Mick McCardle · 45 min
A retired army logistics veteran with no prior flood experience stepped up to run the emergency operations centre for an entire devastated community, and stayed for 14 days straight.
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In July 2022, the worst flood in 70 years hit Broke. When the floodwaters receded enough for Mick McCardle to leave his property, he found the fire captain Kathleen at the Broke Hall, exhausted after nearly two days of running the emergency operations centre alone. She asked if he could take over. He said yes, and stayed for 14 days straight.
Mick brought 32 years of military experience to the task, including logistics work in Namibia and command roles in Newcastle. What started as one whiteboard became twelve as the scale of the disaster became clear. The priorities were immediate and concrete: restoring drinking water after the floodwaters destroyed the main supply line, managing sewage systems across a town on septics, and dealing with erosion holes under houses that no one had seen before. He coordinated with council, the RFS, SES, and volunteers. He ran a supply shop where people could grab toilet paper, hand sanitizer, food, and toiletries. He held town meetings every couple of days to keep residents informed about what was happening and what came next. People said those briefings gave them something they desperately needed: clarity, agency, and a sense that someone was paying attention.
The flood pulled the community together. Neighbors who hadn't spoken in fifteen years were helping each other. When Mick thought too hard about what people were going through, he had to step away. He remembers being in the shower one morning in the fetal position, crying. Then he pulled himself together and went back to the work. No one in Broke died. After everything, Mick knows this: family matters, and the principle of helping your neighbour has fallen away from the world's priorities. He thinks that loss is one of the most damaging things happening now.
“I was in the fetal position in my shower crying.”
“Because of my 30-odd years in the military, mainly overseas in operations, I came into the job to head up the operations centre because I knew what was involved and that when I was down there at the hall, I had to portray, okay, this is what we've got to do and get it done.”
“I didn't even give it a second thought, and I said, 'Yep, I'll do that.' And I was there — I got stuck there for another 14 days.”
The hero, today
Mick learned from his military career that keeping people informed gives them agency to make their own decisions and brings them some peace during chaos. When Mick found himself overwhelmed by the human suffering around him, he had to step back from thinking about it and return to the work, but the weight of what people were going through never fully left him. The flood brought neighbors who hadn't spoken to each other in fifteen years back into relationship and mutual aid, showing Mick that shared adversity can rebuild community bonds. Mick now knows that family is important, though he says he sometimes needs to be reminded when he gets caught up in other projects. Having a plan and pre-positioned equipment means the next disaster response can start within moments instead of days, which is why Mick pushed council to keep a ready container at Singleton. Mick believes the principle of helping thy neighbor has fallen away from the world's priorities, and he thinks this loss is one of the most damaging things happening now.
Yes. Mick McCardle is a real person who shared their own story in their own words. Kintsugi Heroes is a not-for-profit that shares first-person stories of overcoming adversity, told with the person's consent.
Kintsugi Heroes, a registered Australian not-for-profit. Every story is shared with the hero's own consent and reviewed under Kintsugi Heroes' trauma-informed content standard before it goes public.
Mick learned from his military career that keeping people informed gives them agency to make their own decisions and brings them some peace during chaos.
When Mick found himself overwhelmed by the human suffering around him, he had to step back from thinking about it and return to the work, but the weight of what people were going through never fully left him.
The flood brought neighbors who hadn't spoken to each other in fifteen years back into relationship and mutual aid, showing Mick that shared adversity can rebuild community bonds.
Mick now knows that family is important, though he says he sometimes needs to be reminded when he gets caught up in other projects.
John Milham (Host) · 00:00
Kintsugi Heroes brings you the following flood resilience stories in partnership with Singleton Neighbourhood Centre and grant funding from the Hunter New England and Central Coast Primary Health Network. To find out more about this podcast, head to kintsugiheroes.com.au. On July 6th, 2022, the worst flood in 70 years hit the town of Broke and the surrounding Hunter Valley region. The The community is still recovering from the trauma the floods brought, destroying their homes and their livelihoods. In this special limited series of Kintsugi Heroes, John Millum sits down with the community who suffered as a result of the floods and gives them space to share their adversity, resilience, and compassion. It's only through connection and empathy that there can be a path to recovery. These are stories of trauma and can be confronting. If you find they have a triggering effect, please reach out to someone who can help keep you safe. Listen in as John takes you beyond the deluge with Kintsugi Heroes. Hi listeners, and once again, I'd like to welcome you to a Kintsugi Heroes podcast. And of course, we're continuing the stories that matter, the broke floods of 2022. And today we are enormously lucky and privileged to have a chat with a man who was acknowledged by the village as being an absolute Spartan when it came to supporting the community. So I'm really pleased to talk to Mick McArdle today. Welcome, Mick.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 01:46
Thanks, John.
