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Gippsland benefit concert raises $27,000

25 February 2009

Singers Mia Dyson and Liz Stringer
Singers Mia Dyson and Liz Stringer.

More than 700 people showed their support for Victorian bush fire victims at a relief fund benefit concert held at Monash's Gippsland campus on Saturday 21 February.

The event, presented by ABC Radio and The Lyrebird Arts Council, included popular Australian country singer Sara Storer, US singer Toni Childs, Mia Dyson and Liz Stringer.

The Monash Sinfonia and local Gippsland musician Brodie Young also performed on the night.

The benefit included an auction of items donated by the Hawthorn Football Club and musician Taasha Coates from The Audreys and raised $27,000 for the fire victims.

On Sunday, about 300 people attended a memorial service at the campus for the victims, addressed by Monash Gippsland chaplain Father Hugh Brown. The service also took a relay of the service at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.

Meanwhile the Gippsland campus continues to operate as the main staging area for the fires that have killed 11 people and devastated huge areas of the Latrobe Valley.

Gippsland Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Helen Bartlett said the campus would continue to provide support through the coming weeks during the recovery period as the needs of local families are assessed and the fire crews continue to work to bring the fires under control.

Professor Bartlett said preparation for the intake of 2009 students had not been affected.