My name is Teddy Gosch and I’m raising funds for Carol Schaefer, a 75-year-old resident of Yowrie on the South Coast of NSW.   On  31 December 2019, a fire tore though Yowrie, before continuing through to the towns of Quaama, Cobargo, Coolagolite and others. 
The fire destroyed Carol’s home, which has been her home for most of her life. My brother John is Carol’s neighbour and when the fire approached their valley, he heard Carol screaming for help. Carol doesn’t have a phone and lives alone, the only way she could cry for help was to use her voice…  And luckily for Carol, John heard her cries for help.


John, his son Toby , and son-in-law Ronnie went to her rescue. Carol needed to be evacuated as it was getting far too dangerous to stay but she wouldn't leave without her best mate George – her ten year old sheep and Jenny, her lamb.
Carol demanded that George and Jenny also be evacuated and placed in the car to escape the fire. It took the three men to lift George into the car and they all escaped as the flames engulfed Carol’s home. Carol lost 55 sheep that night, but she wasn’t going to leave without George and Jenny.
The four of them sheltered in John’s house while the firestorm raged around them.  Luckily John had the forethought to retrieve an oxygen bottle used for his oxy-welding gear out of his shed. They breathed that oxygen for what would have seemed an eternity while the firestorm passed over the house and further down the valley. As the fire front passed over the house they could hear cars exploding outside, one with such force it knocked the carport down, crashing into the house and catching fire. It is a miracle they all survived.


Carol has been staying with my brother and her family in Yowrie, but she is an extremely independent woman and won't go anywhere else. Yowrie is her home. I would like to raise money for Carol to help her stay on her property for her to live out her days there.


Carol likes the idea of living in a modest caravan on her block of land. She reckons that will be enough, as long as it has a cook top. She doesn’t use an oven, she assures us; just a couple of hot plates will be fine.
On 6 January freelance photographer Sean Davey met Carol at my brother’s home and took some photos of Carol and George. Sean has sent me those photos to use in this crowd funding campaign.


I ask you to share this post with your friends, family and social networks and get Carol’s story out into the world, and if you would like to make a donation that would be greatly appreciated.

Carol is a fair-dinkum Aussie woman, you couldn’t get more salt of the earth than her, and to have this happen to her at 75 years old, without insurance, is disastrous.
Carol’s only wish is to live out her days on the farm where she has spent nearly all of her life – with her best mate George.  Please help me make this a reality for her.

Yours sincerely,

Teddy Gosch
January 2020