John Milham (Host) · 01:47
Thank you, mate. Thank you. I know you're a busy bloke and you're busy because you've got the Tirana Spare Parts, the owner business in Broke, right? And you've You've been, you can tell us how long you've been in the area, but of course coming from an Army career and then settling back down in Broke and then you were the Singleton Citizen of the Year in 2023, mate, which is amazing stuff. And then President of the Broke Residents Community Association. So welcome, mate. It's great to have you on board. Why don't you give us a little bit of background about how you ended up in the position where you found yourself having to support the entire community in 2022?
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This conversation includes a tree change to the hunter valley, the fire captain asks for help, one whiteboard becomes twelve, a military background kicks in, water, septic systems, and erosion holes and close calls and survival.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 02:36
Yeah, my wife and I moved here in 2016, wanted a tree change from suburbia. When the floods happened in 2022, because we'd missed any floods before that, I think the one before that was 2015, I think. Um, when the floods happened in 2022, where we live, um, which is right on the edge of Broke Village, it started right— it had rained a few days beforehand. We, um, we got actually caught in our street because floodwaters had diverted from the brook, gone between, um, houses and around the back of houses and went over our street, so we couldn't get out. So we were sort of stuck here for 2 days, I think, 2 days before the floodwaters started receding enough that we could get out. Um, when the floodwaters did recede enough, the first thing I did was I went into Broke itself to find, um, Kathleen, the, uh, fire captain. Found her at the um, the Broke Hall, where they started setting up a bit of an emergency, um, area and flood sort of command center.
John Milham (Host) · 03:59
Hey, like a command center?
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 04:01
Yeah, yeah, command center. And, um, I, uh, when I saw Kathleen, I, um, I said, uh, is there anything I can do? And she was shattered, like she'd been she'd probably done the best part of 48 hours straight because of her, um, her role with the RFS. And then she said, oh look, can you take this over? Can you run with this? I didn't even give it a second thought and I said, yep, I'll, um, I'll do that. And I was there and I got stuck there for another 14 days. So yeah, that's, that's how that, that happened.
John Milham (Host) · 04:35
So that's how you ended up in the middle of it all. Yeah.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 04:38
And because the funny thing was that where I live, because we got cut off from the village, we're in a bubble. Like, we had no— the surrounding properties at my place, they had flood waters in them.
John Milham (Host) · 04:52
Yeah.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 04:52
Um, but our, our place didn't get actual flood water on it, and another couple of places were the same. So when I got out of here and drove down to the Broke Hall, it was an eye-opener. I, I just couldn't believe how, how much water had come through the town. Wow. And then when I got into the operations center and started looking at stuff, and I think the first day I got in there, we had one whiteboard.
John Milham (Host) · 05:19
Wow.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 05:19
That's what we were working with. By the end of it, we had about 12.
John Milham (Host) · 05:23
Yeah.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 05:24
But yeah, it was just the, the whole extent of how, how much this had impacted on within the Wollongong, like from Paynes Crossing Up to us, it broke and then out to Fortwich and then, and obviously Bulga and that. It just, it really put it in perspective how big this actually was.
John Milham (Host) · 05:50
Yeah. Yeah. So made it like, you know, like it must've been overwhelming and like to take on the job. That's amazing. But you know, you, you having, you know, moved there without previous experience of, of the flood in the area. Did that, you know, were you surprised by everything that was going on? Like, you would have watched the water come up and you would have been aware, but it was kind of— did it catch you by surprise?
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 06:14
It did, actually. Um, the, the way the flood waters rose, it caught a lot of people by surprise. And by a lot of people, I say even SES. Yeah, I remember whatever day it was, I think it was a Tuesday, they've come down our street to say, oh look, we're going to have to— you're going to have to look at evacuating soon. Then I walked with them out to the front of my place to the street and we've looked up and they've just gone, we've gotta go now. It was starting to come over the road.
John Milham (Host) · 06:44
Right.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 06:45
And within an hour it was just coming over that fast that you couldn't get. And where it come over our road, it was actual the watercourse that took out Broke Road north of, north of Broke. And, um, it's, yeah, it was just amazing. I've never seen so much water. I mean, the 2015 floods, I remember, 'cause I was at Singleton Range with, uh, my time in the Army and, um, and we had to get outta there and go back to Adamstown in, uh, Newcastle. And I remember, and that was the, uh, that was a weekend of the Paschal Polka.
