The Melbourne Earthquake

The Victorian ski fields were at the centre of Wednesday’s Victorian earthquake, and AWU members were among the action.

Denis “Junior” Williams and his father, Denis, are among about eight AWU members in the Mr Buller area, working for the local Resort Management Board.

Denis says he and his dad had left their depot just after 9am when the tremor hit.

“My father and I were in the work LandCruiser,” Junior says. “It was crazy, we didn’t know what was going on.

“It bounced the tyres off the ground, shook the whole vehicle up and down and nearly bounced us off the road.”

Junior says he and his crew are part of the mountain management team. They look after buildings, outdoor operations, snow clearing, tree removal and general landscaping work, plus water and sewerage.

He says while there was serious damage elsewhere, Mt Buller was spared the worst, despite the quake epicentre reportedly being near nearby Mansfield, where he lives.

“It was pretty full on,” he says.

“We cleared some rocks off the road up around Mt Buller village with machinery and by hand.

“But we’ve checked most of the road structures, buildings, gas facilities and water supply and so far we’ve found no other damage.”