On the night of Saturday, 7 June, the Royalla community held a bonfire night.  Truly a wonderful event manifested as the community came in droves in support of the night, with over 160 people present.  Mums, Dads, Grandpa and Grandma, kids, brothers, sisters and friends, all there to celebrate the future construction of a community centre to be built at Royalla common.  It was also a celebration in support of our fire-ies, those women and men committed to defending our community from the ubiquitous Australian bush-fire, that real-life monster that bedevils us and ours each and every summer gone past.  Maybe not here this year but surely somewhere almost always ever so close by.  Two fire tenders, from Burra and Jerrabomberra Creek, stood by ready to take on the young ones, sticky from eating fire-cooked marshmallows and after tracing lazy figure eights with their sparklers against a darkening sky, those very same young ones who saw nothing better than to inquisitively crawl over these monster machines.  

Not only a night of celebration of community but an opportunity to buy a sausage sandwich, or a scrumptious bowl of piping hot pumpkin soup.

The ‘good’ [bon] fire leapt into the black of the night dancing across the sky in a shower of sparks, shards of light, and sprinkles of yellow and orange dots, to the oohs and aahs of the hunkering crowd, their backs turned to the tongues and licks of flames that warmed their souls, keeping the encroaching cold at bay, for a moment at least, while the fire commanded centre stage on that evening.   

A small grass fire breaks free and makes a run for it from under the skirt of mother bonfire, fanned by a cheeky wind, only to be stopped in its tracks by a short burst of water from a well-aimed fire hose by one of our vigilant fire-ies.  

The occasion was a warm reminder on a cold night how a community can share and enjoy the company of others.

Linton Wilson
Royalla resident