Love Queensland

We left Queensland in 1972, in the early years of the notorious Joh Bjelke-Peterson government. Ever since we've nursed a few prejudices (probably quite unfairly) against Queensland governments of any persuasion, the police force and the various state based media interests, despite the subsequent best efforts of the Fitzgerald inquiry and the reforms of Wayne Goss/K Rudd etc throughout the nineties.

However the events of the past week have been enough to demolish anyone's rusted on prejudices about this part of the world.

Luckily, no one we know has been hurt, killed or even "inundated" by the flooding in Queensland. J and I were stranded in Gympie while we all worried about the flooding in Rosalie Village encroaching on their apartment (just a few metres up the hill). A niece and nephew and respective partners living in West End had to evacuate to their Mum & Dad's house, much further away from the river, during the crisis. Luckily their apartments turned out to be out of the badly flooded area of West End.

My friend Jane and her Rob had to evacuate their Bulimba house. They spent the night sandbagging (along with K Rudd and other residents of the suburb) as the river level rose dangerously. They managed to keep the worst of the flooding at bay in their part of the suburb, so their house is safe. My friend Meg and her Steve at Teneriffe watched in trepidation as flood waters rose to within one street away of their (sandbagged) ground floor apartment.

Our mother was in Brisbane in the even bigger '74 flood and helped some of hers and Dad's friends with the clean up afterwards. She'll never forget the stench of the mud - this week's events are bringing all the memories back.

We have been so impressed with the leadership shown by the Q'ld government, emergency workers, the public service agencies directly involved in the response and rescue efforts, and the huge number and enormous spirit of all the volunteers. Our hearts go out to those people who lost their lives, especially those families in the Lockyer Valley, and now those families being threatened by flooding in Victoria and Tasmania.

Go Queensland!