In these changing times of climate extremes, we are faced with the reality that we must work
together as a community to confront what lies before us.
I live in the small town of Harcourt near Castlemaine. Recently I became concerned about a housing development proposed for our community quite close to a creek. I went to the local Mount Alexander Shire planning office to see if I could find more information on flood overlays in our town.
Residents prepare sandbags to protect their homes from floodwaters in Harcourt.
I’d witnessed two floods since moving to Harcourt – one in 2011 and one in 2016. I wanted to see where the flood overlays were located, as I was concerned that approving further developments could lead to more homes at risk. Strangely enough, there were no flood overlay zonings in the area. I was astonished, really. How could this be?
I’m no stranger to natural disasters. I moved to Harcourt in 2010 from the Kinglake-St Andrews region after the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires. I’ve seen firsthand how disaster can overtake a community. In fact, that bushfire was heading to my property until the wind changed.
Last week my tiny township of Harcourt experienced an extreme flood event. Barkers Creek, a small waterway that runs through the town, swelled until it nearly reached a tiny bridge over it. The mighty red gums were submerged in two or three metres of water. Down the road I saw a farmer kayaking across his paddocks.
Down by the creek is a new housing estate. Lovely houses on small blocks where people could still afford to buy a new home. The creek had become a raging river. It was lapping against the houses closest to the creek. All the properties in this small court were vulnerable to flooding. And with more rain due soon, the danger is not over.
Floodwaters near homes in Harcourt, Victoria.
For the local community, it was predictable that this area would be impacted by flooding after heavy rain. What is the council’s responsibility in protecting people from buying properties here?
I wanted to capture some photos of the flooding creek for my local community newsletter. I could see down to the end of the court where a number of people were gathered with sandbags and sand, desperately working to get enough bags in place to protect their homes.
As I was taking photos, a man called out: “Instead of taking photos, come and help us protect our properties.” I responded, as did an acquaintance of similar age, Liz. I’m 69 and she’s 70. We stood in the pounding rain bagging up sand to protect the homes of people we didn’t know. But hey, this is our community. We laughed and cajoled to keep up our spirits.
There’s something very important here that needs to be thought about. As Liz and I bagged sand in the rain, we were uplifted by the task. This is about community. This is about helping others in crisis. We worked very hard to keep pace and fill sandbags to save people’s homes. The residents thanked us prolifically. Indeed, here were two ageing women helping in a dire situation.
The locals told us that people had visited their court to mock them for buying a property so close to a creek. One family came down in their car. The man called out and jeered at the residents who were struggling to protect their homes. He didn’t come to help. He just came to laugh.
I hope this situation has not been repeated in other flood-affected towns across Victoria as thousands of people battle to save their homes and belongings.
In this region, we supposedly pride ourselves on being part of a rural community imbued with the spirit of working together.
This is the spirit I saw in the aftermath of the Kinglake bushfires.
My heart went out to the people in this new housing development. They were simply trying to find a place to live within their budget in these strange times. They didn’t deserve this.
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