People power helps remote Indigenous community rebuild after TC Jasper and flood

With floodwater lapping at the fence of his residence, a father of two woke his partner and – with three toddlers in tow – fled their home in Far North Queensland. One year on, he shared their story to mark the anniversary of the natural disaster.

Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Shire Council employee Greg Pascoe gathered his family and fled his home as the swelling Bloomfield River lapped at the fence of his property.

Wujal Wujal’s Greg Pascoe knows exactly how much he lost in the record Far North flood that left his young family scurrying for higher ground in December last year.

“Yeah, everything,” the council worker said succinctly.

Perched under the mango tree, a town meeting place in the heart of the southern Cape York community, the young dad reflected on the night he watched his and 25 other homes go under in a natural disaster that left hundreds of Far North Queenslanders homeless just a week before Christmas.

There was a staggered return to Wujal Wujal for residents.

As the Bloomfield River swelled on December 17, the father of three stood in his frontyard, anxiously flashing a torch over the rising waters every few minutes.

Finally, with water lapping at the fence of his Heorlein St residence, Mr Pascoe woke his partner and – with three toddlers in tow – fled their home.

“We live on a hill but the hill didn’t do anything,” he said.

“The water came up and went into the house. It was late in the night but it was quick. Every blink of the eye the water was rising up.”

The young family camped overnight on higher ground with other residents, awestruck by the power of the river.

“It was devastating,” Mr Pascoe said.

“I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.

“It was like a tsunami, y’know?”

Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Shire Council chambers after the devastating floods. Picture: Bronwyn Farr

Just days earlier, Tropical Cyclone Jasper, the wettest cyclone in Australian history, had tracked over Wujal Wujal.

With it came relentless rainfall.

The scars on the landscape can still be seen almost 12 months on from Tropical Cyclone Jasper and the record Far North flood.

Nearby, an incredible 2252mm of rain was recorded at Bairds near the Daintree River.

Eager to check on his home, Mr Pascoe traversed through the debris to inspect the damage in the early hours of the morning.

“I could see the water half way up the walls of my house,” he said.

The view from Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation's ranger base, near Mr Pascoe’s home, in Wujal Wujal following the recent floods.

Once the surge subsided, the flood’s true damage was revealed.

“When I went there the next day there was mud everywhere,” the young dad said.

“The furniture was smashed. You’d never think the flood would come up that high but it did. We lost everything. Clothes, my car that I had just bought.”

An Australian Army Chinook helicopter takes off from the Cooktown Airport, bound for the Indigenous community of Wujal Wujal last December. Picture: Brendan Radke

After, Mr Pascoe waited in the mud for the whooping tandem rotors of the Australian Defence Force’s Chinook helicopter to come and evacuate the entire community.

Forced to live in Cooktown and then Cairns, he was without work for a time but all the while yearned to return to where he’d started to raise his family.

Originally from the remote community of Lockhart River in eastern Cape York, Mr Pascoe said it was the Wujal Wujal community’s care for one another that made him want to go back.

Since the flood, people are gentler with one another now, knowing the heartbreak it caused the township’s 276 residents and extended relations who feared they were dead.

‘LOVE KINDNESS AND RESPECT’

The council’s CEO Kiley Hanslow, who stayed after the flood to care for residents’ pets, said seeing the community come back to life after the flood had been a special experience.

“It’s a beautiful community,” Ms Hanslow, who previously lived in the Northern Territory, said.

“When everyone was evacuated … it was very lonely. That’s why it was lovely to be able to feed the dogs because it gave me some company.

“We didn’t even have communications or power for a while. About four weeks after (the flood) we got portaloos.”

A dog roams down the main street of Wujal Wujal, greeted by community members and school children.

Seeing families find their way home again reflected the community’s resilience.

“It was really emotional watching people come back. Everyone was excited to be back but also sad about what happened,” Ms Hanslow said.

“But there was noise in the town. There were kids playing on the street.”

Australian Army personnel from the 5th Aviation Regiment, Queensland Police and emergency services assist residents to evacuate from Wujal Wujal to Cooktown via CH-47F Chinook helicopter.

As Wujal Wujal rebuilds, Mr Pascoe is hopeful the community will build new homes further from the river in the future.

“It was all good when we came back. Everything was clean,” he said of the community’s staggered return which started in late April.

“But I sort of got that little flashback of what happened. You think of everything you went through. I can still picture it.

“A lot of people are saying, ‘Ah, you know the rain’s coming. We gotta be careful.’ We’re just nervous. You can feel it. You don’t know what could happen.

“It can come in the blink of an eye.”

The Bloomfield waterfall is located just outside of Wujal Wujal, in southern Cape York, around 180km north of Cairns.

Blessed with unrivaled beauty, beyond its amazing waterfalls, postcard-perfect outback, red dirt, rainforest and indigo river, the community had one other special trait, Mr Pascoe said.

It’s the reason he chose to come back.

“I’ve been everywhere in Far North Queensland,” Mr Pascoe said.

“What makes it special is the people. They’re so kind and loving.

“If you got love, kindness and respect, where else would you want to be?

“There’s even good hunting and fishing.”

This month, the Cairns Post is sharing stories of resilience and bravery during and after Tropical Cyclone Jasper. If you have a story you’d like to share, email [e-mail].

Originally published as People power helps remote Indigenous community rebuild after TC Jasper and flood