When the water came like a small river into her street in 2022, 79-year-old Margaret Alderton took action.
She tried to plug the cracks around the doors, and secure her house to ensure that the water didn’t come flooding in.
But the water didn’t stop.
‘I was amazed at the amount and force of the water coming into my home,’ said Margaret. ‘I’ve heard people in their 90s, who have lived here all their lives, say they have never seen a flood like that one.
‘The water surrounded my house, came in and went through all my furniture and electrics. It finally stopped when it got to my knees. I didn’t know what to do.’
High tide
The water finally started to recede before the high tide forced it back up and into the house again, a little higher than the previous time.
‘As I was sloshing around in the water, a couple of men came to the door on surfboards. I said I couldn’t open it, because of the water and to come over to the window.
They suggested Margaret climb out of the window, and offered to take her to the RSL, but Margaret pointed out that ‘at 79, I can’t climb out the window and onto a surfboard’.
Within half an hour, the water started to go down, ‘but there was about a foot of mud’ left behind, said Margaret. ‘I couldn’t walk in it, it was slippery and slimy.’
Fortunately, neighbours, who were friends of friends, were able to get Margaret out of the house, and she was able to stay the night in a house around the corner.
Getting back on her feet
Margaret was also fortunate that her son-in-law knew builders that could come around and get her back on her feet, and she was back in the house within two months. Unlike her neighbours, who have only just moved back in, with their two young daughters, over a year later.
‘I’m just so pleased that I was saved. There are so many of my neighbours who are still waiting to get back into their homes.’
Margaret’s story is part of the Blue Box project, which chronicles how the flood impacted the lives of locals in Mullumbimby. It will become a book to be held at the Mullumbimby Museum.
To get involved, drop your story into the blue boxes that are located at various shops around town, or email them to [email protected].
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