The
Flood of One
Friday, March 9, 2001. All throughout the day, the traffic was stopped
on the Pacific Highway because herds of cattle were being moved
from the river flats to higher ground.
Saturday, March 10, 2001.
After a week of torrential rain
and wild weather, the sun finally appeared but so did a lot of
water. Hundreds of cattle had been moved into our lane as water
from the creek crossed the paddock opposite us and started to
flow across the lane and through our place. Sight of the day was
a woman in a Drizabone coat, Akubra hat, Blundstone boots - full
Aussie country gear. She was on horseback herding cattle with
the help of cattle dogs. And talking on a mobile phone! Must make
the work so much easier. Mobile phones have been a necessity around
here because we haven't had a house phone for almost a week.
Flood Starting at Dusk
Sunday, March 11, 2001. The dawn of a new day and this was the sight
that greeted us - a river through our property.
Sunrise Over our Paddocks.
River through the Vegie Patch.
Creek Overflowing through
Paddock & the Lane.
The sight was hardly surprising
because I had been up all night watching the waters rise by moonlight.
Clybucca Creek overflowed, lakes formed in the paddocks all around
and slowly the waters joined to form the river. An hour earlier
I had evacuated the chickens and their mother from the chook shed
because they are still sleeping in a nest. The chook shed was
full of spiders and crickets climbing up the walls to escape the
rising water. At daybreak, I evacuated the chooks one by one from
their roosts as water lapped at their feet. The ducks just swam
out of the shed. The poultry camped out on Sunday night.
Flooded Paddocks. Letter Box
Survives.
By lunch time the house yard
was an island. The top of the letter box only just stayed above
water. The neighbour at the end of the lane went under so we had
to swim his cattle to the high part of the lane. The water was
chest deep. Another neighbour was stranded on our side of the
creek so he was collected by boat at our front gate. Our cattle
had a thin strip of high ground along the fence which goes along
the lane. We had to cut the fence between our properties so that
they could get into my property, half of which is high ground.
Poultry Camping Out. Cows Paddling in the Lane.
The whole area was buzzing with
helicopters. A big army helicopter flew around our house while
we were an island to check on us and then went around every other
house that was surrounded by water. As well as dropping food and
medicine to people who were flood bound further up river, they
dropped hay to stranded cattle. People were evacuated by helicopter
from Smithtown and Gladstone. South West Rocks was isolated for
a couple of days.
Lake Clybucca. Water Under the Back Gate.
The Pacific Highway was closed
at the end of our lane on Saturday morning and remained closed
until about 40 trucks, escorted by an army helicopter, were allowed
through on Tuesday morning but then it was closed again for another
24 hours. Neil had a container on the truck which was supposed
to be on a ship for Hong Kong on Monday morning. Trucks, tourists
and motorists were all stranded at Clybucca because of the flooding
further north as well. All of the rivers in the top half of NSW
were in full flood.
No Way Through Clybucca. Unless
you have a Helicopter.
March, 01
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