Broken Hill Musicians Club has been praised following recognition in a NSW parliamentary inquiry for its quick action in assisting its local community during last October’s power outages.
Last year a five-minute storm wreaked havoc across Broken Hill and surrounding towns as winds and hail caused extensive blackouts, after knocking down seven large transmission towers.
The far-west NSW community of around 10,000 residents were forced to rely on diesel generators, as damages were estimated to take weeks to repair.
The Musicians Club immediately pivoted to become a respite centre, helping the most vulnerable during the crisis.
MP James Wallace praised the club and its general manager Michael Boland.
“The amount of effort and energy and commitment that the Club showed towards the community in Broken Hill and the wider community is truly outstanding, I think that needs to be acknowledged,” he told the inquiry.
Maryanne Stuart, Heathcote MP was impressed by the club’s response to those in the community requiring life-saving medication.
“Michael, thank you so much for what you’ve done for the community, particularly in regards to storing medication, she said.
“We’ve heard quite a lot of things like insulin, for example, that had to be thrown out and re-bought, so thank you for what you did, stepping up in such a big way.”
Rebecca Riant, CEO of ClubsNSW, also commended the club, acknowledging that it “quite literally saved lives”.
“We’re again seeing the important work of the state’s clubs as Tropical Cyclone Alfred approaches the Far North Coast, with Mullumbimby RSL, Evans Head RSL, Club Burringbar, Ocean Shores Country Club and Nambucca RSL all stepping up as evacuation centres,” she said.
Michael Boland pointed to the work of his team as well as the generous support of the Mounties Group.
“The Club received a significant donation from the Mounties Group in Sydney of $100,000. We actually used that towards replacing low-income earners’ refrigeration. We partnered with St Vincent de Paul and they went out and shopped for white goods,” he said.
“There was a significant amount of white goods that were destroyed and particularly for low-income earners in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, you know they’re the last people who can afford to replace a fridge,” Boland stated.
Last weekend, the Mounties Group stepped up for the club again, staging ‘Beers for Broken Hill’, a free event including entertainment from The Choirboys, to recognise the hard work of the community.
