Port Macquarie s Hidden Paradise

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1 Port Macquarie s Hidden Paradise Northside Progress Association Inc. PO Box 6182 Port Macquarie NSW 2444 Web page: northsiders1@gmail.com President: Narelle Milligan Vice-President: Kingsley Searle M Secretary: Kellie Hall M Treasurer: Warren Bailey FEBRUARY/MARCH FLOODS - Ferrymen by Phil Eades As we all know we had the biggest flood since 1978 on the 27 and 28 February and then more rain the following weekend. I wont talk much on the issues we faced on 3 rd and 4 th but I will make reference. The River Height (Hibbard Ferry) The low tide that occurred at 7am on Sunday the 3 rd of March had enough fresh water in it that the Hibbard Ferry was not able to safely operate. The river level did not recede sufficiently to make a crossing until approx. 6pm Monday 4th. At that time we were able to make a slow crossing and remove the buildup of debris from the cables. We were able to get across and clear the debris but upon arrival on the north bank the ferry flaps were still too high above the approach ramp for vehicles to drive on or off so it was decided to give the river a little more time to run out. At 7pm we made another attempt and were able to get the flaps on the ground on the north bank so we recommenced operation. We were able to operate without incident until 10 pm when it ceased running and was moored on the south bank, manned in case of emergency, with theintention of recommencing normal operation at 6-00am Tuesday morning. The water levels were unusually slow to recede this second time and that was probably because of the high level of rain that fell in the catchment and particularly around Mount Seaview. This has been making its way down the river for a couple of days and in addition we had very little tidal rise and fall on the coast, only about 800mm from high to low and this slowed the run out cycle.

2 The Mechanical Breakdown (Settlement Point). The situation that occurred with the Settlement Point Ferry was that major damage was sustained to the drive shaft due to the pressure placed on the drive wheels emulating through to the bearing housing case that collapsed that allowed the drive shaft to move enough to grind against the ferry hull. The damage the drive shaft sustained was unknown as we were unable to measure the amount of heat that would have gone through the 120mm stainless steel shaft from the grinding on the metal hull which would have had reduced the tensile strength of the shaft. The possibility that the heat generated could have weakened the shaft along with the scouring damage made it a difficult call to replace the bearings and use the same damaged drive shaft to get the ferry operational. The risk was too great as if council were to place it back in service and the drive shaft broke we could have lost the drive wheel in the river and that is a component that could not be replaced in minimal time. We started a Twitter account for Ferrymen some time ago and told the NSPA about it. This account was used extensively through the floods and was helpful to communicate quickly en mass. The twitter address if you wish to follow us It is only being used for notification of events; it is not an open forum for discussion or complaints. The Council is confident that this situation had arisen from the impact of the flood and the pressure placed on the drive wheels as when the idler cable broke on Saturday night enormous weight would have been immediately placed on the drive components. The pressure on the drive wheel segments was enough to twist the bearing housing causing it to eventually collapse and thus leaving the drive shaft rotating against the steel hull creating a massive heat transfers and scouring to the stainless steel shaft. It is felt that the cracking in the bearing housing got worse after the ferry was placed back in service on Monday and only failed on the Tuesday when the casing finally gave way. Phil Eades.

3 From the President We have experienced the worst flood since 1978 and the damage to houses, cars, gardens, tools and white goods has run into hundreds of thousands of dollars and rising. The oyster industry has been decimated and the farmers on Maria River Rd have lost live stock. Many of our trades and business people were unable to get to work because of the ferries stoppages so the impact on the Port Macquarie economy has been significant. To our volunteer Fire Brigade and NSPA continues to fight hard to ensure residents receive financial assistance from the NSW and Federal Governments and we want the Council to bring forward the drainage and sewerage which will help reduce the Impact of local and river flooding. Narelle Milligan A BIG THANK YOU considerate neighbours who helped others lift their furniture and then clean up. The Brigade patrolled our streets to keep a Flood Watch and advised us of changing conditions. To the Council which organised Richards to pick up damaged goods and kept in regular contact. Thank you Tim. This will continue until the village and Riverside Dr. are cleared. To the SES who organised the food parcel distribution through our Fire Brigade. To the Ferrymen and drivers who kept the ferries on until it became too dangerous to operate. THIS WON T BE THE LAST FLOOD! North Shore has had river flooding in different months including May. Try to keep goods up and move your vehicles to higher ground EARLY not at the last hour

