Susanna Freymark
It’s been a long time coming.
Woodburn IGA on the corner of River and Cedar streets will be demolished on Tuesday, June 11.
Owner Tania Hundy said it has to be done.
Ms Hundy has been in talks with the NSW Reconstruction Authority and her insurance company, doing everything she can to reopen the much-needed supermarket.
The IGA was renovated 13 months before the 2022 floods hit Woodburn. Then it went underwater causing severe damage to the building.
“It will be sad to see it go,” Ms Hundy said.
She and husband Neale have owned the supermarket since 2002.
When there was word the supermarket would be demolished in November last year, the Hundys had planned to be away for the demolition.
It is emotional for them to see it knocked down, Ms Hundy said.
“It has taken its toll on us,” she said.
A big part of the stress has been the dispute with the insurance company AIG Australia.
“They told us they couldn’t handle it (our claim) as it was over their monetary value,” Ms Hundy said.
“We have to go to a solicitor.”
While that fight continues Ms Hundy will do a walk through the supermarket on Tuesday morning with Reconstruction Authority representatives and with Richmond Valley Council.
“I’ll have to be there,” she said.
The Johns Lyng Group is demolishing the supermarket. It will be a tough day to see the supermarket come down.
But it is also a sign of hope – for something better and more flood-proof.
That is the goal for the Hundys. To reopen the supermarket better than it ever was and serve the people of Woodburn.
Read more about Woodburn’s flood recovery The sum of its parts: How a river town is fighting back against buybacks
