For 1500 residents of Crescent Head and surrounding areas who have been isolated by flood waters since Friday 19 March, the sight of a large crane and punt bringing supplies into the town was a welcome relief on Tuesday 23 March.
Pallets of food, stock and vital medications were delivered through a huge multi-agency effort that involved a crane lift from the Pacific Highway overpass, onto trucks and then unloaded to private farmers oyster punts to get across the flooded single road into Crescent Head. In true rural style the goods then went from punt to flat bed trailer and were tractored into town to be unloaded by volunteers.
The relief effort coordinated by Kempsey Shire Council and the State Emergency Services through the local Emergency Operations Centre, included Transport for NSW, Rural Fire Service, volunteers from Crescent Head Surf Lifesaving Club and plenty of locals.
Transport's customer service and road safety teams arranged for all necessary safety measures to be put in place and assisted with the transfer logistics.
Kempsey Shire, Mayor Liz Campbell, said the effort was a highlight in a difficult day yesterday.
"Out there in the pouring rain and seeing the efforts of so many government and community organisations coming together to provide vital supplies to our isolated residents made me so proud," Cr Campbell said.
"The Kempsey Shire community is incredibly resilient, and we are experienced at dealing with floods but this, when we are still in recovery from the bushfires, is going to test us.
"To know we can pull together a response like the Crescent Head supply drop and make such an immediate difference to isolated residents is the sort of combined effort we are going to need to see over and over in the coming weeks and months."
Further minor flood warnings are still in place for the Macleay River with rises expected in the early hours of Thursday. With water over hundreds of kilometres of floodplain the residents of Crescent Head are likely to remain isolated for a few days yet.
