Dawn breaks on a new week. The Australia Day weekend storms that wrought destruction on South East Queensland are replaced by what promises to be a magnificent dawn. Yes, on the Southern Moreton Bay Islands, there is much to be done but the electricity is being restored, the boats are being rescued from the mangroves, the barges and passenger ferries are back in operation and the local fire brigades and SES have done a cracker job in clearing the debris from the roads. We did escape the worst.
Of course it isn't all sweetness and light, travelling in from Russell Island to Victoria Point following the shoreline revealed much destructive force from the ex-tropical cyclone. " Not as bad as '74" I was assured by an old resident on the ferry.
Still, I counted nine yachts and cruisers beached on the islands and along the mainland. The normally fast shaded cycle and walking route up to the Redland Bay Golf Club was a miserable lumpiness of broken trees, seaweed, plastic bottles and large stones flung up by the storm surge and hard onshore wind. The pleasant little playground and fitness area was a mess with its shade cloths shredded and trees uprooted.
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| Cruiser up on Redland Bay shoreline |
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| Someone improvised with found containers to clear some of the way. |
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| Sad. An adolescent Morten Bay Fig up rooted. |
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| Pathway now rocky presents a big job for Council worker |
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| Another |
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| And another |
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| And another |
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| And another |
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| And another |
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| And another |
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| And even more |
Still, I counted nine yachts and cruisers beached on the islands and along the mainland. The normally fast shaded cycle and walking route up to the Redland Bay Golf Club was a miserable lumpiness of broken trees, seaweed, plastic bottles and large stones flung up by the storm surge and hard onshore wind. The pleasant little playground and fitness area was a mess with its shade cloths shredded and trees uprooted.
Great photo... glad to hear everything is getting back to normal for the island... I tried to access the bayjournal site for news... is this down or no longer in operation???
ReplyDeleteShane
Shane, I have decided to close down the BayJournal for a number of reasons, not the least of which was an growing technical administrative load that went with an eight year old infrastructure base straining under the load of over 3,000 articles and a 1,000 photos. It broke. I am working on an offline version for the Redland Library so the history embedded in those pages will not be lost. In the fullness of time I will redirect the BayJournal's URL to the current location. However, please don't be expecting the same coverage as in the past: I am looking for new directions in what I want to write and photograph-- perhaps a little more personal and direct from a mobile platform instead of the confines of my study. "Run you ploughshares over the bones of the dead" said William Blake. It's time.
DeleteLee
Lee, Thank you very much for the info. Well done on all the work you put into it, I have enjoyed your website for many years and will miss it as a source of detail on what is happening in the area (especially as I live in Sydney and work in Canberra!).
DeleteI am currently the senior photographer of the Navy and my wife and I are still a few years off 'retiring' to our house on RI, so I will need to find a new source of news. I will, however, keep an eye on your blog, I have certainly enjoyed your work todate. Again, great photo...
Shane