Brisbane locals donate thousands to mechanic Luke Crust after flood damages workshop

People have raised more than $3000 for a beloved local mechanic who lost tools and cars in the Brisbane floods.

For a man who has seen his house and business flooded, Luke ‘Crusty’ Crust is upbeat.

Family, friends, and neighbours have been pitching in an afternoon here, a day there, to help him clean up the damage sustained on his mechanic’s workshop by the Brisbane floods. A GoFundMe fundraiser set up by his sister-in-law has raised $4840 of its $10,000 target.

He is taken aback when told that a woman had donated $1000 to his fundraiser.

“Well, I grew up with her son,” the 40-year-old said. “I went to primary school with him. I haven’t talked to her in a good five years, I reckon.”

Luke ‘Crusty’ Crust’s mechanic shop was submerged during the Brisbane floods. Picture: Supplied

He says he had no idea that the rain and floods would come on Friday.

“I came down Friday night, and [the water] was only just in the car park so I moved a couple of customers’ cars out onto the driveway so they wouldn’t get flooded,” he said.

By Sunday, the entire shop had been flooded, up to the roof. Record-breaking floods in Queensland over the past week have flooded an estimated 15,000 homes in Brisbane and killed eight.

Luke Crust with his family. Picture: Supplied

“Every tool, every piece of equipment and 14 cars were submerged in deep water mixed with engine oil; most are damaged beyond repair,” the fundraiser description says.

Nonetheless, he believes he can recover.

“Well, as long as the hoists are okay, ten grand will probably be more than enough to replace the two tire machines and the office desk and stuff like that,” Mr Crust said.

“But there’s lots of other stuff that I’ve collected over the years that are unusable now. Electric tools like my electric ratchets and scan tools. I’ll have to use my savings to prop myself up for the next couple of months.”

Because of the flood risk in Wilston, insurers could not cover his workshop.

He has been operating Crusty Mechanical by himself for the past eight years. Customer review on Google suggest he is a popular member of the local community.

“Luke’s an absolute legend,” one said. “Honest, genuine, everything you need in a mechanic.”

Another wrote, “Hands down best mechanic I’ve dealt with. Honest and great price, and Luke is a top bloke. Highly recommended.”

Inside Luke's shop during clean-up. Picture: Supplied

A mechanic all his life, Mr Crust bounced around employers after his apprenticeship, while working on his own business in the background.

He had been hesitant to take the plunge into his own business when the stars seemed to align.

“[I] spoke to a guy at Repco when I was going past one day and told him, ‘Yeah I dunno mate, I don’t know if I should go out on my own.’ He said, ‘Yep, do it mate, just go out and do it, what have you got to lose?’”

Paul Marchesi, a friend Mr Crust had met doing charity work, helped him find a workshop where he didn’t pay rent for the first few months while he got onto his feet.

“And that’s when I started here – started with just $5000 in my pocket and built it up from that,” he said.

Mr Marchesi has been one of the many helping with the clean-up effort.

“He just works really hard to support his family,” he said. “Hopefully a bit of funding and he can get back on top.”