Rawlinna floods: Donations for ‘go-getter’ jackaroos and jillaroos left out of pocket in Nullarbor floods

Thousands of dollars have been raised for “go-getting” young workers left out of pocket when record flood waters engulfed Rawlinna station on the Nullarbor. The jillaroos and jackaroos working on the huge property, which is being sold to Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Metals Group, lost most of their personal possessions, including cars, motorbikes and tools, in the flooding two weeks ago. The losses are not covered by the Adelaide-based station owner Jumbuck Pastoral’s insurance, prompting station staffer Gemma Chandler to set up a gofundme page to help 13 “severely affected” station hands. As of Friday, the initiative had raised half of its $10,000 target, with funds already distributed between the affected workers. “These guys have lost everything, jocks, socks, shirts, shorts, phone chargers, bedding, pillows,” Ms Chandler said. noting that the station hands included backpackers who had no one to fall back on in Australia. “They have had to replace their lives. “They’re mainly young people, but the calibre of person here is incredibly resilient, very go-getter, fire in the belly, give anything a go, and they’ve have shown that every day they have been here.” After years of drought, more than 340mm of rain fell on Rawlinna, 400km east of Kalgoorlie, over four days from March 9, flooding the workers’ accommodation and the homestead, ruining food stores and contaminating fuel storage tanks. About a dozen workers walked off the 1 million hectare station through mud to the Trans-Australian railway line, where a track-mounted vehicle took them to the nearby Rawlinna townsite. They were evacuated by a DFES helicopter a couple of days later and dropped in Kalgoorlie. The parents of some of the young hands questioned the level of support from Jumbuck in Adelaide, but Rawlinna station manager Jimmy Wood said the company had “looked after all employees, including myself, very well”. Jumbuck, which is owned by South Australia’s MacLachlan family, is believed to have offered a week’s wages to tide over the workers, who have since returned home or are “couch-surfing” awaiting a call to return to Rawlinna when the floodwaters recede. Jumbuck director Jock MacLachlan said the company hurriedly drew up priorities when the rains hit. “There’s no doubt our staff are number one on that last, then the stock and then the rebuild of the property”. Jumbuck owns seven stations in WA, SA, NSW and the Northern Territory. FMG has been in negotiations to buy Rawlinna since early 2023 and reportedly aims to use property in pursuit of its renewable energy ambitions while continuing to run sheep. Some social media users questioned why money was being raised if the iron ore giant was on the scene. However, sources have confirmed the sale has still to be finalised. The station is believed to the worst affected of the handful hit in the region by the heavy rains, with damage to buildings and infrastructure. “But above everything else, the stock and the land are doing great,” Mr Wood said. He said that the rains would help rejuvenate grazing and stock numbers after the protracted drought. While there were undoubtedly some losses among the 30,000 sheep on Rawlinna, “for the most part, most of those sheep are OK and probably in a lot better health than they were a few weeks ago because now they’ve got green grass and water”, Mr Wood said. “You’re not going to get out of a flood event like this unscathed, but we’re all consoling ourselves that this is absolutely the best thing for the land.”