Lifeline Darling Downs and South West Queensland CEO Rachelle Patterson to ride 1,117km for flood affected towns

From Eromanga to Toowoomba meet the woman riding 1117km to raise funds for flood affected South West Queensland towns.

Rachelle Patterson is riding from Eromanga to Toowoomba to raise money for flood affected towns

Lifeline Darling Downs and South West Queensland chief executive Rachelle Patterson has begun a gruelling 1117km mountain bike journey trekking through flood affected towns all while raising awareness and funds for mental health.

The South West was thrashed by heavy rainfall in March with more than 500mm falling in a matter of days and the flood impacting area reaching double the size of Victoria and while recovery efforts are well under way the emotional damages are still being felt.

Setting off from Eromanga on Monday morning Ms Patterson will travel through outback towns including Noccundra, Thargomindah, Eulo and Cunnamulla before ultimately reaching Toowoomba.

The journey is part of the inaugural Lifeline 3000 Ride which highlights the devastating statistic that more than 3000 people die by suicide each year.

Ms Patterson said the journey was more than just a test of endurance but a mission to raise funds and awareness for counselling services for impacted towns.

Rachelle Patterson is riding with her friends and family to raise money for flood affected towns

“It was about 12 months ago and I was trying to come up with a way to raise money for Lifeline without spending a fortune so I figured why not capitalise on my natural physical fitness, rope in my husband a couple of friends and family and see what we can do in terms of riding a bike from one end of our region to the other,” she said.

“Originally it was going to be from the Dig Tree which is 1250km but with all the floods the Dig Tree is still underwater so we had to change the route starting from Eromanga and riding back to Toowoomba.

“A few months ago when the devastating floods happened I decided that rather than being general in nature of what we are trying to raise funds for I would ensure anything we raised would be redirected to the communities we already work in so we can provide support to those that were flood affected.

“My husband and I are kayakers so we had fitness preparations but we certainly aren’t bike riders, there aren’t any rivers so we couldn’t jump in a boat from one end of the region to the other so we decided the most logical thing is to jump on a bike and travel via road.

“I would say that I find kayaking easier but given the distance we are going to travel I would sooner do it on a bike.”

Thargomindah was inundated with flood water in March

Ms Patterson said they were now three days into the journey and marvelled at the stoicism of the flood impacted communities.

“The first night we started in Eromanga and they were one of the few fortunate towns that they weren’t too flood affected, then we went into Noccundra and spoke to the hotel owner and she was saying they were built on the highest point of ground and weren’t flood affected either, but today we went to Thargomindah and that’s a completely different story,” she said.

“I’ve spent the last couple of months doing work with my teams out here in the community delivering psychological first aid and knowing the extent of the devastation they have experienced I was surprised to see how incredibly optimistic they were and the work they have done in the community to clean up.

“What tends to happen in big natural disasters, particularly in remote Australia, is communities are very good at getting in and doing all the busy work but as we know they are a stoic bunch and they don’t always take the best care of their mental health.

“What we know is for years to come they will be really impacted by this not just on the financial side but emotionally and psychologically, there are a lot of scars that take a long time to heal.

“While roads and homes can be rebuilt, the emotional recovery for many people takes much longer.”

Lifeline Darling Downs and South West Queensland acting CEO Rachelle Patterson, Wednesday, March 1, 2023. Picture: Kevin Farmer

The organisation is now calling on the broader Toowoomba and regional community to support their initiative via donations.

“All funds raised will stay right here in our region,” Ms Patterson said.

“As a local organisation, our entire footprint is contained within the Darling Downs and South West Queensland, and every dollar will go directly into supporting our communities.

“It's been rewarding to see the incredible kindness of people all over the country making donations, If we can get a lot a people donate a little it will certainly add up.”

Ms Patterson has 11 more days of riding before she reaches Toowoomba.

Donations can be made here.

Originally published as Lifeline Darling Downs and South West Queensland CEO Rachelle Patterson to ride 1,117km for flood affected towns