Crystal Creek’s My Fruits Shop cross flood water in tractor to donate fruits, vegetables

A Crystal Creek fruit and vegetable farmer has used a tractor to get fresh food across flood waters and isoated communities.

My Fruit Shop use a tractor to haul fresh produce across a creek that has blocked the farm off for nearly an entire week.

A Crystal Creek fruit and vegetable farmer has used a tractor to navigate flood waters in an effort to get fresh produce to those cut off from Townsville by the Ollera Ck bridge failure.

The trailer load of fruits and vegetables were originally harvested for sale at Townsville’s Cotters Markets, but flooding over the weekend ripped that plan to shreds.

For six days My Fruit Shop farmer Matthias Fehrenbacher was unable to get off his Mutarnee property, trapped in by a raging Bullocky Tom Creek flowing over the top end of Volk Rd and into Crystal Creek.

“We’ve been flooded in from last Friday to today,” Mr Fehrenbacher said.

“There has been a massive landslide somewhere up the mountain, so the creek is all full of sand now.”

The extent of the damage to the farm is still unknown as they wait for flood water to subside.

“We’ve got a lot of wash out, some of the trees got washed away, some of the irrigation, and some trees are going yellow,” Mr Fehrenbacher said.

Hundreds of pineapple plants from Accorsini Farm wash up over 6km away from their field on the beach.

“The pineapple farm near us, that guy found his pineapple plants washed up on the beach. Other people can’t even get into their paddocks to see what’s damaged yet.”

The Accorsini Farm pineapples were found over 6kms away from the farm, spread across the sand at the mouth of Crystal Creek.

Once creek waters dropped enough to allow a tractor across Bullocky Tom Ck on Friday, February 7,Mr Fehrenbacher put the call out that he had boxes upon boxes of tropical fresh fruit and vegetables to donate.

The produce was loaded onto a trailer and hooked onto a trusty farm tractor, which pulled the food across a still-rushing creek to reach the Mutarnee Community Centre.

The My Fruit Shop Cotters Market stall. This is where the farm's fruit usually ends up.

Mr Fehrenbacher said after unloading the first trailer at the community centre, the rush was on to get back, load the trailer again, and get another round of farm produce into Ingham.

“I had borrowed a generator from NQ Events (organisers of Cotters Markets) so we were able to keep the fruit we had in cold rooms,” he explained.

“Once we were able to get across in the tractor, I put the call out that we had donations.”

Fruit and vegetables the farm had managed to salvage and was donating to Mutarnee and Ingham locals

Fruit and vegetables the farm had managed to salvage and was donating to Mutarnee and Ingham locals

Fruit and vegetables the farm had managed to salvage and was donating to Mutarnee and Ingham locals

Fruit and vegetables the farm had managed to salvage and was donating to Mutarnee and Ingham locals

While the Ollera Ck bridge was opened on Thursday, February 6, thanks to a temporary army bridge, this route is being patrolled by police and is only open to cars travelling for emergency purposes.

These leaves Crystal Creek, Mutarnee, Helens Hill and Paluma residents still vastly cut off from supplies.

Originally published as Crystal Creek’s My Fruits Shop cross flood water in tractor to donate fruits, vegetables