Susanna Freymark
No one wants to see Woodburn become a ghost town.
Woodburn Chamber of Commerce vice president Tania Hundy said the slow recovery progress after the 2022 floods in the riverside village is not good for businesses, schools, or the community.
“We need support and stability, and we don’t have any of that at the moment,” Ms Hundy said.
Woodburn was the focus of the flood film Tinnie Heroes because it is a town where nearly everyone was impacted by the floods because of low lying land.
The Richmond River raged as folk were stranded on the bridge and in their homes.
There isn’t much land in Woodburn that sits out of the flood zone. Woodburn floods frequently and fast and its residents know how to handle that flooding. Most of them have lived with it for years.
They lift what needs to be lifted. They move machinery out of the shops like Sandra Aarts did for the bakery in Woodburn. Usually, in ‘normal’ floods this works.
When the big flood of March 1 decimated Woodburn, it damaged shops and homes – and the spirit of the town.
But it doesn’t mean the locals are not fighting for their community – but it’s hard. Really hard
Ms Hundy said while she is “very frustrated” with the progress, she hopes things are changing.
NSW Reconstruction Authority staff came to the latest Chamber meeting in Woodburn last week.
Chamber members and Richmond Valley councillor Robert Hayes don’t see buybacks as the solution for Woodburn and they’ve let the government know this.
The push for buybacks has come from the Reconstruction Authority – it is the blueprint for flood recovery in Lismore and other towns. That doesn’t mean it is right for Woodburn.
Woodburn requires a different, bespoke approach.
Mr Hayes wants the council and the Authority to do more for Woodburn.
Otherwise, Woodburn is going to disappear into thin air, he said.
With few choices of where to rebuild, it forces people to leave the town.
“It affects the schools,” Ms Hundy said.
Woodburn Public School has 113 students, she said, and if it goes lower, they could lose a teacher.
“It’s a bit like a ghost town.”
At the February 20 Richmond Valley Council meeting, Mr Hayes pushed for more housing development and for the council to advocate for house-raising and resilient renovations for housing rather than buybacks that empty out the town.
“There are 41 blocks ready to go at Darke Lane – we’re just waiting for the State Government stamp of approval,” he said.
The Darke Lane development is closer to Swan Bay than Woodburn, but Woodburn would be the closest shopping centre.
“We should be hunting down every bit of land we can get our hands on,” Mr Hayes said.
Council’s general manager Vaughan Macdonald said the Resilient Lands Program was looking at urban development.
“We know there are concerns in Woodburn for its future. The solutions are difficult to find,” Mr Macdonald said.
“Our job is to find the solution and do our best.”
Mr Hayes said he has pushed for subdivisions in both Woodburn and Broadwater.
“I pushed for house-raising and the government would not come at that. People should have been allowed house-raising if they didn’t want a buyback,” he said.
“The government said no – they are interested in getting people off the floodplain.”
As of February 23, the Resilient Lands Program run by the Reconstruction Authority has offered 721 buyback across the Northern Rivers. 41 of those are in Richmond Valley – 24 have been accepted, 2 were declined and 10 are complete.
How many of those are in Woodburn? How many in Coraki? Broadwater, Rileys Hill? IndyNR.com doesn’t know – we asked NSW Reconstruction Authority for the data but they have not replied to our emails requesting information.
Only one house-raising has been approved by the Authority and that is in Byron Bay.
Ms Hundy seems more optimistic after the latest meeting with the Authority.
She owns the IGA supermarket in Woodburn.
Floodwaters went up to the ceiling of the corner shop that had only been renovated nine months before the March 1 flood hit. Every village needs a supermarket/corner shop, pub, pharmacy and bakery. A petrol station is useful too.
The operation of these shops signals to residents and visitors a certainty for Woodburn’s future.
The Rod n Reel Hotel is up and running and the bakery sells its daily bread. The chemist reopened as soon as possible after the floods. The post office runs out of a temporary shop on River Street until its original building up the road is repaired. The Woodburn Boxing Club has been cleaned out and restocked with new punching bags.
Ms Hundy said the petrol station was close to opening. Owners were finalising some details, she said.
As for the supermarket, Ms Hundy has had many ups and downs about it reopening.
She is hopeful the IGA building on the corner of Richmond and Cedar streets will be knocked down soon.
“I’m waiting to get it in writing,” she said.
At the end of last year Tania and Neale Hundy went on a holiday because they didn’t want to see the supermarket building coming down. When they came back it was still standing.
“We’re going to build a new one,” Ms Hundy said. There was another engineer report done last week as Ms Hundy continues to wait on the approval for State Government funding.
The plan is to build a new supermarket that is raised 2metres off the ground with stairs as the centre entrance. A ramp would be at the side of the new building. The new build would include flood barriers and barricades.
The Chamber wants to see other shops raised up or be able to build a second floor.
“We want to see things advance for the community,” she said.
And it feels closer now, it seems possible.
Possibilities have risen at St Joseph’s Catholic School in Woodburn too.
After the floods, the Lismore Diocese said it would close the Woodburn school and look for a new location. Parents fought this.
On February 27, a spokesperson for the Diocese of Lismore Catholic Schools said:
“The refurbishment and rectification works at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Woodburn, are underway. At this point in time, we do not have a confirmed return date however this will be communicated to the school community as soon as possible.”
The council plans to build a new shared clubhouse facility for the Woodburn Pony Club and Woodburn Tennis Club.
All urgent repairs to the Woodburn Visitor Information Centre and local halls have been completed, thanks to a $5 million insurance payout to the council.
Funding has been received for upgrades to the Woodburn Hall car park.
Getting back to school and being able to shop in Woodburn – these things are important for residents to feel like life is getting back to normal.
Federal MP Kevin Hogan said flood mitigation is the only strategy that will give the region “a sustainable future and safety”.
He said the now defunct Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation began the strategy of removing those in danger from the floodplain.
“Over 2,000 homes were identified to be unsafe by the NRRC. Less than half of the homes identified by the NRRC will be bought back. Also, some families who accepted a buyback, bought back on the floodplain,” he said.
Mr Hogan said there needed to be a commitment to flood mitigation.
“The CSIRO report is crucial to this. If the community knows a metre or more will be taken off future flood events they will invest and live in confidence in the Northern Rivers.”
The 2022 disaster alone is measured as a $15billion event, he said.
In this second anniversary month of the big flood, IndyNR.com is sharing stories of how people and towns are doing. It may not be easy to read these stories, depending on your situation but speaking about what happened is vital for moving on.
The government must help Woodburn get back to normality so the people of this town can begin to plan a future.
Read more flood anniversary stories here.
Watch the doco about the floods below.
