The roar of mud bash vehicles is set to return to Mafeking Rover Park in Caveat after the January 2026 Victorian bushfires damaged or destroyed more than 80% of the Scouts Victoria property.
Since then, Emergency Management Victoria’s clean-up program has helped remove damaged buildings and structures clearing the way for the park’s recovery.
Scouts Victoria CEO Jon McGregor remembers returning to the park in the days after the fire.
‘Pretty much every building on the site was razed completely to the ground,’ he said. ‘Trees were black and dangerous and it just looked like a lunar moonscape.’
‘It was an enormous job to clean up and I don't know how we would have gone about it ourselves.’
The fire destroyed multiple buildings across the 130-hectare park. Cleaning it up involved removing slabs, toilet blocks and old sheds.
Emergency Management Victoria’s Dean Purkis says it was a big job cleaning up such a large site but the organisation was happy to help Scouts Victoria start the recovery process.
‘It’s a community asset that means a lot to people in regional areas,’ he said. ‘That's why we focus on these places a lot in terms of the clean up that we do’
Mafeking Rover Park has been a local hub for more than 30 years. It provides camping, racing and outdoor activities for Scouts and the wider community.
With the site clean-up finished, Mr McGregor says the Scouts can now turn the page on January’s fires and look towards the future.
‘We’re really excited to see activity start again at this campsite,’ he said. ‘It’s too important to see it disappear just because of a bushfire.’
‘Scouts are pretty resilient people and we will recover here and we will get the campsite up and running again.’
Stories of community recovery
Read stories from communities who have faced adversity and come together to grieve, recover and rebuild.
Updated