Art from the ashes

A BURNT-OUT fence post from the bushfires in Labertouche has been turned into a work of art by the new Cranbourne Rotary Club president.
Stan Bankes-Fay created a memento from one of the country’s worst disasters and presented it as a gift to district governor Ken McDonald and his wife when he attended the club’s changeover dinner on Friday night.
Helping with the recovery in Labertouche after Black Saturday was the Cranbourne Rotary Club’s major project for the year.
Mr Bankes-Fay, who does wood turning as a hobby, said it took about three hours for him to create the goblet.
“They were over the moon when we presented it to them. I couldn’t believe it,” Mr Bankes-Fay said.
“I just thought it was a little token of appreciation as far as him coming to our changeover.”
Mr Bankes-Fay arrived in Australia from England five years ago and said he had never experienced the magnitude of a fire disaster like Black Saturday.
“In England we don’t have fires like that. I think the enormity of it was absolutely breathtaking … it was devastating.”