Forget the tyranny of distance, when the chips are down there is no better place to be living than a small town in regional Australia – and Walcha is one of the best.
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On Monday Walcha resident Scott Strong was left with only three sets of clothes and a pair of thongs after a fire ripped through his home while he was a patient in Walcha Hospital.
Today he has everything he needs, including a new home.
“Well he still needs a fridge for the flat we’ve found for him to move into when he leaves hospital,” said long-term friend Tania Orman who arranged a collection for Mr Strong.
“But it’s only a small flat, and apart from a small fridge we now have everything. We also need to find a new home for his dog as she can’t go with him to the flat.”
On Tuesday Ms Orman arranged with Local Aboriginal Land Council CEO Mark Davies to use the Amaroo offices as a collection point.
This morning old friends of Mr Strong walked in and said they had a house full of things to donate to him.
“The stuff belonged to my brother Warren (Wal) who died of cancer late last year,” said Josephine Foster.
“We set up house for him on a local property where, and since he passed, we haven’t known what to do with it. There is everything you could need – cutlery, a double bed and bedding, crockery. It might as well be going to someone who needs it, and Scott grew up with our brothers.”
The stuff belonged to my brother Warren (Wal) who died of cancer late last year
- Josephine Foster
Mr Strong said he was extremely grateful to the community.
“That’s the good thing about little communities like this,” Mr Strong said.
“People help you like this while other people are just coming up and having a yarn. The nursing staff at the hospital and the doctor have been great too.”
Mr Strong is expecting to stay in hospital for another week, where he is being treated for an infected carbuncle on the back of his neck, before moving into his new home.