Matamata Rotarians have reached out to the flood-ravaged city of Ballina in New South Wales with financial assistance after a large portion of the township was destroyed by devastating floodwaters.
A donation of $3000 was made by Rotary Matamata to its sister club Ballina-on-Richmond as the city struggles to recover from the March flood caused in part by a 1.8m king tide on the Richmond River.
Rotary Club of Ballina-on-Richmond President Col Lee says his club is very thankful for the donation after the disaster caused billions of dollars of damage to Ballina.
“Ballina is a city of 28,000 people and for the first time, we saw floodwaters entering shops and the residential areas. This is the most disastrous event in Ballina’s history,” Col says.
“Very few houses in West Ballina were unaffected and agricultural industries, sugar cane farms, machinery sheds, and machinery have been very badly damaged. Repair costs to the Broadwater Sugar Mill have been estimated at A$1.2 billion and it is impossible at this stage to estimate a complete damage bill or time for repairs.”
Col says his Rotary Club had been at the forefront in assisting community members after the disaster.
“We have not stopped helping out, in people’s houses and businesses. We have been supplying up to 1600 meals daily for volunteers, flood-affected families, and the Australian Defence force,” he says.
Money donated by Rotary Matamata will be used to buy grocery and clothing vouchers to give to Ballina residents affected by the flood, Col says.
Rotary Club of Ballina-on-Richmond Director Jodie Shelley says the community in Ballina is hurting following the disaster.
“Total strangers have offered to help from far and wide. People, businesses and organizations have come together in this time of need to support one another. It is so good to see the resilience and community spirit that comes from such a terrible disaster.”
Matamata Rotary President Robert Stuart says members from his club had previously visited Ballina and the decision to send financial aid was an easy one.
“Our hearts go out to those people in Ballina who have lost their homes and livelihoods due to the flood damage. We really hope that our donation can play a small part in the much larger disaster relief that they will need to rebuild.
Rotary Matamata historian Barry McKey says the local councils of Matamata and Ballina initially formed a sister city agreement in about 1985.
“Councillors from Matamata attended the opening of a new administration building in Ballina, a city in New South Wales, in August 1986 including then-mayor Neil Algar,” Barry says.
“A framed panel depicting the medallion on the Matamata mayoral chain and carved in Hinuera Stone was presented to Ballina to formalise the sister city relationship.”
Some years later, another former mayor and Rotarian Don Stanley arranged a visit by Matamata Rotarians to Ballina, and a formal sister club relationship was struck up with the Rotary Club of Ballina-on-Richmond, Barry says.
Members of the Australian club undertook a visit to Matamata in 2007 and plans had been underway for another reciprocal visit just prior to COVID striking in 2020.