Slow and soggy: life goes on in isolated flood-hit town
While travellers stranded by floodwaters begin fraying at the edges, locals have accepted uncertainty is a part of life in outback Queensland.
For the time being, Narelle Hetherington has a motel full of stranded travellers â a godsend during a traditionally hot, wet and quiet season.
But as the sun finally begins to beat down again in northwest Queensland, Ms Hetherington, who runs the Winton Outback Motel, knows there are lean times to come.
With the region swamped by floodwaters caused by monsoonal deluge over the Christmas and New Year period, the cancellations are piling up.
âWeâve got a grim month coming up,â she told AAP.
But itâs nothing new.
Expecting the unexpected is a way of life in Winton.
âItâs the uncertainty,â Ms Hetherington said. âThe locals, weâre all used to it.â
For the people who have been trapped in the town for over a week, itâs a different story.
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âItâs difficult for them,â Ms Hetherington said.
Asked about morale around the town, Ms Hetherington was blunt.
âThereâs one pub open, mate. As long as itâs not under, everyoneâs happy.â
Irene Moore, who manages that sole pub, the North Gregory Hotel, says theyâve been having trouble keeping up.
Staff â the few that remain at this time of year â have been clocking 100-hour weeks.
âWeâre just putting one foot in front of the other at the moment,â Ms Moore said.
The roads are beginning to reopen, allowing weary travellers to finally hit the road after their unexpected stay lengthened.
Some had kept busy with jigsaw puzzles and colouring-in books, while others took advantage of the pool tables â and the washing machines â at the local disaster recovery centre.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Queensland government announced a support package for those impacted by the floods.
Further north, at Argyle Station near Julia Creek, the biggest problem for pastoralist Patrick Hick is getting around on the sticky black soil plains.
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âIt took me 30 minutes to travel 100 metres the other day,â he said.
Mr Hick said he was hopeful of getting into town âby various meansâ, on the first forecast full day of sunshine in over two weeks.
Once wet, the local blacksoil becomes a gluepot.
The cattle avoid it by huddling on the few firm patches of ground available, where they begin to starve.
Many of them are now succumbing to pneumonia.
Mr Hick is helpless to assist them.
âThatâs the hardest thing for those of us in this game,â he said.
Winton Shire Council mayor Cathy White says the situation is not nearly as severe as in early 2019, when floods killed almost half a million head of cattle which were already in poor condition due to the preceding drought.
âWeâve had good seasons leading up to this event, so theyâre in a lot better condition than they were in 2019,â she said.
For Ms Hetherington, itâs all part of life in outback Queensland.
âBeing comfortable with being uncomfortable is what we specialise in,â she said.
âSend all your business executives out here. They might learn something.â
â AAP
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