Flood relief working bee

Volunteers shoveling soil that the floodwaters had stripped
from a vegetable garden.  

ABOUT 15 members of two local organisations participated in a working bee earlier today to assist a New Norfolk resident who suffered severe property damage in the recent floods.

The Lachlan Rivulet became a raging torrent overnight on May 10-11 when severe storms dumped record amounts of rain on Hobart and surrounds.

Breaking its banks at multiple locations in Lachlan and New Norfolk, the rivulet deposited tonnes of debris along its course. Many of the householders with trees, rocks and other rubbish in their yards now find themselves ineligible for government assistance due to the strict application of means-testing requirements.

The mountain of debris collected from one property along the
Lachlan Rivulet in New Norfolk.

Last weekend saw a group of friends lend a hand at the Tickleberry market garden on Hobart Rd, which had suffered extensive damage.

Today it was members of the Derwent Valley Men's Shed and the Derwent Valley Garden Club who pitched in to help a Lachlan Rd landowner deal with the debris dumped on her property by the swollen Lachlan Rivulet a fortnight ago.

The two clubs responded to a call put out by Derwent Valley Councillor Paul Belcher who has featured on WIN News and the ABC TV news this weekend, highlighting the gaps in the flood relief offered by the three levels of government.

Extensive flooding was also experienced at several locations at Molesworth, where swollen watercourses including the Glen Dhu Rivulet wrought havoc for several days. Two weeks later, it is understood one property at Glen Dhu is still without power, while another has tonnes of river stones blanketing its paddocks.