David French | 17/02/2011 11:21:54 AM

This article was first publihed in The Morning Bulletin dated 07th January 2011. Titled 'Splendid Isolation'

The current flood is serious, but it is nothing new for residents of the area affectionately known as “The Swamp”. Many seem to have made a logical choice to put up with periodical inundation, in return for substantially lower house prices. Suggestions of land resumption risk denying people the opportunity to make choices that may suit them very well.

Floods are part of the lore of our town. Bob Stewart, CIPL’s senior equities advisor, loves to tell me that in the 1954 floods the (now defunct) Macs Brewery went under, and that the wildly varying alcohol levels led to even careful drinkers having trouble finding their way home.

When the water subsides, remember that “Rod’s Snack Attack” has excellent fish and chips, and that the beer at the Fitzroy is cold, and the locals friendly. When visiting, look for remnants of 19th Century rail lines and wharves. Right now the Pioneer Hotel is offering capital-city standard pizzas, complete with Venice atmosphere – they even do take-away and could do with the business.

The plight of people badly affected, and the efforts of those involved in helping maintain the community deserves respect, but it’s pretty important that our community leaders speak frankly about the resilience and importance of the town. That includes not making misleading statements that 40 per cent of the city is underwater, or that we are isolated, when we never were - you only had to call the Royal Oak Hotel at Yaamba and look on the RACQ website to discover that (that’s what I did anyhow). Perhaps one sensible suggestion is a river height gauge at Pink Lily Highbanks. The grief really only starts when the river breaches those banks.

Monday morning, I took the kids for a bike ride to look at the floods. Yeppen Crossing is spectacular, and we were surprised to see thousands of little fish in shallow water in Derby Street. Although widely misused, the only accurate descriptor for the river itself is “awesome”.

And finally a treat at Wendy’s in City Centre Plaza. We were 10 minutes early, so we visited Coles for a quick appraisal of the effects of panic buying. Hmm, no story in that. Instead I bought a kilo of some of the most beautiful cherries and some nectarines to offset the effects of lemon sorbet and milkshakes. Floods? What can I say – splendid isolation.

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