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Category: Timber / Regional / Community Development / Work

Heyfield locals fearful about future of their timber town

Friday, 24 Mar 2017 12:19:53 | Nicole Asher

Kurt Pritchett, daughter Emily and wife Ann hoped to build their dream home in Heyfield. (ABC Gippsland: Nicole Asher)

The country's biggest hardwood sawmill is set to close next year, and people from the timber town of Heyfield, in eastern Victoria, are concerned about what that will mean for them.

Heyfield has a population of nearly 2,000 people, and Australian Sustainable Hardwoods (ASH) is the town's biggest employer.

ASH employs about 260 people, but the economic impact of the mill spreads beyond its direct employees.

Chief executive Vince Hurley announced last week the sawmill would close by September next year, with the first redundancies expected to happen at the processor's green mill within months.

The reality of what the mill's closure will mean for the community is starting to sink in.

'There are no jobs. We don't know what we are going to do'

Forklift driver Kurt Pritchett has worked at ASH's green mill for five years, and will be among the first group to be out of work.

Mr Pritchett and his wife Ann bought a block of land shortly before he learnt his job was in danger.

What's happening to Australia's largest hardwood sawmill?


Victoria's Heyfield sawmill is set to close next year. Here is how the issue unfolded.

They had hoped by the end of March they would be midway through building a new home for themselves, but are counting themselves lucky they are only stuck with a mortgage on the block, not the cost of a house too.

"We had all these plans to build our dream home. We've been together for 30 years and we just don't know what we're going to do," Mr Pritchett said.

"When my wife and I were talking, we got on the net, I googled for work within an hour and a half drive from Heyfield and there's just no work there, not for me anyway."

Mr Pritchett is worried about how they will survive on just his wife's income, and doubts they will be able to sell their block.

"I'm not even sure whether anyone is going to buy now, because there's a lot of people in the same boat as I am," he said.

"Everyone has put their plans on hold. There were people in town who were going to buy houses who luckily pulled out at the last second because they knew what was happening.

"There's people really stressing out because they've taken out loans, bought new cars.

"We've all got commitments and mortgages. Everyone's just very anxious and stressed.

"Everyone's trying to be upbeat, but it's not really coming off."

Greg and Traci Grogan sit on a brown couch with their three children. Photo: Boilermaker and welder Greg Grogan is hopeful he can find work that will not take him away from his wife Traci and children Remy, Charlotte and Nayte. (ABC Gippsland: Nicole Asher)

Father worried he will have to leave family to find work

The Grogan family has lived in Heyfield for five years and is heavily involved in the community.

Greg Grogan is a boilermaker and welder working at the ASH mill, and his wife Traci volunteers with the ambulance, local sporting clubs, is on school committees and works with Uniting Care.

Mr Grogan said he was starting to feel fearful about the future.

He said if he was unable to find a new job close to home he would have to return to fly-in, fly-out work, which would take him away from his wife and children for weeks at a time.

"You grow apart if you're not there all the time helping them out. It's the little things," Mr Grogan said.

Ms Grogan said their children Charlotte, 11, Remy, 9, and Nayte, 6, knew what was happening.

"They're worried their dad will have to work away. They're worried they're going to lose friends from school who are going to move away," she said.

Despite the uncertainty hanging over Heyfield, the Grogans have no plans to move away from the area.

"We'll stay. We wouldn't go anywhere," Mr Grogan said.

"We wouldn't even get back what we have spent here," Ms Grogan said, pointing to their rural block and recently renovated house.

A woman sits on a couch, with photos of children hung on the wall behind her. Photo: Amy Semmens grew up in Heyfield and is worried about what will happen to her town if people are forced to move away. (ABC Gippsland: Nicole Asher)

'So many people we care about are impacted'

Amy Semmens grew up in Heyfield and has seen the town overcome hardships before, but is worried about how much will change when ASH shuts its doors.

Her household does not directly rely on the mill for its income, but Ms Semmens knows they will not be immune from the impact of its closure.

"If the mill goes, the people will most likely go with it," she said.

"So many of our close friends and family are relying on the mill to pay their bills, to pay their mortgages, to send their kids to school, to play sport."

Ms Semmens said the shops and businesses in town relied on money flowing from the mill.

"We've got a great little supermarket, everything we need … but those businesses are reliant on local customers, and so many of those local customers are employed by the mill," she said.

"If those people aren't supporting local businesses that's going to affect them quite negatively, and quite possibly that's a service we might lose."

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