Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I would like to acknowledge the fantastic community spirit within the Red Rock-Corindi Surf Life Saving Club. On Australia Day, last month, they came together for the Bruce Green Memorial Paddle. In September of 2014, the much-loved club member Bruce Green tragically died in a kayaking accident. This year, to honour his memory, the club organised an Australia Day paddle to help remember their lost friend and raise funds for his beloved club.

Bruce loved the Red Rock-Corindi Surf Life Saving Club. In his time there he took on many roles. He was trainer, assessor, first aid officer and maintenance person and was always on call because he lived locally. He won many awards for the most patrol hours in the club and performed many rescues himself. He was also known to perform rescues outside patrol hours, and the club's inflatable rescue boat—which Bruce worked tirelessly to get—is named in his honour.

While the entire club played a part in making the day a success, I would like to make special mention of the event organiser, Karen Dallas; Rebecca Yager; Greg and Samantha Sunderland; Kieran Rea; Glynis Treuer; Wayne Scott; Maddy Apinall; Finn McIntyre; and club president Mitanne Doughney. Congratulations to all involved for your fundraising efforts and for your honouring of the memory of Red Rock-Corindi Surf Life Saving Club stalwart Bruce Green.

Last week this House was talking about Queen Elizabeth's Sapphire Jubilee. In 1954, the Queen and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, visited Lismore. The anniversary is next week. It was a huge event with thousands lining the street as the royal company stood on the balcony of the Gollan Hotel, in the CBD, waving to the crowd. Such is the pride in the visit that the room she stayed in at the Gollan has been kept the same as it was that night, and pictures from the visit still hang on the pub walls.

But there is more to the story. The night she was there—late on the night of 20 February, in the early hours of 21 February—as Her Majesty was leaving, a cyclone crossed the border from southern Queensland, bringing with it destructive and heavy rain. The Richmond River at Lismore peaked at 13.4 metres in the early hours of the morning, and the CBD was inundated as rescuers navigated boats through the streets. Such was the speed of the flooding that businesses had no time to prepare. There were, literally, dead horses floating down the street.

It was a devastating flood that remains seared in the memory of the community, and it was not just Lismore. Further along the river, towns like Kyogle, Casino, Coraki, Woodburn, Broadwater, Wardell and Byron Bay were also devastated. Despite the best efforts of the Army and certain volunteer groups, tragically, 15 people died across the Northern Rivers that night. It will always be remembered by our community, not just because of the flood but for how our community got together to rebuild.