At present I’m not in Alice but am on my little farm outside Mansfield in the High Country of Victoria. The beautiful view of the Delatite Valley is mostly blocked by the smoke from the various fires in North Eastern Victoria. There is an atmosphere of worry and concern and whilst the air is still at the moment, on the day when the fires took off the wind was wild and hostile, terrifying to behold and delivering a whole world of uncertainty to the people in country Victoria.

Conditions can change rapidly so it is essential to always be prepared for fire and to be clear about an exit strategy. It is too late when the fire arrives. People living in fire prone areas have to be always Well Prepared.

It took me back to the fires in January 1985. These had been started, I seemed to remember, by a disgruntled person some 40 kilometers away. At that time, we rented a bluestone cottage in the middle of a 2000-acre farm near Majorca some 20 kilometers from the country township of Maryborough. It was located in grasslands on the basalt plain; idyllic spot to spend 7 years. The fire mercilessly ripped through the country until it came to the boundary of our cottage. Though bluestone, it still had plenty of wood associated with it. Alongside the house, at about six metres distance, was a line of gum trees. The fire “gobbled” these up and eyed the house hungrily. But at the last minute - yes last minute - the wind swung to the South taking the fire elsewhere and saving the house.

We had been down at the beach about 200km away, but as soon as we heard the news, we threw the 3 kids, who were all little, into the car and headed back home. Life has its misfortunes and I was booked for speeding on the way back, no excuse accepted!

The Maryborough area was like a war zone, and the farm was in the middle of it. Fences burnt, dead animals everywhere, grass gone, smoke everywhere, logs still smoldering. The farm’s prized Charolais herd all destroyed except for the two bulls who found refuge in the dams. The sheep were piled in the corner of paddocks, black and dead.

The next day my brother, who lived in Melbourne, came up to help with the task of putting the dead sheep onto a trailer and depositing them in large graves, a task I’ll never forget.

I worked when I could with the Younger Farmer helping to build fences. He was using the modern method which relied on “Star Pickets” and high tensile wire. Whilst digging a hole for a strainer post, I cleverly took “my eyes off the ball” and rammed the sharp end of the crowbar through my boot and little toe. Interestingly I didn’t feel the pain for a fair while and just kept working.

The Old Farmer had remained through the fire and saved the buildings in spite of the danger. He kept putting out fires around places such as wooden veranda posts - this seemingly small action saved the buildings.

My mind has now wandered to fires around Alice. One Saturday smoke appeared on the hills to the west of the school at about half a kilometre's distance. It was travelling in a direct line to the school bush chapel where a wedding was to be held that afternoon. The Firies were contacted quickly and were soon on the scene.

“Contact the wedding organisers because there will be no wedding in the chapel today,” shouted the Chief Firey. It was all action with professional fire equipment and even garden hoses. We had a water trailer with pump, mainly for camps. I asked the Fire Chief if he wanted that as well. Reply: “Of course I do.” I ran over to the trailer - Oh horrors it was empty! I started to fill it immediately and it proved to be essential.

All these experiences have remained vividly in my mind. I learnt so much from them and they have served me as metaphors during my years as a Principal:

1. Don’t let the tank on your trailer (whatever that is) lie around being empty. Make sure its full and ready for action. If something really needs doing, do it and don’t put it off. Procrastination can be the real enemy of any Principal.
2. Put out the fires around the verandah posts when they are small, otherwise the fire can get away and could cause huge damage.
3. Even when you're tired, take care and don’t take your eye off the task at hand otherwise you could put your crowbar (or whatever) through your toe or worse.
4. When rebuilding, consider using better, more modern material which may require research before using it. Remember if you do the same thing, you will likely get the same result.
5. Volunteers can make a real difference, but you must be very clear on what you want them to do.
6. Believe it or not, the two bulls showed great initiative and consequently survived. Show initiative yourself and foster its importance amongst staff and students.
7. When you have to go, you have to go - don’t procrastinate which can be a ticket to further problems or disaster.

Related to all this is the motto crafted by Robert Baden Powell the founder of the Boy Scout movement and co-founded with his sister of the Girl Guides. A skilled soldier, he showed himself to be a creative, innovative, leader, able to boost morale exhibited in particular during his leadership of the defence of Mafeking during the Boer War. The motto of course is “Be Prepared”, an excellent motto for all school Principals in spite of their consuming reactive role that can dominate what they do. Principals must do what they can to minimise this as much as possible and allow time to reflect and be creative, otherwise the school could stagnate. The immediate is important but so is the future and dealing with that is also a Principal’s key responsibility.

Written by Chris Tudor