Thargomindah bulls: Outback Qld town revives footy team after devastating floods
It’s devastation that usually emerges from floodwater in outback Queensland. But that’s not always the case. This is how March’s catastrophic weather event led to this tiny town reviving its beacon of hope and resilience, the local footy team.
Covered in weeds, dirt and holes from rushing flood waters, the Thargomindah Sports Oval stands as a ghostly reminder of the catastrophic destruction that befell the town just months earlier.
In March, the tiny Outback Queensland town – 1100km west of Brisbane and with a population just shy of 300 people – was gutted when a deluge ripped through.
Almost nine months later, that same oval will serve as a testimony to the town’s resilience and a new home for the newly reformed Thargomindah Bulls.
After 26 long years away, the once-defunct rugby league team has returned, with a committee, a coach and 30 players.
Among those in the side is a former Melbourne Storm player.
In a town that’s closer to the borders of South Australia and the Northern Territory than the ocean, the return of the beloved footy side is more than sport.
It symbolises the town’s recovery and hope for the future.
“After the flood a lot of young people wanted to come home, help their families and be there for them,” Bulls secretary Amity Warner said.
“It will bring a lot of morale back into the town and give us something to look forward to.
“After the floods the town went into a bit of a slump. There was no light at the end of the tunnel, but it’s brought that morale back.
“It is going to be another thing to get people back together again on the weekends, at the moment people are still trying to get through what’s happened.
“We also hope this will bring some tourists out here to support the local business after the flood.”
In March more than 500mm fell across the southwest Queensland in a matter of days.
The land area damaged in the subsequent floods was more than double the size of Victoria.
Water levels in Thargomindah reached almost eight metres.
Months on residents were still out of their homes living in council supplied caravans.
Ms Warner said what had initially started as a joke reignited a spark in the community to see their team return.
“My partner and his mate were a bit bored, and they were joking about getting the Thargomindah Bulls back up and running.
“I said to them ‘we have a bunch of young people moving back home, why don’t you put the word out and see how much interest there is?’,” she said.
“We were expecting maybe 15 people to be interested but we got 30 people sign up wanting to play.”
She said the resurgence was made possible by an influx of young men to the town.
“Footy died in a lot of small country towns when there were really bad droughts, there also wasn't enough young men who wanted to have a go,” she said.
“Living out here my whole life, the number of young people comes in waves and I think it’s better to take advantage while we have this number of a lot of young men in town.
“It is coming around to the age where people are finishing school, when they get to that stage where they’d rather be at home working on cars or mustering.”
Following the destructive floods, Santos provided the Bulloo Shire Council with a $100,000 grant to fix the oval where the Bulls will play.
“All of the other facilities were so bad after the floods. We held all of our main events at the oval this year, and recognised then we had to get it back up and running,” councillor Tamie Warner said.
“We have a new canteen and toilet we put in a few years ago, but it will take a bit of work to the oval back up and running. Ideally we would love to have it fixed by the time the football starts.
“We are just waiting on our power to be reconnected which will happen in the next couple of weeks. We can’t do much without our sprinklers and irrigation.”
Ms Warner’s partner and former Toowoomba footballer Dylan Andrews encouraged locals to put on the yellow and blue jersey.
“I’ve been playing since I was six. I grew up in Toowoomba and played for Brothers and I love footy.
“When I heard Thargomindah used to have a footy team we put it out to the community and it just skyrocketed,” he said.
“Our first season will just be half a season to see how it goes. If that gets traction the following year we will do a proper season and hopefully more teams can get involved.
“We’ve got a handful of boys who’ve never played before, plenty who’ve played and an ex-professional player Mack Mason who will be a real key player for us.
“We will start training the start of next year so if you’re keen to have a go come put your name down.”
The team will look to play their first game in April next year.
