‘Not easy times’: Embarking on a new year means rebuilding for many Riverland families

Farms are cut off and more than 100 shacks under water as Riverland communities wait for waters to peak.

Joel Eglington is kayaking around Mark’s Landing, visibly shocked as he weaves in and out of a tight-knit shed community which is now completely underwater.

About 150 shacks situated in the community on the edge of Swan Reach have been completely submerged, which locals said happened overnight with no warning.

Mr Eglington said it had been “quite upsetting” as he kayaked in and out to check up on his mother’s and other family members’ shacks, ensuring they were as secure as possible.

“It’s a bit higher than we thought, so I’ve just moved things higher to stop the debris getting out,” he said.

“We come here every summer because my Mum’s got a shack, my sister’s got a shack two doors down and then my uncle and aunty got a shack two doors up, and then my other sister’s got a shack 200m up the road. So we’ve all got a bit going on up here.”

Joel Eglinton at Swan Reach Ferry entrance as the Murray River waters continue to rise. Picture Emma Brasier.

Mr Eglington estimated it would take about 12 months to have all his family’s shacks restored, and was uncertain about what it would cost.

“It will be a lot, I’m not quite sure if my Mum is covered or where her insurance is at, but my sisters are, so they’ll probably look to rebuild,” he said.

“And for my Mum, it might just be a clean up mission, just seeing what we can salvage and what we can fix up ourselves, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

Craig Fromm, co-owner of the Swan Reach Hotel, said it was “quite remarkable” to see the entirety of Mark’s Landing go underwater in the space of 12 hours.

Mr Fromm said the flood, plus the Covid-19 pandemic, had significantly affected on the local community, including its businesses.

“It’s a bit scary. We had Covid last year that we worked through, which reduced the numbers we could have in the hotel, and then this year it’s the floods,’ he said.

“There’s over 150 shacks down there, so that’s easily 150 families that visit this time of year and bring extra families up.

“This town goes from having 200 people in it to having like 2000 or more people through the holiday period.”

Corey Jones with wife Mollie and children Nina and Rupert. Picture Emma Brasier

Despite the devastating impact on the town, Mr Fromm said his hotel had maintained a steady flow of customers, with many people flocking to his pub to take in the views from the balcony area.

“It’s like a natural phenomenon, you don’t get to see something like this. Basically it happens every 50-odd years,” he said.

“So, you just don’t know what the flood is going to do to you, whether it’s going to end the business or add to the business … you just got to roll with the punches.”

Downstream at Mypolonga, farmers Corey and Mollie Jones reckon it will take at least 12 months to recover financially and emotionally after a levee breach cut their dairy farm off, forcing them to move 400 buffaloes to higher ground.

Situated in the middle of River Murray flats, the couple and their two young children join more than a thousand other families that have had their properties inundated with flood water since October.

On December 10, the couple made the decision to move their 400 buffaloes upstream to another farm, three weeks before a levee breach flooded their entire 140ha property.

“We kind of knew it was coming so we had to prepare the best that we could,” Mr Jones said.

“We expect a minimum of six, possibly 12 months before we can start to do anything on the farm because of how bad it is.

“It’s going to take some money to get the place going again, but, we’re just thankful that all our animals are safe.

“That was our No. 1 priority.”

The start of 2023 for Mr Jones and his family will be about rebuilding what they have lost, which they said could have been prevented if more had been done by the state government to prevent the disaster.

Scenes from Swan Reach as the Murray River waters continue to rise. Picture Emma Brasier.

“Not to get political but it is a government-maintained levee bank and, possibly, if it was maintained better than this (it) could’ve been a flood that could’ve been held back,” he said. “But instead it’s blown out and now we have to move on from that.”

An Environment and Water department spokesman said the levee was inspected on the morning of the breach and there were no visible signs of vulnerability.Witnesses on site at the time of the breach have told the department that the levee appeared to have failed internally.

Mr Jones said his family now just had to “ sit back and watch our farm be underwater for the next few months, then we need to get this water out and start again”.

He said they had been flooded since Boxing Day and were still “nervous” as peak flows were expected to hit the area in the next week, bringing with them 190 gigalitres to 220GL of water per day.

The Jones’s farm joins up to 1800 other properties that have been inundated since the floods started in October, with at least 4000 properties expected to be flooded out before the water recedes.

More than 250 businesses and 4000ha of productive agricultural land is also expected to be inundated. With more water on the way, Mayor of the Murray Bridge Council Wayne Thorley said the “angst of not knowing” was affecting businesses and communities in higher-risk areas.

Swan Reach Hotel owners Tammie Parker and Craig Fromm. Picture Emma Brasier.

“It’s certainly causing anxiety to our community, because it’s about not knowing what the peak level really means,” he said.

“I feel for those communities and people who have businesses …. historical businesses.

“I mean, some of those businesses are 60 to 70 years old … those farming businesses and they need to know where they’re going, just like everybody else does.”

Back at Swan Reach and Mr Fromm said New Year’s Eve would be a “quiet one” at his pub, with nowhere left in the town to accommodate people. “This year, we’ll probably get stuff all with no ‘shackers’ staying up here, we’ll just end up being open and do our meals,” he said.

“The locals will probably come down and we’ll get either the jukebox or UE Boom (portable bluetooth speaker) going with the stereo and everyone will have a good time.”

Thirty kilometres upstream, Paisley local Mal McNiel is building another barrage after learning on Friday afternoon that more water would be coming downstream in the next week.

“We thought we were fine but we got a message today saying that it’s (the water) gonna raise another 200mm, so that now puts it over the road and into my shed,” Mr McNiel said.

“A bit of notice would’ve been good but to get short notice like that ... as of now, we’ve got to empty the shed and build the road up a bit more.

“I thought it was going to be all over but now it’s game on.”

The latest flood advice from the State Emergency Service said the towns of Waikerie and Morgan were most at-risk over the next 24 hours.

“Communities should expect to see and prepare for new areas of flooding,” a spokesperson said.

“Existing levees in the area will become further engaged and people are urged to be vigilant and inspect their levees on a regular basis.

“The best advice for communities is to be prepared, stay up to date with the latest information and warnings and if a decision has been made to leave the area, leave early.”