SES volunteers on duty as their own homes flooded

At the same time they were out helping save swamped residents, the homes of these SES volunteers were also hit by the raging waters. These are their incredibly selfless stories. 

The rain poured relentlessly and Larry Nolan’s nervous wife Janice got up at 4am.

Aware their home was in danger of being flooded she had been getting up regularly to check but as she looked downstairs from their second floor, this time it was clear, water was now inside.

Mrs Nolan walked into her bedroom, picked up her phone and called her husband to ask if he could come home.

But he couldn’t.

Larry Nolan was among more than 2000 SES volunteers to help out across NSW during last month’s major floods, despite his own home being underwater. Picture: Nathan Edwards.

The SES volunteer had been out all night doing everything from performing rescues to filling sandbags, and now the Manning River on the NSW mid-north coast had risen to a point where every road home was blocked.

While all of the more than 2000 SES volunteers who helped out during last month’s one-in-50-year floods were selfless, Mr Nolan is among a small few who went above and beyond by leaving their own flood-affected homes to help others.

“I couldn’t get home so I figured I may as well help others,” Mr Nolan said.

Larry Nolan from Manning Point sifts through his water damaged old Army service mementos. Pic Nathan Edwards

Mr Nolan spent five nights sleeping on the floor of a local SES depot.

Back at his home in Manning Point the bottom floor was completely flooded, ruining his stepson’s bedroom and his prized Harley Davidson in the garage.

But he never mentioned his own woes to his SES crew and doesn’t believe he warrants extra recognition.

“It’s just helping out, that’s all,” he said.

Unlike Mr Nolan, Garry Ferris was at home in North Haven when floodwaters began lapping at his door.

Just hours earlier he had completed a rescue before heading back to get some rest, aware a hectic weekend was ahead of him.

“I came back from an evacuation late on Friday night and I looked in my yard and the water was starting to creep up,” Mr Ferris, 70, said.

“I got up in the middle of the night at about 2.30am and thought I better check, so I looked outside and saw it was in.

SES volunteers Ted Atkins, Gordon Hutchison and Garry Ferris from North Haven were out helping people during the floods while their own homes were getting swamped. Picture: Nathan Edwards

“There’s nothing we could do by that stage, it was done. So I went back to bed and then got up early and put my SES raincoat on and walked up the street helping my neighbours.”

Hearing that people were stranded at the local caravan park, Mr Ferris made his way there in a mate’s boat.

When he arrived he discovered 36 people upstairs in the caravan park office. He and a “couple of local lads” got them to safety.

“My wife and my house were in the back of my mind, but there was nothing I could do,” Mr Ferris said.

“I knew she was comfortable and dry, so I just kept helping some other people.”

Incredibly, Mr Ferris’ good mates and fellow Camden Haven Unit members Gordon Hutchison and Ted Atkins, also spent the week helping out despite their homes being affected.

Robyn Bate was working at the SES command centre while her own home was going underwater. Picture: Nathan Edwards

While she wasn’t out in the rain, the work Robyn Bate was doing at the command centre was just as crucial.

At the same time as she was fielding calls from family’s stranded in rising floodwaters begging her for help, her own home was going underwater.

“I think the first night, the Friday night, was a 15-hour shift,” Mrs Bate said.

“Every call that was coming through was for a rescue and it was hectic and traumatic.

Taree resident Terry Spinks was helping out when his SES colleagues told him to head home and pack. Picture: Nathan Edwards

“I don’t know how I managed, I guess you just get on with it. It’s probably the worst thing I’ve had to do since the William Tyrrell search, that was really sad and tough.”

Taree was one of the worst-hit towns during the one-in-50-year floods.

Longtime resident Terry Spinks was in nearby Wingham helping out when the water level began to rise, and his fellow SES members told him to head home.

Mr Spinks got home just in time to help his wife pack some essentials into their caravan.

Now, their caravan is back in their driveway, and is acting as a temporary home.

“There’s lots of damage, even talking to people who have lived here all their lives, it’s the worse they’ve ever seen,” Mr Spinks.

“Myself and my wife are living in the caravan, we can still get in to the house to use the toilets and things.

“In the days after it started flooding I was living in the caravan up the street, but it meant I could help my neighbours shift things out of their house.

“That’s what it’s all about.”

Originally published as SES volunteers on duty as their own homes flooded