John Milham (Host) · 07:24
Yeah.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 07:24
And I remember, um, what that was like. That was pretty horrendous. Uh, but when I talking to people, um, after the floods of 2022, that 2015 wasn't as bad with regards to flood waters in the village. It hadn't flooded in the village for 50 years.
John Milham (Host) · 07:44
Yeah. Since '49, they say.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 07:46
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I, I think, um, it caught a lot of people off guard. I mean, you don't, you don't expect it. So, but yeah, it was, it was definitely an eye-opener. And I think for me, because my 30-odd years in the military and that, and being overseas in operations and all that sort of stuff, I came into the job like to head up the operations center with— I knew sort of what was involved, and I knew that when I was down there at the hall, I had to, you know, portray, yep, okay, this is what we've got to do and get it done. And, um, luckily, um, we had support from a lot of people. Bola Cole was one of them, uh, police, fire, RFS, SES, um, the Army sent people out. We had people coming up from RFS Victoria, SES Victoria. Well, it was just amazing the amount of people that we had. Yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 08:51
You, you mentioned your army background. How, how did you end up getting into the army and then, and you know, and what was that like and how did that then prepare you for something like that?
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 09:04
Mate, I got into the army cuz I just lost a job. I was working at the King School in Parramatta. This is back when I was 17 and my dad came in.
John Milham (Host) · 09:15
Were you, were you, uh, on grounds at King School, or, you know, what?
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 09:19
I was working as a kitchen hand in King School.
John Milham (Host) · 09:21
Oh wow.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 09:22
Say, right back then, like, this is— when's this? '76, something like— '70— no, about 1980. Um, the money was pretty good back then for a 17-year-old.
John Milham (Host) · 09:34
Yeah.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 09:34
And, um, I'd lost the job there. I don't know why, I can't remember. But, uh, I remember my dad coming into my bedroom and said, sign this.
John Milham (Host) · 09:44
But, um, so yeah, big discussion about your future career.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 09:50
Yeah, that was it. That was it. And, um, I remember when I signed the paper, you back then you could sign for 6 or 3 years, and I thought, bugger this, I'm only going to sign for 3 years. Yeah, so, uh, I did— ended up doing 22 years regular army and 10 years reserve army. Yes, and it was the best thing that I ever did.
John Milham (Host) · 10:11
What did you get to do, mate? I know, you know, usually in the Australian Army, um, you know, there's a lot of, uh, a lot of roles and training, and, you know, you get a chance to sort of do a lot of stuff. What was the best thing about your journey through the Army?
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 10:25
Um, majority of my, my time in the Army was logistics, um, and I did a tour over to Africa with what they call UNTAG, which was the United Nations Treaty Assistance Group in Namibia.
John Milham (Host) · 10:42
Wow.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 10:42
Which I was over there for 8 months and it was probably one of the longest stays of anyone that went over. But yeah, I learned so much about, you hold dear in Australia and you see other countries, especially countries like that, that are pretty poor and And then coming back from there, just continued with logistics. Um, and then when I got out, I joined, um, a unit in Newcastle, and I got to a point where they ran out of jobs for me. So I just ended up starting to do, uh, command positions like Squadron Sergeant Major. I think I was second in command, um, there at one stage, and So that's how I finished off my career. And that in itself was good because you had a group, you know, a fair-sized group of blokes that you had to administer and control and all that. So yeah, it was good.
John Milham (Host) · 11:39
Sounds like they, you know, gave, you know, developed you perfectly for, you know, stepping in at operations center at Broke in 2022.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 11:49
Yeah. Yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 11:50
And getting in there, mate, did you— did that remind you of your service? Was that like a little bit?
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 11:57
Yeah, especially the overseas service. But, um, it actually— or remember one day just seeing people come in and how distraught they were and all this, it did take me back. Um, but you know, cup of tea or a cup of coffee and a biscuit and that chat to 'em and, and, you know, perked 'em up and that. So that was pretty good.
John Milham (Host) · 12:25
Yeah. How did you, you know, when you, when you took on the role and obviously, you know, there's a list of, you know, as you said, the whiteboard would've been full of like things to, to address or to pay attention to. How did you start to prioritize? What were you, what were you, what were your thoughts about what was important?
