Mothers making a difference after Cyclone Larry

When the force of nature unleashed Tropical Cyclone Larry on Far North Queensland, it was the power of four mothers that brought a ray of sunshine to the heart-broken community. Kerie Hull reports.

Take yourself on an imaginary walk around your neighbourhood. Imagine one out of every three homes without a roof. Imagine one out of five shops and businesses in a twisted heap. Imagine every school in need of repair, and imagine more than half the local hotels and accommodation houses being shut down for months. Imagine the very lifeblood of the community – agricultural crops – shredded. Now, imagine the tempest that tore this community apart.

For many outside of ground zero, the legacy of Tropical Cyclone Larry is the exorbitant $3 banana. But, for those living in the bitter aftermath of the devastation in Far North Queensland, it is the tide of goodness that will be etched in memory.

While the men dealt with the wrath of Larry in a physical sense from dawn until dusk, out with chainsaws clearing property and roads, assisting friends, family, neighbours and strangers by stringing up tarps, building makeshift accommodation and cleaning up wreckage, mothers were left holding the babies, literally.

This group of four mums wanted to do something more. It was their babies who’d brought them together at breast-feeding association meetings four years earlier. Realising the value in sharing the joys of motherhood – sleep deprivation, lapsed social life and the constant battle to regain the figure that once was – sisters Katy Garner, 25, and Peace Mitchell, 34, set up St Rita’s Scallywags Playgroup.

“It became more for us than the kids,” says Katy. “Mums new to the area were looking to connect and find their place in the local community, especially first-time mums without family support.”

In the days and weeks following Cyclone Larry, they did what they could as individuals. Karen Portelli, 36, a former bank manager, lives close to the hospital and had electricity before most people. She started her own spaghetti-on-wheels service to help those with no power. “I felt a great need to help people. I felt guilty that I didn’t lose my home and that I had power. I couldn’t do enough to help.”

Liz Provians, 32, a secondary art teacher and artist, delivered clothes, dry mattresses and toys for those in need, and rallied donations from school staff and accommodation houses in nearby Cairns for those who had lost homes. Katy minded friends’ children and checked on elderly neighbours.

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