News Corp flood appeal donates $5k to replace Tim Buckles’ wheelchair

Tim and Shirley Buckles lost everything when the Mary River completely flooded their Jones Hill home in February 2022, and are still in a battle with their insurance company. One thing that was not insured was 83-year-old Mr Buckles’ wheelchair. Watch the video.

It took decades for Tim and Shirley Buckles to build their lives together but then three quick days to wipe it out.

The elderly Gympie couple lost everything in the February 2022 floods when their house at Lasiandra Drive was submerged in the waters of the Mary River.

Among these was an electric wheelchair Mr Buckles needed to remain mobile; he was forced to abandon it when they fled their home with only the clothes on their back.

In the aftermath he had little choice but to rely on a wheelchair built for a teenager and donated to him, or a pair of crutches.

Local Heroes Rebuilding Communities.

It was an inconvenience The Gympie Times has now been able to end by way of a $5000 donation for a replacement wheelchair, through the News Corp Flood Appeal.

The couple had expected it would take up to a year to replace the chair left behind as the floodwaters rapidly rose.

“We had a dog … I threw him in the car. I dragged (Mr Buckles) up the driveway and threw him in the car, but I didn’t even think about the bloody wheelchair,” Mrs Buckles said.

The Buckles, in their 80s, are now living in a small unit at Torquay.

Tony and Shirley Buckles have been gifted $5000 by The Gympie Times and News Corp to replace an electric wheelchair Mr Buckles needs to get around after his was destroyed in the February 2022 flood.

The donation was a welcome surprise.

“Oh, you’re kidding?” was Mrs Buckles’ response to the news while Mr Buckles called it “unbelievable”.

The chair was uninsured, Mr Buckles said, because insurance companies would only cover it if it did not leave the property.

The February 2022 Gympie flood destroyed Tony and Shirley Buckles' Jones Hill home and all their possessions.

Replacing Mr Buckles’ chair will be a small step back to normalcy for the couple who were forced into emergency accommodation on the Fraser Coast in the wake of the floods; their Gympie home was condemned after the waters rose above the roof.

Sewage was washed through the house from the attached septic system, and the slab was left cracked and cratered.

The couple’s efforts to get back on their feet was hampered by an inability to prove who they were after all of their identification documents were destroyed by the floodwaters.

It was the second time Mrs Buckle’s family had lost everything.

They were also left without any possessions while living in Holland during the Second World War.

If anyone is able to help flood victims in the region, the best starting point is Gympie Regional Council phone [phone] or visit their website: https://www.gympie.qld.gov.au/council/about-council/contact-council