Tale of the tinny army

By Jo Kennett

WHEN A Fingal man read The Weekly recently, he recognised his boat in a story about a Chinderah woman rescued from a residential park by members of the ‘tinny army’ she called her ‘guardian angels’.

Rob Kelly said he got quite emotional when he read Eileen Lowndes’ story about the floods on Monday, February 28, 2022.

Rob said he was living at Letitia Spit at Fingal Head at the time of the flood.

“A couple of the local Fingal boys Ernie Williams and Kyle Slabb went past and said they were going to help rescue people,” Rob told The Weekly.

“They had their own boat and I had one, and Adam Harrison towed it down.”

Rob said he and Adam went downriver and were going past the Chinderah Village Tourist Caravan Park when they saw someone standing in front of their caravan.

“We went over and they came out of everywhere holding bags and Eileen had her dog,” he said.

“They were thanking us and we were in shock because the SES had told them to wait but they hadn’t come back.

“They were coming out with water up to their chests; it was like something you see in a movie.”

Adam got out and held the boat and Rob put a ladder over the side and got them in.

“It’s a pretty big boat with seats, but it’s only built for seven and there were nine elderly residents,” Rob said. We couldn’t leave them there, it was getting dark.

“They were that frail and they were sitting there shivering in the boat and it was just terrible. You wouldn’t wish what they went through on anyone.”

They were told to go to the SES checkpoint at Chinderah but when they arrived the SES were pulling out.

“I said we had all these elderly people and asked what we should do. He said to take them across the river but it was too dangerous,” Adam said.

“I convinced some people on the overpass to drive down and take them to the BP. A lot of them couldn’t walk through floodwaters.

Rob said there were many other rescuers including from Cudgen Leagues Club, Cudgen Headland surf club and Fingal.

“My mate managed a park down the other end and there were two people in their 90s who got told to wait,” he said.

“When rescuers got there they were sitting in their recliners holding hands up to their necks in water. They never got told to evacuate.”

The next day Rob and Adam joined the tinny army taking flooded Chinderah residents up underneath the overpass near the Cudgen Leagues Club to get to the Kingscliff TAFE evacuation centre.

“Shannon Green helped out; he was the depth sounder,” he said.

“He’d jump out and pull the boat up as close as we could go then put them into another boat that could get in closer.

“People from Gold Coast surf clubs were coming down to help and surfers like Mick Fanning, Parko and Bede Durbidge going to Tumbulgum and Condong.”

Rob ran into his mate Adam Corowa who was helping people at Tumbulgum.

“His boat wasn’t big enough and wasn’t handling the currents,” Rob said.

“He was doing runs from a pick up station at the Kennedy Drive boat ramp (Tweed Heads), so we went up there and the organisers told us where to go.

“We would pick up supplies like fuel, baby formula, nappies, generators, water, and food and take it where it needed to go.

“It’s just amazing what people did. It was so good.”

Rob said the river was full of debris and whirlpools with fridges, horses, cows and logs going down the river.

“You just had to be careful,” he said.

“I ran into Mick Fanning. He thought I was in trouble so we had a bit of a chat.

“We ran into Bede Durbidge who was having jet ski trouble so we towed him from Fingal to the Kennedy Drive boat ramp.

“Later my wife Letitia rang and said we were flooded and had lost everything. She was distraught.

“Our two boys and even our blue heeler were traumatised.

“We stayed at Adam’s mum’s house next door for a few days and when the water receded the locals came and helped us start ripping everything out.

“I think it was Miami Boardriders Club that got us a new lounge, a washing machine and a dryer because we had nothing.

The Kellys are now renting a house that flooded in Chinderah “praying like everyone else” it doesn’t flood again.

Eileen was thrilled her rescuers had been found, saying, “I’m so happy to hear that I’m crying. They and others did so much. Please thank them for me,” she said.

Lumus Imaging Tweed Heads South celebrates its’ first-year anniversary.

On 7th February 2022, Lumus Imaging Tweed Heads South opened the doors of our brand new state-of-the-art facility with the goal of providing a comprehensive medical imaging service to the Tweed Coast community.

Our range of services includes a partially Medicare-funded MRI machine and a dedicated women’s imaging service. If you have had the pleasure of visiting Lumus Imaging Tweed Heads South during the past year, it is no doubt that you were greeted with a warm and friendly smile by one of our welcoming team.

Onsite principal Radiologist, Dr Kevin Leong had to say the following:

“Having opened our doors to the Tweed Coast community just twelve months ago, we are extremely proud of the role that we have played in helping many patients along their healthcare journey during that time. I am grateful for the strong relationships and mutual trust that we have built with local practitioners and our collaborative approach to patient care which is invaluable to the clinical outcome for our patients. On behalf of our team, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Tweed residents for welcoming us with open arms. We look forward to continuing to support our community, and providing the knowledge that matters by people who care for many years to come.”