Southern Comforts
Autumn in the Southern Highlands
Originally published in Australian CountryExcerpt
It’s a frigid afternoon in the Southern Highlands and the Wingello Village Store is closing.
“Come back tomorrow,” calls an adolescent through the diminishing space in the door jam. “We serve good breakfast.”
He’s gone, but the warmth inside is palpable, even through the window. There’s a wall papered with newspaper clippings: local celebrities and feats of heroism. An open fire in the book corner. Postcards picture children in green meadows under homespun slogans: Wingello — Where summer walks are a short step away and Wingello — Where the grass is greener.
The grass is green again. And yet, this was ground zero in an apocalyptic Black Summer bushfire season, which incinerated vast swathes of Australia. Nothing was going to stop the Currowan Fire ...