How a billionaire’s elaborate plan to protect his equestrian centre helped save hundreds of homes, animals and lives from an out-of-control blaze
- Terry Snow, 77, said he spent years preparing for a catastrophic bushfire event
- The billionaire owns Willinga Park equestrian centre in Bawley Point, NSW
- He decided to shelter animals and families in the facility rather than evacuate
A billionaire property developer has helped save a small town from destruction thanks to his very elaborate bushfire plan.
Terry Snow, 77, the owner of Willinga Park equestrian centre in Bawley Point, had spent years preparing for a catastrophic bushfire event.
The Canberra-born businessman knew his 2,000-acre property could one day be at risk of being razed by a fire due to its proximity to bushland and national parks.
The equine facility is located near an active fire zone spanning the NSW south coast for weeks.
Billionaire Terry Snow, 77, owns Willinga Park equestrian centre in Bawley Point, near the NSW south coast
The Canberra-born businessman spent years preparing for a catastrophic bushfire event and developed a plan to protect his equine facility (pictured)
The centre is located near an active fire zone spanning the NSW south coast for weeks. The property came under threat last month after the Currowan fire reached the region between Batemans Bay and Ulladulla
The area came under threat last month when the Currowan fire made its way towards Batemans Bay and Ulladulla.
Rather than flee the property, Mr Snow put his plan into action, taking extreme measures to protect his animals, home and staff members.
‘We couldn’t evacuate. It couldn’t be done – we’ve got 650 cattle, 120 horses and 30 staff,’ he told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Mr Snow said he had sought guidance from a fire consultant
‘We weren’t naive, we’d been expecting and preparing for years and always engaged a fire consultant. We followed his advice to the letter and were so grateful that we did.’
As the dangerous blaze ripped through the region, Mr Snow, his livestock, his staff and their families, took shelter at the centre.
Helicopters flew in to deliver food and necessities, and two trucks stocked with 2,300 litres of water were on hand.
Emergency power sources, including diesel generators and a Tesla battery storage system were also available in the event of an outage.
Mr Snow also ensured there was no material to burn through by using machinery to remove debris along the fire’s path.
‘When the fire came, it didn’t come onto the property because there was no flammable material at ground level so there was nothing to burn,’ he said.
Small fires along the eastern edge of the Currowan fire were still burning on the Princes Highway on Sunday
Smoke from the Currowan Fire towers over Nowra, NSW, on Saturday
The fireproof equestrian centre effectively served as a barrier for other homes and properties in the area.
While the neighbouring national park was wiped out by the firestorm, no one in Bawley Point lost their homes or animals.
Earlier in the week, the Currowan fire had destroyed at least one home near the town of Kioloa.
Mr Snow, who has been listed on Forbes’ Richest list, made his fortune as executive chairman of Capital Airport Group.
The businessman, who is worth approximately $1.1billion, has spent over $2billion developing Canberra airport and buildings in the surrounding area.