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 12:42
There was, I had a great group of people that were helping me. And you know, they're, they're probably some of the best people I've met. And a lot of them, pretty much most of them locals. There was some people coming out from council and we had people in there from SES occasionally, they drop in and Services New South Wales and that. But one of the biggest things that we had to address was no water. And also because Broke is on septic in the village, was okay, need to get this septic sorted out. And luckily I was, I didn't get in there till a couple days after the floods had sort of receded and that. And they already started pumping out septic systems and all that. And so it was, it was happening before I got there and it was just mara, just keeping track of it. Making sure it happened. I mean, we, we'd have people come down to us and go, I've got this to happen in my place. Like, there was cleanouts of garages that, um, the SES— um, not the SES, RFS— were doing, what, spraying it, getting mud out of garages and, and all this. We had, uh, what they call erosion holes under houses, which no one had seen this phenomenon before, and it was because of the amount of water and how fast it was running that would just create erosion holes. Like people have stumps in their yards, like fence post stumps, and there'd be a hole around them where the water's just come in and just pulled out all the dirt and taken it elsewhere. Also had, you know, fixing of roads. Rubbish was another one. So there was a lot of liaison with Seannum Council to get that sort of stuff sorted, and it came together.
John Milham (Host) · 14:42
So yeah, it certainly did. I find it really quite interesting that the, you know, like in the middle of a flood, one of the number one priorities is water, right? Drinking water. You've got to try and bring water in, you know.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 14:55
Yeah, because when, um, when the flood waters broke across Broke Road at North Broke Road, it took out the main supply of water.
John Milham (Host) · 15:05
Wow.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 15:05
So yeah, it took them, it took them, I think, 4 or 5, no, it might have been 5 days to actually get that reconnected. Like where I, where we live, I've got tank water, had no problems. I was cooking off gas in about day 2 of the floods. My mate next door, Rob Dishart, he and I, we had a couple of generators floated in, so we were sweet.
John Milham (Host) · 15:35
Which is interesting, isn't it? It's a fine line between devastation and accommodation, really, isn't it?
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 15:41
Yeah, yeah. Like, when they came and saw us about evacuating, and my wife Min and I spoke about it, and because of the animals, we're like, We've got 3 dogs, 2 cats, and chooks, and that we can't go. Yeah, right. Our biggest dogs are Rhodesian Ridgeback, and I don't think he would have been happy getting into a tinny to go across a raging river. So we decided to stay. At that stage, we didn't know how high the water was going to come.
John Milham (Host) · 16:09
Yeah.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 16:10
So, you know, 2, 3, 4 o'clock in the morning when it was peaking, I'd be going down the back and checking the water levels and seeing where it was coming But yeah, luckily it didn't come onto our property and we worked it out that if our place had flooded, Broke would've gone under by at least 2.5 metres. Ooh, geez. Yeah. So yeah, we're just lucky that, you know, a mate of mine said it was a perfect storm because it was coming from and that, but we were also very lucky that there was no water coming into the Hunter River from the Patterson. Because that would have blocked everything up, uh, north. So yeah, it's just freak, freak storms. And yeah, yeah, a lot of good. I mean, we were very lucky that we never lost anyone. There was a couple, couple of issues with, uh, uh, a woman and her child, uh, getting stuck on the bridge. Yeah, uh, SES and RFS had to, uh, evacuate them off the bridge. And another guy He actually got sucked under his house, but luckily he got spat out the other side. Wow.
John Milham (Host) · 17:21
So very close. So many real tragic stories and, you know, stories of danger and, and, but also amazing stories of survival.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 17:30
Well, yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 17:31
What, what would you think it would— do you, do you switch off when you are trying to deal with all of these issues and just, you know, focus on the task at hand? Or are you aware that there's all sorts of human stuff going on around you.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 17:42
Oh, to a certain point you've got to switch— or I had to switch off. Um, I know that when I started thinking about the human side of it, um, I'd have to walk away. Yeah, because it was getting me— I was getting upset. And I remember quite clearly one morning I was having a shower before I went down, back down the law. I was in the fetal position in my shower crying.
John Milham (Host) · 18:07
Wow, mate.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 18:08
Sorry, it's just, it, it's hard thinking about it now, um, but back then it was like, pull your bloody pants up, mate, and get down there and do your job and do it well.
John Milham (Host) · 18:28
So yeah, mate, amazing stuff. Um, of course a lot of people, you mentioned people came in, they were pretty British, you know, upset, and he gave him a cup of tea. Incredible stories of people, you know, hanging on and focusing on getting stuff done. Yeah. What, what did you see around you? What, what was keeping people together?
