Residents in parts of the NSW mid-north coast were met with a shocking scene as dead cattle beneath debris washed up on beaches after being swept away in raging floodwaters.
Heavy machinery is removing them from the sand, in a heartbreaking picture of what’s been lost in floods that have decimated the region this week.
It’s expected many more dead animals will be discovered as floodwaters recede further and the true toll is laid bare.
Fifth-generation dairy farmer James Neal from Oxley Island, just east of Taree, told SBS he knew of nearly a hundred local dairy farmers impacted.
"It's such a desperate situation, unprecedented in that any plan you had just went straight out the window," said.
"It’s been really stressful for everyone involved.
"This is going to take a huge mental toll on farmers for sure. It's upsetting."
Farmers tried to move cattle to higher ground through raging floodwaters by foot and canoe. Source: Supplied / Laura Polson
Neal was one of hundreds who also had to be rescued when water rose rapidly on Tuesday night, catching many off guard.
"I had to get rescued at our own house and there were so many calls, SES was so under the pump," he said.
"We had a friend rescue us and some other people up to their waist in water sitting on a table.
"All our houses for our staff went under water as well."
Dairy farmer James Neal spoke to SBS over Zoom as he remained cut off by floodwaters on Oxley Island. Source: SBS News
"In 2021, we had a flood that was recognised as one in 100. This year they're saying this is a one-in-500-year flood because all those areas that were normally flood-free are not flood-free anymore," Neal said.
"Cows just got washed away and basically got caught on fences. I've got heaps of photos of stock that has washed up and they're not even local ones, they've come from upriver where obviously people thought they were on flood free paddocks and they just weren't."
According to WeatherZone, Oxley Island received 279 millimetres of rain on Tuesday alone, 500 millimetres over three days — equivalent to eight months’ worth of rain.
Neal said they weren’t warned of the severity of the weather event, and modelling didn’t reflect how much rain ultimately came.
He and many more on the island have been isolated for days without power and struggling to tend to their livestock that have survived with feed washed away and equipment destroyed.
Laura Polson feeding a calf as she stayed with her isolated property during flooding on Oxley Island. Source: Supplied / Laura Polson
Laura Polson, part of one of Oxley Island’s biggest dairy farming families, has also been isolated on her property, trying to keep animals alive.
"Sadly, a lot of calves have been lost but we were able to hoist this white calf up out of the water and have been feeding it bread, milk and weet-bix," she told SBS on Thursday.
"My dad, brother and sister have made huge efforts to protect our cows and calves on other parts of the island but it’s unknown how those cows are doing."
A calf taking shelter on the veranda of Laura Polson's home as floodwaters raged around it on Thursday. Source: Supplied / Laura Polson
'A few bad years now'
Commercial beekeeper Colin Broos keeps hundreds of hives on Oxley Island and says he’s lost most of them in the flood.
"Pretty devastating. I've lost 40 to 50 per cent of my income. Just like that, gone."
"We had the droughts in 2019, we were all affected by bushfires, lost hives there, a lot of people did. Then we had the floods in ‘21, then we had Varroa Mite, and now we've got this. It's pretty tough."
He was ferried across flooded pastures on a friend’s boat to assess the damage to his hives.
"This is next level. We did not expect this. There were no warnings … nobody knew how bad this was going to get. It’s taken us by completely by surprise."
"We’re a bit numb at the moment actually."
Commercial beekeeper Colin Broos says he doesn't know how his business will bounce back after more than 120 of his hives are washed away in the flood. Source: SBS News
"From an animal perspective, the pastures are in trouble and a lot of hay has been lost, the soil has been lost as well," Fieldhouse said.
"Because [the flood] is so late, it'll take a very long time to dry out this time of year.
"There's going to be a lot of people that have lost everything."
Lee Fieldhouse among locals using boats to get to their friends and neighbours, for rescues and to deliver supplies. Source: SBS News
"I've done the bread and milk run and beer and ciggies. All the essentials."
Locals 'cut off' from medical care
Sherinah Peck is one of likely hundreds of people whose homes have been completely flooded and who have lost nearly everything.
Already facing the challenge of rebuilding a destroyed home, Peck was injured by a distressed cow while searching the beach for missing belongings that washed away during the flood.
She had to travel two hours south to hospital in Newcastle with a suspected broken leg, because the nearest public hospital in Taree was still cut off by floodwater.
"Taree is only 15 minutes away from where I live but I couldn’t get to that hospital," Peck said.
"I have to have surgery… for them to put in a plate and screws."
The lack of a public hospital in Forster-Tuncurry has been the subject of debate for several years.
On Friday, locals on Oxley Island continued using boats to rescue and assist residents still stranded by floodwaters. Source: SBS News
"I called on the premier to do a stand up hospital in Forster because people in that area don’t have access to public health at the moment, that’s a concern," Thompson said.
"If something happens, where do they go? Our paramedics are stretched. We’re in a whole world of pain here.
"We don’t want any further trauma here; we are already traumatised enough."
Sherinah Peck suffered a leg injury after an encounter with a distressed cow on the beach. Source: Supplied
Searching for lost items
Peck has appealed to her community to look out for things that have been washed from her home, including one with deep sentimental value.
"I am after one particular item, that means the world to me and that’s my mum’s bike if anyone finds that I’ll be so grateful," she said.
"Her bike – Betsy – was everything."
Many others have lost everything, and donations have begun to pour in to support those in need.
Four people have died in the flooding disaster.
