THE CAMPAIGN STARTS
The Gympie Flows Forward campaign was started on the edition closest to the anniversary of the floods of 27 February, 2022.
For those Gympie residents most directly affected by the record floods, they didn’t need reminding of the events of a year ago.
But a testament to the people of this region is their resilience and their fortitude to rise from these calamitous events and rebuild.
And so that was the focus of this 12 month campaign, starting on 24 February.
HELL FROM THE HEAVENS
An article on 3 March on Photographer Leeroy Todd and being part of the creative team, along with Joolie Gibbs and Miriam Innes who created the 22.96/receding exhibition showed how he was attempting to highlight the positives to come from the calamitous floods.
Leeroy, who has lived in the region all his life said the sheer enormity of the flood really hit him this time when he had the opportunity to see it from above.
“I am used to seeing the water from the ground, but once you get above it, especially via drone or in the helicopter – then you really see the amount of water.
“The sheer amount of water is just incredible.
“When I got to fly above them and seeing recognisable landmarks engulfed, it was really quite incredible,“ he said.
Mr Todd said with the amount of devastation that occurred it could be easy to become focussed on the negativity surrounding a natural disaster of this magnitude.
But for him, he took on the challenge of putting a positive spin on the experience for the people involved.
“I really wanted to paint the whole thing in a different light and take the positives from it to help with the healing and health of the community,“ he said.
The exhibition would go on to be extended for a further month at Gympie and was a finalist in the 2023 Gallery and Museum Achievement Awards.
REPAIRS 80% DONE
A story that ran on 7 April said the bulk of the heavy lifting had already been done according to a report from the Queensland Reconstruction Authority.
Nearly 80 per cent of properties impacted by the 2022 floods were no longer showing signs of damage.
Of the 8698 homes and businesses identified as damaged (434 of those in Gympie) following the catastrophic SEQ floods of 2022, 6744 properties were damage free once again according to the QRA.
According to information released by the Gympie Regional Council, 291 residential properties and 143 commercial and industrial properties within the Gympie LGA were initially assessed by the Queensland Fire and Emergency Service as having minor to severe levels of damage.
A release from the office of Steven Miles, said QRA staff have completed the latest damage assessment and reconstruction monitoring operation, in response to last year’s flooding event in SEQ.
INFAMOUS POTHOLE PLUGGED
On 19 May, there was another flood recovery win under Gympie Regional Council’s belt with the completition of the much-anticipated Maudsley Street Flood Betterment Project.
Maudsley Street suffered significant damage in January, 2022, and a witness reported up to 85 per cent of the town lost access to their water supply as a result.
“Crews have worked hard to complete the flood repairs to Maudsley Street after receiving the green light from the state in March of this year,“ said Gympie Regional Council Deputy Mayor and Divisional Councillor, Hilary Smerdon.
“We acknowledge the timeline it’s taken to fix the road, but we didn’t want a situation where we do a patch job and have to constantly go back to refix.
INNOVATIONS FROM THE FLOODS
On 2 June we ran a story about an innovation that occurred as a result of the floods.
LifeFlight helicopter crews were able to improvise in pet rescues, during the February floods, because at least four Gympie dogs were rescued, along with their owners.
Now, the crews at LifeFlight are even better equipped to achieve this task with an Australian-first, purpose-built Animal Rescue Capsule (ARC) which can be used to rescue, winch and transport pets securely from life-threatening situations, such as floods.
A RIGHT ROYAL RENO
The Royal Hotel copped a battering in the February floods of 2022 and a full page story on 23 June showed just how well the old girl had bounced back due to the hard work of Brad Hall and his contractors.
Brad said they had to gut the entire lower levels, completely replacing all the electrical and fire systems and completely reconfiguring the upstairs level into 19 single rooms, with modest but comfortable furnishings – perfect for single people or couples.
Downstairs needed more work with all the plasterboard from the walls and ceiling needing to be refurbished.
“It had to be gutted completely and put back together again,“ he said.
Work continues on the building, but it is now open for business for low cost, comfortable accommodation.