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 18:50
Um, I think it was that being, being involved in this trag— or not tragedy, but this event, it really pulled the community together and I had people coming up to me saying, oh, this old mate here hasn't spoke to his neighbor in 15 years, and yet now they're having a beer and they're talking and they're helping each other. And it did that, it really did. It just brought people together and people helped each other. Like, we'd have people come down to the, um, the operations center saying, oh, what can we do, what can we do? And because we had so much other support from other agencies We just say, look, go back to your place, go to your neighbors. If you can help your neighbors, please do. And yep, no worries. And that's what they did. And everyone was happy with that.
John Milham (Host) · 19:39
So, so yeah, a lot of stories of close calls, as you have, have you pointed out. Most people would've come in a bit hollow-eyed and you gave 'em a cup of tea. What was that like? You know, like, you know, how did you know how to help and support people?
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 19:56
Um, as I said, like, we had a— we actually ran a shop down there. So people, they come in if they needed a couple of rolls of toilet paper, or like— and this is during COVID um, because we had a few people go off with COVID around the same time. Yeah, it, you know, hand sanitizer, uh, food, toiletries, women's toiletries. Like, we had this shop so that people would come in and say, all right, How are you? Gonna have a coffee in it? Come on out, grab some stuff, take it back home, look after yourself. I mean, we were— we had, um, the GoFundMe page for, um, you know, that we, we used to— so you get people, uh, vouchers and, and, and like all these cards and that so they could go do the shopping and get, get back to a little bit of normality. I mean, you just got to— you can't— to me, you can't sort of pamper them too much. You've got to go, righto, he's— you're doing well, you, you're safe, you're alive. Here's some tools for you to use to get back on track. And I mean, what, what we had, uh, we had counselors, we had priests out there and, and all this, and not Services New South Wales, it was another mob that was involved, Lismore. They actually said to me at one point there, they said they couldn't believe how fast we got into action compared to Lismore. And I mean, I don't know how it was in Lismore, but they were just in awe. And I'd say to them, I said, look, We've got a great council that came straight out and, and it basically, if I asked for something, I got it. Wow. We had Volga Coal who did a hell of a lot with regards to ballast and all this sort of stuff. 'Cause what some of these houses that got affected by these erosion holes, we had to fill 'em with ballast, otherwise we were gonna lose the house.
John Milham (Host) · 22:04
Yeah. Houses.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 22:05
But yeah, it was just one of those times that everyone pulled together and it was, it was really amazing to see, mate.
John Milham (Host) · 22:14
Um, I can ask you, because you were in the middle of it all, what do you— and I know it's a, you know, it's one of those weird questions about, um, you know, in talking about a really tough time, but what do you do? Is there something that you're proud of, or like from the community, or something you think the community benefited from?
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 22:36
Look, um, and it was mentioned to me a few times that one of the things people liked about how I was handling the situation, I would give town meetings every couple of days and I'd bring everyone up to date on what's going on, what we've done, how, how things are happening, what our future stuff done. And, um, it got to probably, I think, after this, after the first one, so the second town meeting that we did, I was getting no questions. Yeah, because everyone was getting the answers that they, they needed. Yeah. Um, and people said, you know, best thing that ever happened, that they were getting informed about what was going on, and, and they were taking a bit of solace out of that. And yeah, I think to me that was one of the proudest things that we did. Was to have that sort of, and again, that goes back to my army training about keeping people informed.
John Milham (Host) · 23:33
Yeah.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 23:33
Yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 23:33
Clarity of purpose.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 23:35
Yeah. Yep.
John Milham (Host) · 23:36
Beautiful work. Now, of course, mate, I know this will make you uncomfortable, but you know, so many people I've spoken to talk about you in glowing terms.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 23:45
Yeah. Right.
John Milham (Host) · 23:46
So, you know, I just want to acknowledge that, right? That, that you were a, a core anchor to the community during this time. How do you feel about that?
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 23:56
Humbled. Very humble. Yeah. And, uh, I suppose in some ways because the amount of other people that helped me along the way, and including my wife— I mean, she couldn't get to work because of the floodwaters, but she was down there, uh, helping us out in the hall. And, uh, other people in the community, um, but yeah, I'm humble and I mean, when I received that Citizen of the Year, to me it wasn't just for me, it was for everyone in Broke.
John Milham (Host) · 24:26
So it's hard for an Aussie bloke to take a compliment sometimes.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 24:30
Yeah, you're right.
John Milham (Host) · 24:31
Well, you know, I'll join the crowd, mate, and say, yeah, amazing job. What do you think you learned, you as a person?
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 24:42
Um, that life is precious and you've really got to, you know, live each day to the full. Also, you've got to rely on your mates, and especially in a situation like that where people had to rely on their mates, um, to get through it. I think after coming from where I used— where we used to live in suburbia, where it's very insular You sort of living on your own block and you're in your own bubble to come out to here and, you know, you've got great mates and friends and all that. And it is good to have that. You've gotta, you've gotta have it.
