TODAY’S priority for Jenni and Sid Brummell will be to find their truck.
It’s in the floodwaters that surround their Rowena property Rio Park, which will remain isolated for another 10 days.
They arrived home on Saturday after going to Brisbane on business to find “immeasurable” damage to their home and property, the extent of which even shocked the hardened farmers, who thought they had seen it all before.
But this flood was different.
So different, in fact, it’s left them questioning whether farming is a legacy they want to leave their children.
For their son, Beau Brummell, the horrible impact of flooding on his home didn’t sink in until a stranger in a Sydney cafe showed him pictures he found “heartbreaking”.
The pictures were of Beau’s mum and dad, Jenni and Sid, stranded at what is now their island homestead.
Rio Park was inundated by a wave of floodwater on Thursday night.
Jenni and Sid had to be flown to their home, which lies on land between the Gwydir and Namoi rivers, by an SES helicopter.
The couple flew over their sunken Holden Caprice sedan, which had been left parked at the property’s front gate.
From there, Mrs Brummell said their return had been an emotional roller-coaster.
“We had two foot (60cm) of water through the house; a lot of that has receded now, and I guess it’s dropped about 18 inches (46cm),” she said.
“It rips your heart out.
“Where on Earth do you start? There’s still that shock that this is what we’re facing.”
Yesterday afternoon water continued to lap at the front verandah and the couple had been using a tinny to get to different parts of the property to check on things.
“Tomorrow we’ll try and find the truck to see how much water is in it,” Mrs Brummell said.
“We’ve moved as much of the furniture outside the house as we can, to dry it out, and we’ve ripped up all of the carpets that were in the bedrooms.”
For Sid, who was about six years old when the floods swept through his aunt’s house on the property in 1976, this was one of the first priorities.
“He was determined we rip up the carpets immediately, because when he visits that house now he can still smell remnants of that flood and it brings back all the memories of it,” Mrs Brummell said.
Aside from the tinny, the Brummells are able to access supplies by ordering food drops from the SES.
On Monday food supplies, including an 18-pack of Coca-Cola, were dropped in, along with Sid’s blood-pressure medication.
“He needed them both. The Coca-Cola is part of his night cap,” Mrs Brummell said.
She said the losses on the property and the amount of damage done to their home was “immeasurable”.
Despite the fact the family managed to complete their wheat harvest a couple of weeks ago, their crop losses alone will be about $500,000.
“When it comes to machinery and things like that, it’s all unknown,” Mrs Brummell said.
“Because so much of it is still under water and even after you think it’s all been accounted for, there’ll be some little incidental you go looking for and just can’t find.
“We’ll be counting costs for a while yet. It’s just mindboggling.”
While they have enough supplies to get them through until next week, fresh fruit and bread will have to be ordered in then.
“It will probably be another week before the water drains away,” Mrs Brummell said.
“And then another week to 10 days before we can drive anywhere, because the roads will be so waterlogged.”
She said the floods had also left a lot of their neighbours wondering if they wanted to leave a farming legacy to their children.
“It’s painful. I’ve lived in the district my whole life and I’ve never seen anything like this. And it only seems to get worse. We’re all wondering if this is something we want to leave them, because the pain of having to deal with it, and watch your life and livelihood be swept away, is something we are all struggling to cope with,” she said.
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