Daniel Townsend has lived in Eugowra for almost six decades - essentially his entire life.
He's been there for most of the floods along the Mandagery Creek. Seen the worst of them, too. The 1990 flood, he says, was simply "huge".
But what poured through the town in November, 2022, was something else entirely.
"We heard the reading at Toogong; it was 10 metres there ... we thought, 'that can't be right'," the 58-year-old said.
"If it's 10m there then it'll be 12m here ... and it wasn't far off."
Mr Townsend owns the town's Newsagency and Supermarket on Broad Street, on the western side of the creek.
His business reopened on Tuesday, seven weeks after the disaster on November 14. He said it's a small step in Eugowra's recovery, but an important one nonetheless.
In the time spent cleaning up, Mr Townsend marked a line on the wall in the newsagency where the flood peaked. Above the line, those who have pitched in to help the town get back up on its feet, or simply visited to support the community, have signed the wall. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is one of the names on the wall, while one name simply says 'I love you guys, Shaz xx'.
It's both a reminder of the sheer magnitude of the disaster that unfolded that day, and a true sign of people power. That Aussie spirit. When the chips are down, everyone pitches in to help out.
Stripping all of that back, the line he's drawn marks an 11.5m height - not far off that 12m, at all.
READ ALSO:
It's a high water mark the likes of which Eugowra has never seen before. The town floods, and those like Mr Townsend know that. They've lived it many times.
But this, what unfolded on November 14, he says will forever represent a freak weather event, not a flood.
"The Government is still calling this a flood, it wasn't. It was a storm. The water never made it to the creek before it washed through town," he said.
"We thought it would be a flood. We saw the readings upstream. But it was higher than that. This wasn't a flood."
Mr Townsend is, in the grand scheme of things, one of the luckier ones in Eugowra.
His business on the Forbes side of town was hit, sure. He lost a just about all of his stock, as well as the fridges and freezers.
But it was the eastern side of Eugowra that felt the brunt of what is being likened to an 'inland tsunami'. A freak weather event that claimed the lives of two people.
And Mr Townsend says that pain on that side of the creek is just "devastating".
"When the water hit I went up stairs into the projector room. I was fine up there. I was up and down most of the time. We were pretty busy moving things," he said.
"And then the next morning I was able to walk over the bridge ... and that's when I found out what happened over the other side.
"They were all impacted. This is something we never thought would happen. Houses were completely moved.
"Everyone has a story to tell, and they should all be told ... but some of it is just so sad."
Subscribers have access to download our free app today from the App Store or Google Play
He said it's likely homes will have to be demolished in some parts of town.
"That will be devastating," Mr Townsend said.
"But what do we do? Do we close? No, we had to clean up and so we've reopened.
"We've had a few people come in so far. There's been a lot of support and a lot of encouragement.
"We're just doing our best. But I don't know if we'll ever get back to what it was like before."
He said, in his experience, the Service NSW crew at the showground has been very supportive, and the use of the Givit vouchers has meant he's been able to reopen.
Still, it'll be a couple more weeks before deliveries and stock returns to normal levels for his business, given the time of year.
"Us opening is a small step. I hope other businesses can do the same," Mr Townsend said.
Nick McGrath
Editor, Central Western Daily
Editor, Central Western Daily
