainly doesn’t help businesses cope with the running costs of their day to day commitments.”
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| Bay Signs owner Geoff Richards with his Roland VS 540i printer/cutter: “A great machine,” he says. |
The 37-year signage industry veteran, a member of the Australian Sign & Graphics Association (ASGA), remains optimistic about the road ahead.
“Local support is one thing we will need to survive the oncoming months and this will test the hardiest, so we need support not only from our local people, local councils and Tourism but we’ll need ongoing support with some sort of funding from our State Government that is easily accessible to those in need," Richards says. "But I’m sure every person, group and organisation will pull together and help to steer our way through this unfortunate crisis.
“As for our forests and their inhabitants…that is a sad situation. This will take years to recover from, the loss is insurmountable. Programs will need to be put in place to at least try to recuperate some sort of natural existence.”
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| Bay Signs staff member Angus Planer in the shop |
At Lithgow in the Blue Mountains, about two hours west of Sydney, residents were evacuated on the weekend as fires destroyed homes on the outskirts of the town and threatened the community of more than 10,000 people.
Josh Logan, owner the town’s only signage business, Logan Signs, says road closures have delayed some work but his shop was lucky to escape serious damage from burning embers.
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| Logan Signs is located at 27 Main Street, Lithgow |
“There’s ash everywhere and some burned leaves have blown in,” says Logan, who’s been in the industry for over 12 years and runs the business with his wife Kristy Logan, an accredited signwriter. “If the leaves got in the right spot they might have started a fire but we had an offsider who was driving around town yesterday making sure the fire was far enough away. I’ve just now arrived back in the shop and will be running the vacuum cleaner around and checking the printers. They were blocking roads over the past few days so I couldn’t get to a job in Katoomba last Friday to hang a light box but I think I’ll be able to install that tomorrow.”
Logan says the town is quiet for now but he’s not expecting a major downturn in business.
“Financially, we already have January and February half booked so we have plenty of flow-on work and we’re not going to see a crazy downturn. The town is slow because most people aren’t coming to town yet, they’re still wondering what to do with the fires and such, but the town will bounce back.”
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| Josh Logan, owner of Logan Signs, with a recent job (photo: Lithgow Mercury) |
Logan, who’s active in the local community and works with the local council, says he's more concerned about stress levels. "This fire has been going since October and it’s still going today. It’s a slow moving fire so your stress levels stay higher for longer. This fire is so big but it’s also so slow. If it just blew in and blew out, it’d be over in a few days.”
The federal government recently activated the Disaster Recovery Allowance to help anyone whose livelihood is affected by bushfires.
Those needing immediate assistance can access a federal government list of available services here.
Grants of up to $15,000 are available in NSW if your business has been directly affected by bushfire. Applications can be made to the Rural Assistance Authority on 1800 678 593 or visit here for eligibility criteria.
