Rising waters in Mannum set to ruin Christmas for the town’s kids, who have heard tales of historical flooding in the region from their elders

Kids growing up in Mannum are worried the embattled town will “not have a very nice Christmas” if rising waters continue to inundate the riverside community.

Layla Barney and her dog Coco surveyed the levee being built in Mannum as she thought of homeowners who faced flooding.

It is “scary”, said the 10-year-old, who would miss being able to go swimming this summer.

The kids in Mannum are also worried about Christmas and whether Santa will reach them.

The Advertiser contacted an elf spokesman for Father Christmas at the North Pole who confirmed Santa’s sleigh could handle a flood and extra time would be allocated to account for the four knot speed limit current for the River Murray.
Mannum’s kids are worried the embattled town will “not have a very nice Christmas” if rising waters continue to inundate the riverside community.

But despite their children hearing tales about the famous floods of yesteryear wreaking havoc on the town, parents in the Mannum community remain determined that despite the challenges, the festive season will go ahead.

Even if Santa has to arrive via jet ski, speedboat or may a sleigh-style air drop, Christmas won’t be cancelled.

A group of kids on Mannum’s riverbanks told The Advertiser they knew Christmas would be “different this year”, but they still looked forward to celebrating the season despite the flooding crisis.

Kids at Mannum talk about the impending floods – Cousins Duke Houston and Ollie Paech, both 10. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

Cousins Duke Houston and Ollie Paech, both 10, went down to Mary Ann Reserve to watch the machinery move in and build the temporary levee bank being built to protect the town.

Duke looked over the scene of trucks and machinery tearing up the roads and lawns to make way for a giant wall and said he “couldn’t believe” what he was seeing.

“Wow – never thought I would see trucks digging it up and it all closed,” he said.

“At school they said it could stay with us for a few months – it’s not good for the businesses and people moving out of homes.

“It is not going to be a very good Christmas for people here.”

And for Ollie, it was an “unbelievable” sight.

“The water will be wrecking stuff and it’s not good at all,” he said.

“The houses, the farmers, I feel so sorry for everyone.”

The kids said they had heard tales from parents and grandparents of streets filling with water, the damage to the houses and the months of clean up previous floods have caused in the town.

It’s part of growing up down in Mannum; iconic flood photos decorate the cafes, shops and pubs and it’s part of folklore in the picturesque river community.

Kids at Mannum talk about the impending floods – Layla Barney, 10 with her dog Coco. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

The pair said their family always told stories of how hard life was when the water came up in the past.

“Poppy lived over the river and he had to leave his house for eight months – I hope people don’t have to do that again,” Duke said.

“We got told stories of people rowing boats down the main street and getting beer and there are photos to prove it.”

Ollie had a message for his friends in the town; “I want everyone to stay safe”.

Laylah Barney, 10, lives in Mypolonga – a neighbouring river community also in the path of flooding – and made the trip to Mannum to watch the wall go up.

She said she was worried about the houses that are going underwater and said it was “scary”.

Layla said she was sad she couldn’t visit Woodland Reserve playground and would not be able to go swimming.

“I love swimming and now I won’t be able to do it for a while,” she said.

Laylah’s parents – Sarah and Hayden – said they had been busy taking in all the information and were moving valuables to higher ground in the chance the water gets to record heights.

Kids at Mannum talk about the impending floods – Adam Strauss, 13 and Jalan Wilson, 12. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

A pair of river-loving friends Jalan Wilson, 12, and Adam Strauss, 13, said they spent everyday after school and all weekend swimming in the river and loved to go fishing.

The duo said they were enjoying the river while they could as they knew soon they would be banned from going over the other side of the great levee.

“We swim every day, the river is our life,” Jalan said.

“It will really suck when we can’t.”

And Adam was disheartened to learn the high flows are expected to keep the water high for months, with emergency services declaring the temporary levees are exclusion zones.

“That’s not good over summer … What are we going to do?” he said.