Community
24 January, 2024
ADF digs in and helps
THE Australian Defence Force has put boots on the ground in support of the Queensland Reconstruction Authority and have been working alongside local contractors and emergency services to help Ayton, Bloomfield and Wujal Wujal which were amongst some of the hardest hit communities devastated by floodwaters just days before Christmas.
The small communities were isolated, with many residents evacuated and unable to return home as floodwaters reached their ceilings, wiped out roads and cut off power.
Living only a couple of hours north in Hope Vale, Australian army reserve Private Coleridge Scotford from the 51st Far North Queensland Regiment jumped at the opportunity to help his fellow north Queenslanders.
“I just thought, these people have gone through such a terrible experience, what more can I do?,” Pte Scotford said.
“I helped with food deliveries during the evacuations and then came back to help with the clean up work at the local school and council depot,” he said.
“A couple of locals came up to talk to me and said they were grateful we came to help, that was a good feeling because I could see they were a bit scared.”
Corporal Grant Woodholme from Rockhampton said it was great to be a part of recovery efforts in Wujal Wujal.
“The amount of devastation we’ve seen here, especially in such a small remote community is staggering, so it’s good to get our feet on the ground and get our hands dirty to help as much as we can,” he said.
“We’ve been working at Bloomfield River State School alongside the local contractors. There were just tonnes and tonnes of mud that’s come down from the mountain, so we got in shovelling, draining, cleaning and trying to get the school ready to rock and roll,” Cpl Woodholme said.
“Then we were able to help clean out the council depot to get their local council back in action so they can get back out into the community and do what they need to do,” he said.
It’s been hard yakka for the team working in thick humidity, but the local community is providing much needed morale and motivation.
“It’s very hot, very sticky, especially after all the tropical monsoonal weather but it’s been fantastic and working with the locals has been great,” Cpl Woodholme said.
“They’ve been so welcoming towards us and are very appreciative of the work that we have been doing, it’s very rewarding,” he said.
