The Cudgewa community has been devastated by the recent bushfires.
The town at the end of the Wodonga to Cudgewa railway line has weathered many challenges over the centuries. .
A testimony to the resilient DNA of the Cudgewa community is their extraordinary contributions towards to construction of the Snowy Mountains Irrigation Project which has drought-proofed inland Australia. There was the ingenuity in design of gantry systems and adaptation of rail and road vehicles to transport the heavy loads for construction of the Snowy Mountains Project.
Railway gangers worked day and night to maintain and upgrade the Wodonga to Cudgewa railway line, and at times they worked in the snow. It was a hard life for the maintenance gangs. Poor ballast, landslips and wearing tracks in conjunction with forest fires, underground springs and white ants ensured there was continuous work for repair crews. When large scale upgrading of the track was scheduled crews lived on site, generally in old wagons.
Help this community help themselves, as they start on their next chapter. The Cudgewa community has set up a crowdfunding appeal to ensure everyone gets taken care of:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/xycjem-cudgewa-has-burnt
For further information, check out the local Border Mail newsletter:
Stay safe!