John Milham (Host) · 25:27
Mate, you've, um, you, you know, in terms of like, you've been in Broke for quite a while and of course you've been in the area for longer, but in terms of Broke citizenship, mate, you're a, you're a fledgling. You're just a blow-in.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 25:41
Yeah, you did right.
John Milham (Host) · 25:44
Yeah, yeah, they have generations back, right? So, but it is broke home.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 25:51
Oh, it is now? Yeah, voluntarily. And, uh, me and my wife and I talk about it and I say to her, I said, anyway, you're taking me out in the pine box feet first. So, so yeah, it's definitely, um, this is, this is where we where we're gonna stay now. So yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 26:09
So the, in terms of broke, um, and I, I was thinking, you know, we might get to the future a little bit, but what, what do you think the community, you know, you shared what you learned. What do you think the community learned? What was the biggest thing that you were watching with your hand on everything going on at the time?
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 26:25
I think, um, the community has come out of this more aware more of like situational awareness when we do get rain like we've got at the moment. And, um, just to keep an eye on things because it really caught everyone short. Um, and I think that people are more aware of what's going on with regards to weather patterns and all that. You go back, um, you know, 2 and a half years before when we had the fires, But it was, it was crazy. And I mean, we had fires all, pretty much all around us. Um, so it was, I think 2022 was a cap of like, yeah, we've had drought. Yeah, we've had, had mice, we've had fire, we've had COVID, and then we've got floods. And it's like, give us a break. But everyone's pretty resilient. They, um, yeah, they just continue on and pick up their big girl's pants and keep going.
John Milham (Host) · 27:34
I think that, um, your counselor mates that came in, I think, was that something they told you? Like, the counselor statement was pick up your big girl's pants?
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 27:42
No, not to a certain extent. No, I didn't really say that to people because, you know, I didn't want to offend people, but Yeah, yeah, yeah. But that sort of saying, that goes back to my army days about, you know, you fall over and hurt yourself, it's like, yeah, come on, get up, keep going. But the counselors and the priests that we had out here, like we had an army chaplain out here and all that, they were really, uh, good because they, they were keeping an eye on people where we couldn't.
John Milham (Host) · 28:11
Yeah, yeah.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 28:12
And they sort of teams would come back from areas, and if there was someone struggling, that they'd be, uh, they'd let us know. We let the chaplains know, they go and see him. Well, the counselors know, they go and see him and have a chat to him and that. And it does, it sort of pulls— like, a lot of people back in the early things, they didn't know what was going to happen. They didn't even know if their houses were going to cover by insurance and all this.
John Milham (Host) · 28:39
Yeah.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 28:40
It's a lot, really is. Wow.
John Milham (Host) · 28:45
So as a, like, so the community, you know, has got situational awareness, which is a good thing. What are they doing with that? Are they, you know, like, how is the community changed? Because you, that's a huge list of challenges, right? And everyone's more resilient. Is that going to be a good thing? Are people ready and are they able to act?
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 29:06
They can be ready to a certain extent. I think that a lot of us are like, I mean, this was a plus 50-year rain flood event and a lot of us are like, it's not gonna happen again in my lifetime, touch wood. But yeah, yeah, yeah, guys. But yeah, I think a lot of people in their own sort of properties and that are more aware of, okay, well I know that floods here and I know this, that, but If it's gonna flood again, I need to do this, I need to do that. I mean, there were some really, uh, some stories that come out of floods. And one of them I remember is, um, this was another couple, they were trying to move horses. Mm-hmm. And they nearly didn't get out because of how fast the water was going. Yeah. And it, yeah, it could have been a lot, a lot more serious, but having a bit of a more of awareness of the flood waters and how fast they can rise, people, people like, okay, we, we know what we've got to plan for now.
John Milham (Host) · 30:10
Yeah.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 30:10
And we're, we're a little bit more confident that we can do what we can do. And yep, the house, if the house gets flooded, you know that it's a X amount of stuff needs to be put up high and all that. So I think that really helps a lot of people in sort of backing themselves for that. If there's another flood event, there's a lot of lessons learned, right?
John Milham (Host) · 30:36
Not least, you know, from the logistics expert, right? Who, you know, ran it all, right? So what would you, you know, if you were designing a checklist that would keep as many people, pass on as much of the wisdom gained, what would that, you know, what would be on there?
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 30:51
If we went through that sort of scenario again, and it could probably do it. It'd be the same for large-scale fire.
