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Fawcett Hall becomes a vital connection point after being saved

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Jan 23, 2026

SAM Hicks from Fawcett Hall has been posting very effectively about the situation in the Fawcett and Koriella area both during and after the fires.

She was interviewed last week about the situation in their area, and about the saving of Fawcett Hall, built in 1882.

She said, “Our little valley was impacted on that horrible little day. Was it almost a week now? I can’t believe it.

It was specifically agreed with the committee that in the case of a fire, and this had been standing since the 2009 bushfires, that the Fawcett Hall shouldn’t be protected, that any firefighters in the region should focus on residences in the street or the road rather than the hall, because we can always rebuild the hall. We can bring the community together to rebuild it as the hub.

“Thankfully, a very small team of locals and the Koriella Fire Brigade, they saved our little hall, and to just say that I am thankful is a massive understatement.

I’m so freaking grateful. They put their lives on the line when a fire front was coming from nearly three sides at the back of the hall, and they saved the hall. They saved probably a good 40 to 50 per cent of the reserve, so we will be in ever their debt because now what it’s allowed us to do is to mobilise the hall.

“The hall is now a mini relief centre. We have community dinners every night at 6pm and we’ve been able to open up fundraising,” she said. “The ‘Fawcett Angels’ have been seeking out the never-ending list of items that our amazing residents need.”

She commented, “I’m really pleased, the community has come together for us. We put a call out on Facebook for funds and within a really short amount of time we had a lot of money that we can now liquidate into cash to turn into vouchers for fuel, water, hardware and food.

“If a resident comes and they need, for example, fuel for their generator and they don’t have cash because the banks are not open because of roadblocks or if they just can’t get there, they can go in and get…

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