A thick layer of ash, two chimneys and scorched oranges is all that remains of what was once a classic solider settlement-style home, made of timber and iron.

The home, surrounded by an orchard and known as Summerhill, was originally settled in the 1940s.

The property at Yarroweyah has been in the Sinclair and now Parkinson family for nearly 80 years.

Tina Parkinson, whose husband, Noel, was born in the house after his parents settled it, described it as a “lovely old house”.

“All that's left of it now is the two chimneys with big combustion stoves,” she said.

“It’s just very disheartening, and it's so eerie driving up that road now...”

Tina said nobody had lived in the house since Noel’s mother died in 2008, but it was still fully furnished, and they visited almost every day.

Tina’s son Gavin Parkinson said they often used the house for family gatherings, and they were still picking fruit from the orchard.

“We lost two big machinery sheds, one of the sheds was actually a prisoner-of-war hut that was transported there after the war... it's now burnt down, it's gone,” Gavin said.

“Two tractors destroyed, the farm truck got destroyed, spray pumps, grading machine, seeder, post hole diggers...”

“Everything,” Tina said.

“Everything you can imagine a farm needing is now gone.”

They had 30 cows and calves that thankfully survived, as they were locked on an irrigated paddock.

Tina said another silver lining of the day was finding their 14-year-old cat, Yasi, safely under an orange tree.

“She was in a little shelter of orange trees, which Gavin had only watered 24 hours beforehand, so they were still wet and soggy,” she said.

“We were a bit surprised when we found her because there's nothing left, other than a little patch of orange trees,” Gavin said.

Yasi’s paws were badly burnt in the fire so she has a cone around her head and all four paws are bandaged, but as a true testament to her name and where she’s come from, Yasi is a fighter.

“Her name's Yasi after the cyclone, because someone dumped her as a tiny little ball of fluff when Cyclone Yasi was in Queensland,” Tina said.

Aside from the two chimneys, a “decrepit” carport and an inoperable tractor both survived.

“The only thing standing, which is very ironic, in the middle of the yard, only 10 feet from the damn house that's gone, is the littlest, most decrepit carport you've ever seen in your life,” Tina said.

Gavin said the carport was made from flattened kerosene tins and was located beside a large concrete water tank, which they believe must have shielded heat away from the carport.

“It's still a bit surreal,” Gavin said.

“I’m used to going out there and doing jobs and suddenly, there's nothing there to go and do.”

The family have a book full of photos of the original home, something left for them to cherish and hold in the aftermath of such a tragic loss.

Yarrawonga Chronicle Google News Panels

Monday, 1st May 2023

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