John Milham (Host) · 30:58
Yeah, yeah.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 31:00
And I, I spoke to council about this, about that they need a 20-foot container with tables, whiteboards, chairs, uh, stationery, laptops, whatever, even if it sits at, at Singaloon, that they can deploy to here or wherever within the LGA so that evacuation centers and operation centers can be set up within a moment's notice.
John Milham (Host) · 31:29
Yeah.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 31:30
Well, it's, it, I mean, it's all about being prepared for the worst. Yeah. And hope for the best.
John Milham (Host) · 31:37
So, yeah, great idea. What, what, what about you personally? Would you, they've given you a call, Mick, they said, look, the water's coming up. We need you back down here, mate. Are you gonna, you're gonna turn up?
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 31:50
You know what, I probably would, even though as hard as what it probably would be, uh, if it happened again and we had more notice, like as I said, the rate of water flooded over our street, I probably would go straight down there. But I've also got a thing in my family with regards to You know, luckily my wife wasn't at work at that time, at the floods. She was actually on night shift, so she woke up and I told her that, yeah, you're not going anywhere unless you've got a high-speed boat to get across the road. Um, but we've also got a, uh, a daughter with mild intellectual disability, so there's, there's that I've got to consider as well. So, and, and people know that, you know, you you get to whatever you gotta do when you can do it. Um, and yeah, next time I might not be able to go down, but if I can, I will. I'll be there.
John Milham (Host) · 32:50
I love how you guys share how important animals and livestock are to you guys, right?
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 32:55
Mm-hmm.
John Milham (Host) · 32:57
That's an interesting phenomenon. So most people say, you know, I can't, I have to look after my animals as well.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 33:02
Oh yeah. And it was, it was noted cuz like um, two doors down, which had a little bit of flooding. Flood took out some of their, um, chicken coops and that, right? And he moved most of the stuff up, and because of their age and that, they actually evacuated to Cessnock. And I was— the wife and I were going down there feeding the chooks and feeding their birds and, you know, looking after that sort of stuff for them. Um, but yeah, you got to, uh, you got to do what you can do with animals as well. And the thought of us trying to get on a tinny with 3 dogs and 2 cats and that was like, nah, none, that's not gonna happen. Yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 33:43
Yeah. Which brings me to like the idea of the future right now, right? As mentioned when we came in, the, you know, the water is rising, right? Yeah. So, you know, there's, you know, flood events. First of all, that must, challenge your kind of equilibrium, your sense of safety. How, how, how do you think the community's responding to the, to the next one?
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 34:06
Well, one thing I've done is, uh, start on posting information from the SES and the bomb and that, just so people have got, uh, accurate information coming about what's going on. And as I said before, if they're well informed, then they can make a decision about what they can do, what they have to do. And that's the, that's all we're doing with this one. It's supposed to get worse tomorrow, um, sort of down in Laguna Way, which is south of us. Um, and we'll just keep an eye on it.
John Milham (Host) · 34:40
Yeah.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 34:41
So the, the problem with the 2022 floods is that most of the water came from Millfield Laguna from the south. We had, we didn't have that much rain here compared to what we had in March. I think in March we had about 250 mil on a weekend that flooded, but it didn't get it nearly as high as what it did in July. But, um, also we, um, we had a lot of water coming in after Womboi that was coming into the brook from the 7 major estuaries that fill up. And well, this is our problem with no early warning systems or directly north of Broke. So didn't give us, we had no idea what was actually coming. Plus, um, the perfect storm part of it was outta Monkey Place Creek and Yellow Rock Creek. It was under torrential rain and it flooded. And actually Monkey Place Creek came up to the, to the village before Wollamai Brook came over the road. So it just, you couldn't do anything, you couldn't go anywhere and, and that. So, but keeping people informed is, and I know a lot of people do worry, but at least, at least they, they're happy with, you know, okay, so they're gonna get some information that's gonna help 'em make a decision and, and all that. And like SES are out, um, RFS are keeping in mind stuff, so there's more sort of monitoring of the situation. I mean, it's stopped raining here now, but they still reckon tomorrow's gonna be a bad, you know, a bad— I don't think it's gonna be as bad as what 2022 was, but it all depends on what happens down south as well.
John Milham (Host) · 36:25
So that must be a tense situation. And, mate, you shared some really, you know, your personal costs. How do you feel personally, you know, having, you know, an experience of flood again and so on? Do you think there's an— has it left a legacy with you emotionally?
