Crumpet and comfort as towns face recovery

Stephanie Gardiner | December 5, 2022

Evelyn Crumpet can sense when someone needs a hand or, in her case, a paw.

The black Cocker Spaniel has been comforting the people of Eugowra since a flash flood destroyed much of the central western NSW village almost three weeks ago, leading to the deaths of two residents.

While her owner, Lifeline Central West chief executive Stephanie Robinson, and a team of counsellors support a grieving community, Evelyn is by their side offering distraction and affection.

“She will go up to somebody and tap them until they acknowledge her,” Ms Robinson says.

“We’ve seen everyone from young children to older men – who are traditionally very stoic – break down. They start opening up in ways they wouldn’t have otherwise.”

One farmer has a particular bond.

“I dropped in on him this week and he said, ‘There she is, my personal counsellor. You’ve made a grown man cry, Evelyn Crumpet.”

After weeks of clean-up efforts, the enormity of the loss and destruction is beginning to take hold, Ms Robinson says.

Some flood evacuees have returned to the village for the first time to live in tents and caravans, while they watch gyprock being carried away from their ruined homes.

Most are distressed by thoughts of what the future holds and whether they’re covered by insurance.

“They’re coming off the adrenaline high, and that’s when the real stress happens. They start to realise everything is gone.

“People get very overwhelmed with filling out paperwork – it’s often described as just as traumatic as the event itself.”

A heavy downpour on the night of November 13 caused sudden flooding across the region, which many likened to a tsunami. At the same time, towns including Forbes, Cowra and Condobolin dealt with repeated inundation from the swollen Lachlan River.

Despite their own disaster, members of the Forbes Country Women’s Association Evening Branch are doing loads of washing for Eugowra families and providing food for the school.

“They’re our close neighbours, we can’t turn our backs on them,” President Robyn Miller says.

Ms Miller hopes relief efforts also focus on Condobolin, which was cut off by record-breaking flood levels, and the farming community of Bedgerabong, where crops have been underwater for months.

“It will be 12 months before farms dry out and another year before they generate an income. 

“They’re looking at being wiped out for two years.”

The stories of lucky escapes and heartache have moved the nation.

The Orange ex-services club has received $370,000 in donations from clubs across NSW, Victoria, Queensland and the ACT, as well as businesses and individuals, including one woman who gave $10,000.

East Lismore bowling club pitched in $500, just nine months after it was underwater.

“It’s unbelievable at a time when electricity and petrol prices are going up and people are just recovering from COVID,” says Nathan Whiteside, the Orange club’s chief executive.

Many communities have fundraisers on the Givit platform, while Buy from the Bush is hosting markets in Sydney and promoting businesses from flood-affected areas.

Mr Whiteside says the club has been overwhelmed by the cash donations, which will fund shopping vouchers for victims.

“Sometimes the world can feel like a pretty lonely place, so this really warms your heart,”