Murwillumbah: Ursula Wharton, deep listening classes and It Takes a Town in help flooded region

Despite floodwater ravaging their own Murwillumbah home, Ursula and Phil Wharton have started classes to help others with mindfulness and ‘deep listening’ to improve mental health awareness.

Ursula and Phil Wharton know about loss.

Four years ago, their son Josh, 17, died suddenly. And in March this year, the devastating flood in northern NSW took most of their belongings.

The Whartons moved from the Gold Coast to Murwillumbah in 2018 buying their first home, a 1920s timber cottage knowing it was in a flood zone but not thinking it would flood past the one in 100 year level so soon. It was what they could afford, and they paid a hefty premium for flood insurance, believing any water wouldn’t rise past the top floor of their raised home.

Ursula and Phil Wharton with their daughter Zoe and dog Peach at the Murwillumbah home which was badly affected by the floods.Photograph : Jason O'Brien

On February 28, when the water started creeping steadily into their yard their daughter Zoe, 10, convinced them to leave with their golden retriever Peach, and they evacuated to a friend’s house on higher ground. Neighbours took in their cat, Luna, chickens and fish.

When they returned two days later, it was to a house full of mud and destruction. Zoe’s homeschool resources and downstairs classroom were a mess and upstairs was caked in filthy mud from water that had risen half a metre deep through the top floor. Mr Wharton, who worked from home in medical education and research, lost his office equipment, thus hampering his business.

Local Heroes Rebuilding Communities.

“We can’t earn much money at the moment,” Mrs Wharton said.

They moved into a motel for a month but had to leave when Easter holidaymakers arrived. So they bought a secondhand Mitsubishi van which they parked next to their muddy home, put a double mattress in the back where the three of them and Peach slept for three weeks and, with no hot water, used their neighbours’ shower. Now they have enclosed a small shed in the back yard and the three of them live and sleep in one draughty room with an adjoining open, camp-style kitchen.

Along with “amazing support” from the town’s volunteer Hub 2484, they have cleaned their empty home as best they can and are waiting for building repairs expected in a couple of months. “It’s frustrating being in a position like this six months on even though we have flood insurance,” Mrs Wharton said. 

The couple and neighbouring residents in Railway St have been in discussion with the Tweed Shire Council about flood mitigation and land swapping, hoping they could pick up their homes and move them to higher ground as was done in Queensland.

“We can’t just walk away and keep our mortgages and if there was a buyback we’d still have nowhere to go,” Mrs Wharton said.

Ursula and Phil Wharton with their daughter Zoe and dog Peach at the Murwillumbah home which was badly affected by the floods.Photograph : Jason O'Brien

After losing their son, who had lived with autism spectrum disorder, Mrs Wharton started Deep Listeners, through local community group It Takes A Town (ITAT), training others to listen compassionately, initially in response to Josh’s death but now for flooded residents to talk openly about the trauma they are still experiencing.

“Deep Listeners is about us as a community looking out for each other,” she said. “There’s no fixing anything, no judgment, it’s just listening. We don’t want to be pitied because we were flooded, we want to be listened to – it helps us feel empowered.

“We understand it because we are in it. Even with insurance, there is no magic. It will take about two years to even start to recover.”

When the floods hit Northern Rivers earlier this year, News Corporation Australia announced a $1 million commitment to hard hit communities.

Our News In The Community program has been working with St Vincent de Paul and other charity groups on the ground to allocate the funds.

As part of that commitment, News Corporation Australia has donated a total of $200,000 to nine flood relief community initiatives and one flood-affected individual in the worst-hit regions.

News Corp Australia has donated $35,000 to It Takes a Town to help stricken Murwillumbah residents.

Ursula and Phil Wharton with their daughter Zoe and dog Peach at the Murwillumbah home which was badly affected by the floods.Photograph : Jason O'Brien

As one of many recipients, Mrs Wharton will run a workshop to train others to be Deep Listeners and a Recovery Conversations cafe where flood-affected locals can debrief and have the opportunity for a one-on-one listening session.

ITAT founder Carmen Stewart said that at a time when anxiety and depression are at an all time high, people need skills to check in on loved ones, friends, neighbours and even strangers.

“The suicide prevention training being offered by Deep Listeners gives people the confidence to talk about a subject that has often been taboo,” she said. “Statistics tell us that honest conversations really do save lives.”

ITAT will also provide flood-impacted households with Why Leave Town gift cards. Ms Stewart said these cards ensure recipients purchase essential items lost to the floods at local shops.

“Many of these businesses were themselves impacted by the floods, so directing funds locally is contributing to the recovery of the  community in multiple ways.”

For further information: Carmen Stewart, [e-mail] or 0438 140 589

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