How Far West NSW Clubs Are Faring in the Wake of the Power Crisis

A backup generator — which itself experienced ‘trip-ups’ — serviced impacted communities until replacement transmission towers were installed earlier this month, but the process to replace perishable goods and other items, and the psychological toll on locals, is ongoing. 

During the crisis, which the NSW Premier declared a natural disaster, clubs were there to support those in need. Broken Hill Musicians Club and Wilcannia Golf Club used back-up generators to supply locals with respite from the heat, as well as cold drinks, hot meals and a place to charge their phones and jump online to connect with friends and loved ones.

Wilcannia Golf Club opened its doors to the town of just over 700 people.

“People came up and they charged phones, iPads, whatever they needed,” says the Club’s Secretary Manager Myra Clare Sullivan.

“Scooters, buggies, whatever they needed got charged too. There are a few people with illness or who are of age and electric scooters needed to be recharged. 

“The Club has a generator that kicks in within about five to ten seconds of the power dropping out. So, it's pretty quick to kick in. If we hadn't had the generator, we'd have been dead in the water. We'd have lost everything.”

Myra said the club industry was a big contributor to getting through the disaster.

“We were in contact with ClubsNSW on a regular basis,” she said. 

“They were amazing. They were touching base with the team here every day and said, ‘don't worry’. They basically, hit the ground running as soon as they knew about it.

“People out of town have been quite good in donating stuff as well. We had some drums of diesel donated to help keep our generators going so that we could still offer our services to the community.”

At the Broken Hill Sturt Club, it wasn’t quite as simple as turning on a generator as they weren’t fortunate enough to have a permanent one on site.

“There was not much we could do,” says Broken Hill Sturt Club Secretary manager Douglas Coff. 

“Fortunately, our suppliers really looked after us and we were managing to be without the power.

“We gave everyone somewhere to go while they were trying to replenish their own stocks at home after having to chuck away everything in the fridge. We lost about $8000 worth of stock… after a blackout you've got to make sure you're doing the right thing. We didn’t want anyone to get sick.”

Douglas too says the help of the club industry was well received.

“I had quite a few calls from ClubsNSW. It was great to be able to see everyone touching base and caring about us,” Douglas says.

“It makes a big difference that you can fall back on people if you need to. 

“The Government has promised a $400 reimbursement to all businesses. For us that's next to nothing for loss in trade where we're talking probably about $18,000 to $20,000. But the fact that the Government declared it a national disaster at least makes it so much easier for us to be able to claim on insurance for lost stock.”

Down at the South Broken Hill Golf Club, business was significantly impacted. The Club was without consistent power for 11 days, meaning they lost their food stocks. 

“I lost all the food stock that was in the freezers, but the cool room sort of kept the alcohol and that cold because it might go two days without power, but stayed cool,” says South Broken Hill Golf Club Secretary Manager Roslyn Reid. 

“All the NSW Government is offering is $400. That doesn't go very far. So, I haven't even applied for it yet.”

For more information about the NSW Government’s recovery support program for Far West NSW, click here.

To find out how clubs can help with the recovery efforts, click here.