By Clinton Llewellyn
Cactus Jacks Music Saloon owner Lee Walker had no hesitation in organising a charity concert on hearing that her friends, Ongaonga couple Martin and Leigh Gillard, had lost everything in a major house fire.
The Gillards lost precious family heirlooms and most of their possessions - including irreplaceable vintage Art Deco jewellery pieces - when their 1911-built wooden four-bedroom house at the eastern entrance of the village, formerly the Presbyterian manse for the area, was destroyed in the blaze on Monday night, May 22.
The night before the fire, the music-loving Gillards had been at Cactus Jacks in Waipawa to watch Landslide, a Fleetwood Mac/ Stevie Nicks tribute act, dressed in costume.
The next day the couple left for their holiday home in Waihi before they were alerted by a phone call from police that their home had been burned to the ground.
Lee said her heart immediately went out to her two friends, who often helped put the chairs away after shows at the venue.