4 FACEBOOK PAGE Riverside resident Peter Burgess of Zocalo has set up a Facebook Page which has proved invaluable during the floods. Check out PortMacquarieNorthShore NSPA website iwww.northsidepa.com YOUR NEW NSPA COMMITTEE President Narelle Milligan T M Vice-President Kingsley Searle M Secretary Kellie Hall M Treasurer Warren Bailey T Monica Porte, Jo Morgan, Alan Auswild, Jim Bignell, Ann Brunyee Mayor Besseling and GM Haywood tour Northside hotspots with NSPA Committee Members There will be a community consultation process on the raising of Shoreline Dr. and associated drainage. Watch our website and the notice boards for the date.

5 "NSPA nominated Jo Morgan for the "Hastings Heroines Award" as a recognition of many years of volunteer work Jo has done for the North Shore. Jo is one of 15 women in the Hastings selected by The Hastings Business Women's Network. Jo has lived on Riverside Drive for over 30 years and has fought to obtain a new ferry and Limeburners Bridge. For the past three years she has also volunteered for Jo Morgan Narelle Milligan FAWNA, rescuing birds and restoring them to health so they can be released" Congratulations, Jo, from us all." Jo Morgan has done a check with FAWNA representatives who have experience in handling wild animals i.e. kangaroos. Their recommendations are: Don t feed or encourage these animals as they can quickly become reliant on handouts. They may then become aggressive and dangerous if ignored. WALK ON THE WILD SIDE A very successful workshop was held at Corilla in February by Bernard Whitehouse, an environmental consultant, who walked residents through the bush and near the sand dunes to point out the noxious weeds that are choking the rain forest. Bernard also builds boxes in our area for possums, gliders and other wildlife to increase their chances of survival. We were shown how to poison and safely removed a range of weeds. A Commonwealth Grant under the "Caring for Country" has made the purchase of equipment possible and there will be three more workshops run between now and June. Please join us on the next one to learn from Bernard how we can protect our bush environment. Details will be on our website pa.com and Facebook PortMacquarieNorthShore

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7 If it not fire it is a FLOOD and in the last couple of weeks we have had nearly 2 floods, the main one over the weekend of the 23 rd where we lost power for nearly 24 hours. The ferries had to stop running due to flood waters, adrift channel markers and debris. Under the guidance of the SES the North Shore Rural Fire Service were inundated with calls for assistance, (lifting up furniture, sand bagging, Medical Evacuations etc). We had a lot of long days and nights ahead keeping in touch with residents who needed food drops, medication and up to date news regarding the flood height. We did our door knocking in regards to all of this and were greeted and appreciated by a very lot of the residents and the usual whinger. I would like to take the opportunity to thank all members of my brigade who as usual, did their utmost best for our community. Helping the people in need and then needing help themselves, to look after their own personal belongings and homes as the flood waters rose. I would like to emphasize to the local residents that we would like see them come down to the station and assist with filling sand bags, cooking and other works to help us out in times of floods, fire or other activities during the year. The SES delivered bread, milk and ration packs for stranded residents and farmers up the Maria River Road. Crescent Head we serviced in our Cat 1 fire truck with a rubber ducky on top. Brigade members supplied to farm houses by boat, people appreciated that we would go out of our way in times of need to look after them. There are people in our community who have no regard to how fast they drive in flood waters. We have placed barricades along the road and sand bags down to stop water wash into homes. These people will be put in the shame file with the number plate put in the local Thumbs up and Thumbs down paper, due to the increased damage they cause to the flooded houses. I would like to thank Narelle Milligan of the North Side Progress Association for her great input during and after floods for all the residents, and as Captain with my brigade we wish everyone a happy recovery with plenty of SUNSHINE and no fires. Leigh Fitz-Alan Captain

8 Your Newsletter generously sponsored by Ferrymen Pty Ltd February/March 2013 Thanks to Alan Auswild for the use of his pics. Advertise in the NSPA Newsletter