The Wild Reed: Australian Floods of 2011

Sunday, January 16, 2011

In Maclean, an End to the "Siege"

5: 30 p.m. – As I mentioned in an earlier post, "under siege" has been an expression used a lot to describe many of the flooded-in communities throughout south east Queensland and northern New South Wales. It's a term that brings to mind epic adventures from the likes of The Lord of the Rings and Prince Valiant! In many ways these last few days have been adventurous – but also heart-breakingly sad and devastating for many.

Currently the news is filled with stories of people in Brisbane who are selflessly giving of their time and energy to lend a hand to those most hard hit by the recent flooding of the city. I find these stories to be quite inspiring. In most cases people are helping total strangers.

As Brisbane and other areas begin to clean-up, here in Maclean the flood waters have receded enough to be able to reach the Pacific Highway and travel south to Grafton. As a result, I'll be able to catch a bus tonight in Grafton for Port Macquarie.

The end to the "siege" here in Maclean has also allowed my friends, the newly-weds Jeremiah and Kristy, to drive from Tweed Heads to Maclean, where they plan to make their home. They arrived just as Jeremiah's mum Bernie and siblings Raph, Ig and Mim, and I returned from a delightful afternoon at Brooms Head.

Above: Mim and her dad Mike relaxing earlier this morning.

Above: Raph, getting ready to return to Queensland's Sunshine Coast.

At around lunch time today, Mike and I drove into Maclean to do some errands. On the way back I asked if we could stop so I could photograph a horse I'd notice a number of times over the past few days. I thought a shot of it with the flood waters in the background would make a good picture.

As it turned out, this particular horse was very friendly, and as soon as I began approaching the paddock it was in, it came right up to the fence and let me pat her! It was a nice moment.

Above: Mike and Ig put up the sign I made for the compound
that houses Jeremiah and Kristy's two dogs – Asher and Abby.

Above: Mim, Ig and Raph applying sunscreen to each other at Brooms Head. I later experienced a wonderful Gaytime in the shop behind them!

Right: I would love to have a home just like this one somewhere on the Australian coast! Mind you, I'd have a bit more of a garden around it.

Above and below: Views of the ocean at Brooms Head.

Above: Raph, looking very iconic!

Above: Aren't the colours something?

Above: Ig, Bernie and Raph on the beach at Brooms Head.

Above: Iggy!

Above: Relaxing back at home.

Above: Playing bocce with the boys!

Above: Raph, Bernie, Mim, Kristy and Jeremiah.

9:30 p.m. – The air in Grafton is quite fetid, which I guess is to be expected given the extent of flooding the town has experienced in the past few days.

Mike and his brother Bartley drove me here from Maclean earlier this evening after a pleasant last afternoon in Maclean with the McGowan family. The thing I remember most about the drive? The incredible number of bugs flying around in the car headlights. Again, a consequence of the recent flooding.

I'm looking forward to returning to my parents in Port Macquarie, but I'm also aware that it's been a very special time that I've shared with the McGowans "flooded-in" in Maclean. As Raph noted, it's a "bittersweet" parting for us all. Still, life goes on and there's much for me to do in these next few weeks before my return to the U.S. on February 8.

Recommended Off-site Links:
Mop-Up Army Defines Mateship – The Courier Mail (January 17, 2011).
Thousands Arrive to Lend a Hand – James Madden (The Australian, January 17, 2011).
A Video of the Flooding in Maclean

See also the related Wild Reed posts:
The Australian Floods
Rising Waters
"Flooded-In but Loving Life"

Photography: Michael Bayly.
Opening and closing images: The Lifting of the Siege of Camelot. (Panels from an early 1980s Prince Valiant strip. Art: John Cullen Murphy. Text: John Cullen).

Saturday, January 15, 2011

"Flooded-In but Loving Life"

That's how my good friend Bernie recently described our situation here in Maclean. She was responding to a friend who phoned inquiring about how she and the rest of the McGowan family were dealing with the extensive flooding that has taken place here in northern New South Wales and further north in south eastern Queensland. In many parts of these areas – including the Queensland capital of Brisbane – the floods have been quite devastating. To date 16 people have been reported killed, 53 reported missing, and tens of thousands evacuated from their homes.

Above right: My friends Bernie (front), Mim and Raphael.

Above: Looking toward Maclean across swathes of flood water
and a kangaroo-dotted paddock.

How did I get to be flood-bound in Maclean? Well, as I've noted previously, I'm here with members of the McGowan family – all of whom are dear friends and some of whom live just outside of Maclean. My plan was to spend a couple of days with them after attending the wedding of the eldest McGowan son in the coastal town of Kingscliff, 200 kilometres north of Maclean.

Above: The extended McGowan family. From left: Bernie, Tess, Maisy, Dominica,
Mim, Collette, Kristy, Jeremiah, Raphael, Iggy, Bartley, Victor and Mike
– Kingscliff, New South Wales, January 8, 2011.

On the day I was to return to my parents' home in Port Macquarie (January 11), the waters of the Clarence River rose and cut access from Maclean to the Pacific Highway, preventing the southbound bus service I was scheduled to travel on to Port Macquarie from reaching me. Since then the Pacific Highway itself has been cut at nearby Harwood.

Above left: With my friend Raph, waiting for the bus that would never arrive!

Raph and Mim were also prevented from returning to the Sunshine Coast where they live and work, while Mike's brother Bartley was prevented from returning to his home in Melbourne. Both Mike and Bernie are unable to travel to their workplaces in nearby Grafton. It's been this way for four days now. Hopefully things will clear up by the weekend.

Above (from left): Mim, Ig, Raph, Bernie, Mike and Bartley.

So, my friends – especially those of you in the U.S. who have been e-mailing me, concerned about my whereabouts and safety – I want to assure you that I'm quite safe, just stranded for a little while.

But I'm with friends and, while we're certainly keeping those who have been most impacted by these terrible floods in our thoughts and prayers, we also remain thankful for being alive, being together and being able to love life in the midst of the situation we currently find ourselves.

Following are some images of our life here in flooded-in Maclean.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Above: Iggy.

Above: Ig helps manage and staff the local gym.
In this picture he gives his sister Mim some tips on boxing.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Today was quite sunny and so we spent much of it working outside doing yard work.

Above and left: Mim and Raph take turns mowing the grass on a ride-on lawn mower.

Above: Taking the dogs for a walk.

Above: Relaxing after a hard day of yard work.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Above: Doesn't the yard look great?

Above: But there's still work to be done!

Above: Visiting the Maclean Lookout.

Above: Bernie and Mim.

Above: Raph, enjoying the sunny weather.

Above: With the winding contours of the Clarence River on the left, this image
clearly shows the extent of the flooding that has isolated the town of Maclean.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Some more jobs around the yard were completed today along with time spent relaxing in the hammock that was put up by Raph on Thursday. Then in the afternoon, Bernie, Raph, Mim and I traveled to the coastal spot known as Broom's Head. The road to this part of the coast has recently been reopened. Access to the Pacific Highway, however, remains blocked by flood waters.