A small Surf Life Saving Club, with a Big Heart
February 2025. A severe weather warning was issued across northern Queensland as wild storms battered the area, bringing torrential downpours and flash flooding that threatened to destroy homes, businesses, and properties. Residents were given a chilling warning – the flooding would be “potentially life-threatening”.
110km north of Townsville lies Ingham, a small township that is prone to flooding. As storms and rain lashed the area, the scale of the flooding and inundation of the homes was unprecedented.
Just 20 minutes away is the beachside community of Forrest Beach. With flood waters rising, the small settlement faced a terrifying ordeal – cut off from its main centre, Ingham, and food, fuel, and other essential services for four to five days. For a small community with a significant population of elderly people and people with medical conditions needing support, the situation was catastrophic.
Forrest Beach Surf Life Saving Club comes to the aid of a community in crisis
Facing disaster head-first, Forrest Beach SLSC acted; its members banding together without hesitation to help wherever they were needed - from essential service assistance to disaster coordination. The Club had equipment at hand – radios, Side by Side Vehicles (SSVs), an Inflatable Rescue Boat (IRB) and a BBQ.
But most importantly, it had committed volunteers with a community at heart.
A Disaster Hub was set up at the Forrest Beach Takeaway; a communication point for information and to record problems members of the community were facing. Skillsets were matched with the volunteer-base and community services, business and locals were contacted or came forward offering to help the emergency effort.
Members of the Club door knocked to understand the needs of the community – highlighting the number of vulnerable people who would require support as the crisis unfolded.
Young volunteer surf lifesavers played a vital role, using their lifesaving training and other skillsets to help in any way they could. Throughout this time, they demonstrated maturity, compassion, and a strong sense of community spirit well beyond their years – the very heart of what it means to be a volunteer surf lifesaver.
They conducted welfare checks and helped keep the local children entertained and reassured during the challenging time. A volunteer who is an electrician, assisted people with generators and home power issues, as well as donating his Starlink to the Disaster Hub to use during the event. A mechanic from a local Surf Club family spent the week repairing generators. Forrest Beach SLSC members provided lunch and dinners in addition to the meals cooked at the Disaster Hub. As volunteers delivered the meals, they were able to report back on the wellbeing of people and escalate their needs. A rescue response using the IRB to float an elderly couple from their inundated home also took place. Residents were given assistance in the removal of furniture and other recovery tasks.
There were no doctors at Forrest Beach and one paramedic only. A health response team was coordinated by a Forrest Beach SLSC patrol member who is also a nurse. This included home visits, welfare checks and consultations at the Disaster Hub and medical centre. The health coordination effort was significant, and without the early set up would have resulted in several adverse outcomes.
Forrest Beach SLSC’s Media and Communications Officer provided an essential service to coordinate home checks and keep the community, and family and friends who were cut off from loved ones, updated on the events as most people had no access to telecommunications.
Through Facebook, 1300 Medics were able to contact Forrest Beach SLSC, arranging essential medical supplies to be choppered in for the medical centre and pharmacy and baby formula and a radio battery for the lone paramedic.
But the support didn’t stop once the flood waters receded. A Community Recovery BBQ was hosted by the Club – a collaborative effort between the Club, the local Progress Association, and the CWA. It provided a wonderful opportunity for the community to come together, debrief, and celebrate the tireless efforts and contributions of our volunteers during the flood. It was a reminder of the strength and resilience within the community.
A small SLSC with a big heart
Forrest Beach SLSC is a small rural Club run solely by volunteers who cover everything from patrolling to Nipper programs, training volunteer surf lifesavers in essential lifesaving skills to maintaining the clubhouse, vehicles and equipment. As demonstrated by their quick and selfless efforts to help their community in a time of crisis, the volunteer surf lifesavers have the needs of the local community at heart.