Almost three years after Cyclone Jasper, communities across the Barron Floodplain will celebrate the strength, ingenuity and relationships forged during one of Far North Queensland’s most significant natural disasters. Source: Centacare FNQ.
On September 24, Barron Connected Communities, with support from the Cairns and Far North Environment Centre (CAFNEC) and Centacare FNQ, will present Sharing Our Strength – Moving Forward After Jasper, a free community gathering that recognises the people, relationships and collective action that proved critical during the disaster and recovery.
The event marks the culmination of 12 months of collaboration through Barron Connected Communities, offering residents the opportunity to reconnect, share experiences, and reinforce the trusted connections essential in times of adversity.
Stories of that community strength will be shared throughout the evening through photography, artwork and conversation, alongside the premiere of a short community film documenting first-hand accounts of the unprecedented flooding that isolated communities across the Barron Floodplain in December 2023.
The film highlights resilience and resourcefulness, including residents establishing makeshift recovery centres in garages, pooling generators to create community charging stations, helping neighbours evacuate, and drawing on local knowledge to support others in a time of need.
Centacare FNQ disaster management senior worker Patrick Sim said strong relationships were central to community resilience.
“A resilient community is not only connected, but also has strong, positive relationships. These relationships become critical in sharing support during difficult times,” Mr Sim said.
Machans Beach resident Mary Brodie said those connections became critical when communities were cut off.
“We were isolated and we really could only rely on each other. The community rallied together to help and support the people who were flooded. That was our strength,” Ms Brodie said.
CAFNEC Community Campaigner Alex Benavides, who led the film’s development, said it was important for community members to shape the story rather than simply be its subjects.
“People wanted their experiences to mean something. They wanted the lessons from the floods to be remembered and applied to make their communities safer and better prepared for the future,” Ms Benavides said.
FULL STORY
Jasper community strength celebrated through Sharing Our Strength film (Centacare FNQ)
