The Wytaliba community is starting to rebuild after the devastating firestorm that killed two residents and destroyed many of the buildings three weeks ago.
Glen Innes Severn Council mayor and long-term Wytaliba resident Carol Sparks visited Wytaliba and nearby Torrington, also hit by the blaze, this week.
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"People are in shock, and they're still working out what to do with their lives," she said.
Wytaliba Public School will, however, be rebuilt in time for the start of first term in January, Minister for Education Sarah Mitchell and Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall announced when they met the mayor and school principals on Wednesday.
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Over the Christmas break, builders will clear away the debris and construct a new school with a bigger playground, covered outdoor learning area, teachers' space, and library.
"Wytaliba Public School was a real focal point of the community," Mr Marshall said. "Its destruction has been greatly felt by students and parents alike [but] this new, modern facility will ensure local children receive the best possible education in an even better school."
Thirteen Wytaliba students are attending Red Range Public School, while other families have children at Glen Innes Public School.
"Many of these brave kids had to be evacuated as the fire emergency swept through their community, and are now living with their families in motels," he said.
Specialist counselling has been made available to the school community. Mr Marshall promised to keep working with relieving Wytaliba principal Kelly Murphy, and thanked Red Range principal Nicky Hutton for welcoming the Wytaliba students.
The state and federal governments have also provided recovery grants to fire-affected farmers and businesses, and $1 million for BlazeAid to repair farm fences.
The public have donated basic amenities to food, clothing, and household goods. Some even offered places for people to stay, or donated caravans.
Wytaliba residents have enough goods to keep them going for a while, Cr Sparks said, while the Torrington hall is full of clothes, goods, and foods.
"So many clothes and all sorts of things are coming in, it's overwhelming," she said.
Council may make the old RFS building a donations centre for fire-affected residents to help themselves.
Cr Sparks was also moved to receive a card full of good wishes from Glen Innes's namesake suburb in Auckland, New Zealand.
Now, community members feel, money is needed to rebuild the villages. Donations can be made through the RFS for the Wytaliba brigade; the Regional Australia Bank for the Wytaliba community; and the Glen Innes and District Community Centre, for general disaster relief. Donations can also be made to the Salvation Army, the CWA, and the Red Cross.
An art auction will be held next month to raise money for the Wytaliba Bushfire Relief Fund.
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A GoFundMe crowdfunding account also aims to raise $50,000, and has raised nearly $62,000 so far.
Cr Sparks also said council and government were discussing waiving rates for drought and fire victims.
Nicholas Fuller
The exciting thing about journalism is the variety; one can explore the world, meet interesting people and write about it. I've sat in the caravan of an African circus ringmaster; I've squatted on my haunches in a plastic-sorting factory in the Mumbai slums, talking to the workers and drinking hot chai in plastic cups the size of thimbles; and I've interviewed Chinese cultural attachés, Danish football stars and Japanese drummers. Now I’ve come to the Northern Tablelands as a group journalist working across six of Fairfax’s mastheads. Living in New England is a return to country. My father’s side of the family lived here since the 19th century. My great-great-grandparents are buried in Ben Lomond. My great-grandmother and grandmother spent most of their lives in and around Glencoe and Glen Innes, and are both buried in Tamworth. My grandfather isn’t; his ashes are in a cupboard until we throw them in the Macdonald, near Bendemeer, where he used to fish. And my father cut his teeth as a cadet journalist on the Northern Daily Leader, before moving to Canberra, and studied history at UNE. Moving here is following in the family footsteps. Armidale seems charming: up here, in Australia’s highest city, one feels close to the sky. And the mixture of 1830s historic buildings; green, rain-washed hills, crowned with conifers; and one of the country’s leading universities give it a unique appeal. I completed my journalism qualifications last year, while freelancing for newspapers and magazines, and holding down a full-time job. I spent the end of last year in Sri Lanka, where I reported on visiting Buddhist dignitaries (from exotic Perth), UN development programs, Italian food weeks, and hotels in former war-zones. Previously, I worked as a writer and editor for the Australian Government in Canberra for a decade. In my day job, I briefed members of parliament about international relations, and wrote about agricultural aid programs to developing countries. Journalism, though, is where my heart lies. I want to experience life, rather than sit behind a desk. And, having grown up in Belgium, I want to be Tintin. I hope to get to know and love the region where my ancestors lived, while reporting on issues important to the Tablelands.
The exciting thing about journalism is the variety; one can explore the world, meet interesting people and write about it. I've sat in the caravan of an African circus ringmaster; I've squatted on my haunches in a plastic-sorting factory in the Mumbai slums, talking to the workers and drinking hot chai in plastic cups the size of thimbles; and I've interviewed Chinese cultural attachés, Danish football stars and Japanese drummers. Now I’ve come to the Northern Tablelands as a group journalist working across six of Fairfax’s mastheads. Living in New England is a return to country. My father’s side of the family lived here since the 19th century. My great-great-grandparents are buried in Ben Lomond. My great-grandmother and grandmother spent most of their lives in and around Glencoe and Glen Innes, and are both buried in Tamworth. My grandfather isn’t; his ashes are in a cupboard until we throw them in the Macdonald, near Bendemeer, where he used to fish. And my father cut his teeth as a cadet journalist on the Northern Daily Leader, before moving to Canberra, and studied history at UNE. Moving here is following in the family footsteps. Armidale seems charming: up here, in Australia’s highest city, one feels close to the sky. And the mixture of 1830s historic buildings; green, rain-washed hills, crowned with conifers; and one of the country’s leading universities give it a unique appeal. I completed my journalism qualifications last year, while freelancing for newspapers and magazines, and holding down a full-time job. I spent the end of last year in Sri Lanka, where I reported on visiting Buddhist dignitaries (from exotic Perth), UN development programs, Italian food weeks, and hotels in former war-zones. Previously, I worked as a writer and editor for the Australian Government in Canberra for a decade. In my day job, I briefed members of parliament about international relations, and wrote about agricultural aid programs to developing countries. Journalism, though, is where my heart lies. I want to experience life, rather than sit behind a desk. And, having grown up in Belgium, I want to be Tintin. I hope to get to know and love the region where my ancestors lived, while reporting on issues important to the Tablelands.
