Gympie businesses were hit hard in the flooding events of 2022.
The first business to bear the brunt of a wall of water was the Woolooga Trader when the low pressure system from Cyclone Seth dumped in excess of 600mm of rain in January, 2022.
The water rose so fast, reports emerged that dozens of cars had been swept off the Bruce Highway in the darkness, and upwards of 80 people rescued.
In the space of 48 hours, from Friday 7 to Sunday 9 January, the Woolooga Trader buildings, and the Caz, Matt and Georgia Crane’s most recent project nearby, a restaurant, bar and grill were completely submerged.
The family had only just finished restoring the general store complex (built in 1910) in October 2021, before they were blindsided by the first of three major floods to hit the region.
Barely had they managed to get it up and running again, before the February floods came through again and undid all their hard work.
Aside from the extensive damage to farming properties, with destroyed fences, lost livestock and ruined crops, 143 commercial and industrial properties were assessed as having between minor and severe flood damage.
Those businesses to suffer the most severe damage included Gympie’s main street, Mary Street, the CBD and Crescent and Brisbane Roads.
It affected all sorts of businesses, including several not-for-profit shops such as Little Haven Market Place, the Gympie RSPCA Op Shop and Neighbours Aid Op Shop in River Road.
Also in River Road, the Alluvial Gallery was swamped, as was the Gympie Medical Transport Services building.
One Mile and Two Mile Schools were severely damaged and several other schools were closed temporarily due to the widespread flooding isolating homes and suburbs.
Even Gympie’s largest employer, Nolan’s Meats, suffered flood damage – something the family owned business had never experienced before, not even in the ‘Once in a Century Flood’ in 1999.
And the recovery for some businesses has been a long and exhaustive process.
Some won’t come back.
The former owners of Goodyear Jewellers, after reopening after the floods, then suffering through a ram raid, decided to retire from the business, rather than continue.
The Empire and Royal Hotels closed, as did the Golden Age/Queens Hotel.
Cooloola Paint and Panel in Monkland Street have still not reopened after being flooded twice, once in the February flood and then again in May.
In good news for them, they are undergoing major refurbishments and we sense a reopening announcement could be just weeks away.
Major retailers Best and Less, Millers and Jay Jays took months to get their doors reopened.
Best and Less were the first to bounce back around mid year, but Jay Jays didn’t reopen until just before Christmas last year, and Millers were a couple of weeks behind them.
The Reject Shop, which had flooding inside that reached their ceiling, is rumoured to be reopening sometime after Easter, but work is yet to begin in earnest with the mud-stained glass doors and windows reminding passersby of the reason for their closure.
All this disruption to our commercial sectors has made a large dent in the local economy, especially coming as it did on the heels of the global pandemic.
However, indications are that local people are supporting local businesses where possible, in a bid to help fill that hole in our economy, and through initiatives such as the CBD Action Group, Gympie business people are finding ways to forge a brighter future.
