About an hour’s drive from Hobart on a tiny strip of land on the way to Port Arthur is the small fishing village of Dunalley. Normally a sleepy seaside town with a population of 300, back in January, Dunalley became the scene of a nightmare when bushfires claimed 65 houses, the local school, police station and historical hall and stables.

Terrified, people hid from the flames under jetties as houses were taken on the beachfront. Images of blackened hills and roaring smoke dancing in trees not far from the shoreline were beamed to the nation via the media.

No lives were lost, but with around half of all homes destroyed, the town was reeling. A few towns west, in Carlton, young Minister, 29-year-old Joel Kettleton and his wife Christine were coming up with a plan of how to help. As soon as the fires came through and roads were closed, the couple went to the recovery centre in nearby Sorrell.

Here, they were able to offer pastoral care alongside the Red Cross and other agencies who were giving people access to food, drink, accommodation and support. Along with other Christian leaders from churches across the area, the Kettletons were able to help people whose homes or livelihood had been destroyed.

“I drew on a lot of the skills that I use in my work, but all in a very short period of time. All sorts of stuff was happening with people who were in shock and going through quite a bit of trauma,” says Joel, who was ordained last year.

“We weren’t from the government, we weren’t offering anything materially, but if someone came into one of the recovery centres distraught and not being able to sit down at a desk with the Red Cross and register themselves, we could calm them down and help the Red Cross do their job.”

After the roads to the worst-affected areas re-opened, the Kettletons joined the Red Cross in their outreach work, doing what Joel calls “psychological first aid”. Going from house to house, the group visited people who hadn’t left the community in days.

Joel says the whole experience was a huge opportunity for the Christians in the area to offer Christ’s compassion.

“As a minister I got to meet people who I never get to see, from my local neighbourhood. And they got to see the church, not just me, but the other church pastors as well on a human level and saw that churches care.”

Months on from the fires, Joel says the time he could spend with people in his community is still proving valuable.

“Each of the churches in those communities has new relationships built,” says Joel. “That whole time was a period when relationships were forged and barriers between people who live next door to each other were broken down. And the church is not necessarily seen as a scary place anymore. That human side of love and compassion and care has come through.”

Rebuilding has begun in Dunalley, with the Bushfire Recovery Taskforce running an expo this month for people seeking advice on rebuilding their homes. Meanwhile, Joel and Christina continue to work with locals through their Anglican parish of Richmond, Sorrell and Tasman.

Images: Wade Skelly. Taken at Connelly’s Marsh, near Dunalley.