Elderly couple return to burnt down Hill End home to find things stolen

Colin and Lorna Shapland went to the site of their home 11 kilometres outside of Hill End on March 26, 2023, which had been ravaged by a bushfire, after days of studying photographs that had been taken by friends and building assessors.

While they knew less durable items, including photographs and documents, were to be destroyed, the Shapland's had expected to see their ladders, printers, and hot water system.

But, it was all gone without a trace.

"I was looking around to see what we might've got out of the ruins when I began to think of a step ladder I had seen in a photo laying on the side [of the home] but it was gone," Mr Shapland said.

"It was a bit of a shock ... I thought 'something has gone amiss here' because I couldn't see anything that was salvageable when there should've been something.

"I think we got used to seeing what was there in the photos: I was disappointed."

The Shaplands' lost their home on March 10, five days after the Alpha Road fire near Hill End sparked, losing not only the building but everything inside they could not save.

As the bitter taste in the Shapland's mouths about the theft subsides, the news of likely having a place to call home back on their Hill End property within a year has been a cause for excitement.

"We're on the homeward track. It's going to be a new experience, we're starting off from absolutely scratch," Mr Shapland said.

"Our Mudgee builder has given us a couple of house designs to choose from. He's ready to sit down and talk about when he can start."

After losing "absolutely everything", the Shaplands - who are living in a rental at Mudgee - gave a simple piece of lifesaving advice.

"It is a trying thing to go through, but the main thing no matter what is to get insurance for your property. It has paid dividends for us," Mr Shapland said.

"We were also sort of prepared when we saw the smoke, we thought we had time to move but the last 20 minutes before we left was hectic.

"It's not so much getting stuff together, it's packing it into cars and trailers: you don't realise you've got to move it from the house out to the vehicle, so be prepared for the worst."

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