‘More than the money, it’s the support’ Donation distribution day in Eugowra as the community slowly rebuilds

The Eugowra Showground was abuzz on Saturday morning, as scores of volunteers worked to distribute donated packs of gift vouchers to households still recovering from the devastating flash flooding in November.

It's been almost three months since a ferocious wall of water swept down Managery Creek and through the small township. On that terrifying night, homes were lifted off piers and residents clung to rooftops to escape the relentlessly rising water.

The impact of the flooding is still clearly evident in the town, with the flood-damaged goods still waiting to be removed in places, numerous trades at work, and caravans and other temporary accommodations noticeable throughout.

But there are also signs of life returning to normal and there was a buoyant atmosphere at the showground on Saturday, January 28 – despite the stifling heat — as the Orange Ex-Services’ Club distributed hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations to flood-affected households.

“So this is the culmination of about three months, since the flood, when we put out a cry out for cash and vouchers,” Orange Ex-Services’ Club CEO, Nathan Whiteside, said.

The club initially put out an appeal to its membership and the wider Orange community, who generously responded with more than $96,000 in cash and gift cards on top of physical goods, such as water, baby supplies and cleaning products.

Then a further appeal through the club industry saw a further $292,000 in donations come in from communities big and small across NSW, ACT, Queensland and Victoria.

Looking at how they could distribute the funds, Nathan said they enlisted the help of the combined Rotary clubs of Orange, based on a similar model used by Ballina’s Cherry Street Sports Club, following the devastating floods early last year.

Coordinated by Rotary Club of Orange Daybreak member, Graeme Fleming, 40 Orange Rotarians helped oversee the smooth distribution of the donated funds on Saturday.

“We wouldn't be where we are today without Graeme and his team's support,” Nathan said at the showground on Saturday.

“Today we hand out $1250 worth of vouchers to every flood-affected house in Eugowra, but then we will also get to the other flood-affected villages of Cabonne in the next couple of weeks.

“It has been a bit of a process, but the way it has worked out has been fantastic!”

The packs include vouchers for the big supermarket chains, Coles and Woolworths, as well as local Eugowra businesses from the local hairdresser to the bowling club bistro.

Member for Orange, Phil Donato, who was also in attendance on Saturday, praised the generosity of the volunteers and the Orange community.

“Local tradies volunteering their time, people coming out in the clean-up in the early stages to now close to $400,000 in vouchers will be given out to residents — It just goes to show how generous our local community is in helping out people in their time of need,” he said.

“So a great initiative and I applaud the Ex-Services’ clubs and Rotary, but also all the volunteers that have helped out over the last couple of months.”

Joy Anthes, like so many other Eugowra residents, is currently living in a caravan while work continues to make her own home liveable again. An SES volunteer, Joy found herself among the hundred of residents that needed rescuing and said she has never seen anything like that morning.

“The house is still standing, so it didn't get washed off like a lot of them did, but water nearly to the ceiling — well over our head!” Joy said.

And while there is still a long road ahead for Eugowra ahead, Joy said it is the generosity people have shown that means so much to the community.

“It is wonderful, it helps so much,” Joy said. “But even the amount of money that's coming through doesn't mean as much as the support we have had.

“Nathan from the club… we stayed there for two weeks and he couldn't do enough for us, he was just wonderful, but everybody has been. All these Rotary guys that have been here with all the food and things because we had no shops, not anything – it’s just amazing.”