“PLEASE don’t forget us,” is the message from business and tourism operators across Gloucester as they assess the extent of their flood losses.
With so many towns across the Hunter and Mid North Coast in need of support, particularly Taree and Wingham, the greatest challenge for authorities will be in prioritising financial assistance.
Trudy Schultz of Accommodation Gloucester says she has had “lots of cancellations”, with many local businesses certain to share the knock-on effects.
“We’re also a tourism town. We need to be looked after too,” she told News Of The Area.
“Normally we would have had lots of bookings coming up to the long weekend.”
However, she agrees that now is not the time for holidaymakers, with roads and bridges cut and landslips making parts of the World Heritage Barrington Tops too dangerous to visit.
Her photos of the Old Schoolmaster’s Cottage on Barrington East Road show the extent of the land that has been carved away from the riverbank and carried downstream in the Barrington River.
“Absolutely horrible. Mother Nature can be so brutal.”
Rosie Campbell knows all too well how long it takes to recover from a major flood event.
As the co-owner of Campbell Engineering on the ironically named Billabong Lane, she has experienced numerous floods since 1974, including the devastating 2021 event.
“It was not as high this time, but there was still six to eight inches (15-20cms) through my front office,” she told NOTA.
“We really don’t know how much we’ve lost until we can see what’s been washed away.”
The business is one of many in the lane facing days lost to assessing damage.
“We don’t know if grants are the answer, as we’re working. But we’re working on cleaning-up, not on the business.
“We just hope to be included in the assistance.”
Ms Campbell is also urging MidCoast Council to “give us time to get our rubbish out and to the tip.”
The region’s dairy farms were also hit hard in the floods, including the fifth-generation Raelands Farm at Barrington, which recorded 450mm of rainfall between last Monday and Thursday and was left without power.
The farm also lost about four metres of riverbank.
James McRae has shared his family’s clean-ups efforts and long list of repairs, including getting a new river pump, pulling what was left of the old one out of the river and picking up a second-hand generator in Forster to re-fill the tank supplying water for the cows, dairy and household.
“The tank has been a worthwhile addition to our flood strategy, as it provides us with enough water for about 1.5 weeks,” he said.
The operation to connect the new pump and generator was tricky, but was successful.
“[It’s] going to take a lot of work to get back to pre-flood operation,” James said.
“We are just one small farm in a bigger picture of varying degrees of damage.”
By Sue STEPHENSON
