Beyond the Deluge
Bernadette Tolson · 37 min
A woman who returned to her childhood home to build a farm and vineyard finds herself on a flood island, rescuing cattle in the dark and watching her beloved village emerge battered but unbroken.
You don't have to be in crisis to call.
Bernadette returned to Broke in 2012 to build a life on her family's acreage. She had left the small Hunter Valley town as a teenager, but came back to run cattle, plant vineyards, and offer accommodation. On July 6th, 2022, water rose faster than anyone expected. After checking the Bureau of Meteorology alerts at work, she drove home through flooding that had already closed roads. By the time she arrived, water was crossing onto the property. She and her husband Max moved quickly to save the cattle they had watched being born, cutting fences to free young heifers from rising floodwater. The water climbed right up to the house before stopping around 1 a.m., leaving them isolated on an island with no power and no news from the wider community. Through the night, Bernadette marked the water level each hour, cleared memorabilia from the shed, and stayed connected to her sister on the phone. When daylight came and the water began to recede, they realised the house had been spared.
Once the road opened, Bernadette drove into the village on a quad bike and found a community in crisis but also in motion. Personal belongings scattered the streets, but people were organising, helping, and feeding each other. She showed up to community meals not because she needed anything, but to sit with her neighbours around food. Over the following months, volunteers from beyond Broke arrived to help repair what the flood had taken. Beyond Ballooning brought a digger for the driveway. Young Army soldiers worked in the mud rebuilding. BlazeAid fixed fences. Friends and family spent days restoring flattened vines. Two years on, Bernadette sees the village more connected than before, with plans for ongoing wellness sessions and, crucially, designated contact people in each area so neighbours never feel alone in the next emergency. Her glamping site, a small white tent on the riverbank, was the only structure on the property to survive.
Every story here belongs to the person who lived it. They said yes to sharing it, and we sat with it carefully before it went up. Nothing here is exaggerated and nothing is used without permission. Read how we handle these stories ↗
Kintsugi Heroes · Registered Australian not-for-profit · kintsugiheroes.com.au ↗