Five Years On: Toowoomba and Lockyer Valley flash floods: oral history interviews

In this oral history interview Sharyn Powlesland talks about the long-term effects of the disastrous 2011 flood. Sharyn’s house was for sale at the time and she was unable to sell it. Sharyn discusses the difficulties she's had with the insurance company and the damage to her house caused by the flood.

In this oral history interview Matthew Eddison talks about how he was asked by Ian Hoddinott to help rescue two women whose car had been swept from a causeway at Murphy's Creek. Matthew believes that Ian should be recognised for his bravery during the rescue and for his other actions after the flood. 

In this oral history interview Ian Hoddinott describes how he rescued two women during the flood. Ian talks about the relationship between the rescuers and the survivors and about the effects of the flood on the township of Murphy's Creek and on those who were particularly affected by the disaster, such as Catherine Schefe and the Matthews family.

In this oral history interview Sue Patterson remembers the 2011 flood and its aftermath. Sue was at home with her daughter and some visitors when the flood struck. In the years after the flood, the family decided to stay. Sue has been diagnosed with severe anxiety, triggered by by the realisation that her daughter’s life was in danger and that she could do very little about it. After the flood, friends helped by donating goods and money and helping to clean up.

In this oral history interview Angie Pohl talks about the events on the day of the flood. She was in her car driving home when she reached a flooded causeway. Angie attempted to drive over the causeway, but the water quickly flooded her car and began sweeping her away. Matthew Eddison and Ian Hoddinott managed to pull Angie out of the water. This interview documents how she feels five years after this incident. 

Peter Souter’s business, Murphys Creek Escape, and his home and office were severely affected by the flood. Peter used his army training in disaster recovery to voluntarily step forward as the community leader of the township’s flood recovery. 

Greg Twidale is a truck driver from Toowoomba who was at the intersection of Kitchener Street and James Street during the flood in Toowoomba on 10 January 2011. He saw a motorist in distress and used his truck to shield the car from the current and threw a snatch-strap to the driver to anchor her to his truck in case her car was swept away. Greg has maintained contact with the woman he saved.

Ben Burton and his wife Anthea owned Withcott Antiques at Withcott. They repaired and opened their business on 1 April 2011, but later moved because of the trauma caused by the disaster. 

Neil Simpson, a pub owner, and his wife Gay catered for motorists stranded by the flood. 

Rod talks about the difficulties he and his wife had with their insurance company after the flood. Hydrologists measured the height of the wave that hit their property at 9.8 metres high. 

Gayle talks about the stress she experienced when dealing with her insurance company after the flood. She has moved to Murphys Creek where she has five horses.

Angela and Rebecca Emmerson were at home at Helidon when the flood struck. They attempted to shelter indoors, but then climbed to the roof to escape the rising floodwater.

Brad Mills is a QFRS swift water rescuer. He and his colleague Andrew Neil rescued Jenny Thorncraft from Lockyer Creek. They saw her from a news helicopter clinging to a tree. She had been floating with her partner James Perry and their son Edwin on the roof of their car. Suddenly the car sank and the rescuers were dropped off on an island in the flooded creek to save her.

Neil Pennell lives at Kalbar in the Fassifern Valley. He is a medical sonographer who noticed a supercell embedded in a cloud band on January 10, 2011. He attempted to warn communities he believed were at imminent risk in the Lockyer Valley.

Kendall Thompson was awarded several bravery awards, including the Benjamin Franklin Award for Valour and is the only recipient in the world of the award from the International Association of Fire Chiefs. In his rescue of Teddy Perry, Kendall improvised a rescue harness because there were no child-sized harnesses available at that time. Child harnesses have now been introduced.

Kelly is more cautious about driving on flooded roads since the flood, as well as surprised and disappointed that the local council has not contacted residents since the flood.

Sandra and Tom Friend were away during the flood. When they returned, they felt better off than the others as they had a few changes of clothes. Their house and farm were destroyed, but their insurance company paid their claim.

An oral history interview with Frank King of Grantham, Queensland.

Kathy Mahon and her family now live in the new development above Grantham. NSW Legal Aid represented them in a court case which made a precedent that insurers are required to pay for traumatised disaster survivors to be able to move from the scene of the disaster, rather than limit the compensation to repairs of damaged houses at the site of a disaster. 

Lisa and her family moved from Grantham to a rental house and later to a shed on a hill on their flower farm at West Haldon. They lived in a shed on the farm for some years until their new house was built. 

Marie van Straten and her husband were swept away in their house during the flood. Since then both were diagnosed with cancer. Peter died in 2015 during the Grantham Floods Inquiry. They had to move several times. Marie is 61 and has to find work. She is a nurse, but is unable to work as a nurse due to a wrist injury she got during the flood. 

Mark Turner is a swift water rescue officer with Queensland Fire and Rescue Service. He returned to work for several years, but had several months off work after a rescue several years later triggered memories of the Grantham disaster. He has fully recovered and returned to work. Mark returned to Grantham on the fifth anniversary of the disaster and met the people he had rescued.

Marty Warburton realises now that he should have moved away from Grantham. Those who did leave appear to him to have recovered better than those who stayed. Marty’s business was not moved to the new estate because it was only for residential houses, not businesses. Marty sees this as an error in administration because the economic framework of the town was destroyed and there are now very few jobs in town.