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 36:44
And, uh, it certainly, uh, has been painful at times. It's just, it's, it is what it is basically for me. That's how I look at it. I mean, you just gotta get a, um, you know, work on it. Get over it and move forward. You know, you can sit back and go, oh, it's funny because some people are like, oh, probably won't see it in my lifetime. But you just don't know. You don't know. So, and this is the thing, if we're prepared for it and we're watching it, then you're gonna, everyone's gonna be better off for it. So, yeah. But yeah, for myself personally, uh, it was hard during that time, and there are times that it still is a little bit hard. Like, I mean, I got a bit, bit triggered when this rain started coming. Yeah, but we just got to do what we do.
John Milham (Host) · 37:44
Yeah, and I've made— I'd take my hat off. Absolutely. I think that's a very reasonable response to the circumstance. Which brings me to the idea of what's Mick's future and how is Broke tied into that?
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 38:00
Mick wants to retire. Yeah. But yeah, yeah, I suppose at this stage I just keep doing what I'm doing with regards to the community. I mean, we are busy this year with the bicentennial stuff and then after the bicentennial, stop this year, I'll reassess what I'm doing with regards to the community. But I know I'll be involved somewhere.
John Milham (Host) · 38:24
So, so Broke's 200 years old, right?
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 38:27
So yeah, yeah, yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 38:29
And, uh, how do you think— what's Broke's future then? Like, if it's 200 years old, is it done, or is it, you know, a new— is there a new lot?
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 38:37
No way. It's not nowhere near done. I mean, it's probably in a good spot, and I mean, even Even, uh, once the mines go, which is probably about 30 or 40 years' time, probably going to be around because it's, um, wineries and like there's a lot more tourist things starting to come.
John Milham (Host) · 38:57
Yeah.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 38:58
Uh, so yeah, I, I think it's going to flourish. I really do. I really do.
John Milham (Host) · 39:03
Fabulous, mate. And of course, uh, the Whiteboard King will be in the middle of it, right?
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 39:07
So Yeah, we went through some white bull miners, that's for sure.
John Milham (Host) · 39:12
It's, uh, see, that's an amazing secret to pass on to the next generation of operational center people.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 39:20
So yeah, well, so the thing, the thing is initially, um, initially down at the hall there was no power. So you got to go back to— so I mean, luckily that once the power went back on, they started logging all the jobs and that. 7 or 800 jobs that we did in the space of 2 weeks or 16 days.
John Milham (Host) · 39:40
Wow.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 39:41
That was everything from sewer pumps to washouts to— yeah, I mean, getting people, getting, uh, getting their aircons tested to make sure they work, and if they don't, getting disconnected. And just the amazing amount of work and tradies that were around It was, it was great. It was absolutely phenomenal, the housework people did. Yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 40:06
A lot of people share some images that stay with them after 2022. What images of the, you know, the village, your world, uh, and the, you know, the whole thing you went through, what images stay with you?
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 40:21
Um, I've actually got a folder with, uh, a heap of photos that, uh, one of our guys here. Put a drone up, and this is sort of day 2 of the floods, and took some photo, uh, drone footage. And you look at that and you just— it, it's— when you see a photo from the air, it gives you a good indication of how bad this actually was and how much it affected places. So that's probably the one that I take out of everything about what happened and what it was like. Yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 40:57
Well, the overview, the big picture. Yeah. What do you now know about the world? You know, you've got a long history of interesting stuff, mate, and you've been through a, you know, a 50-year event now. What do you now know?
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 41:14
Geez. It's a hard one to answer. You look at the world as a whole. And where we're heading with stuff. And I'm not gonna even go into politics and all that, but you gotta wonder. I look at it and go, you just, it's this whole thing about help thy neighbor, and I'm not a religious bloke. Um, it seems to be off the board. It doesn't get even looked at these days. And I think that's gonna be one of the things that really is detrimental to, to the world. Um, that's probably about the biggest thing that I can, I can take out of where I can see it going to help, you know, help thy neighbor, you know, bring that back. Yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 41:59
And, uh, just finish up, mate. It's been amazing to chat and thank you so much for your, uh, for sharing your experience and, uh, and all that you've done. But I'd like to know what, like that same question, but for Mick, what do you now know about Mick?
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 42:16
Family is important.
John Milham (Host) · 42:19
Yeah. Brilliant. Did you need to be reminded?
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 42:23
Sometimes. Yep. Sometimes. Sometimes I do because I get involved with other projects and all that, but I've always got to come back to the family is important.
John Milham (Host) · 42:36
Fabulous. Well, I know, mate, that's brilliant advice. Thank you so much, Mick. It's been wonderful to chat. And I know Broke, tell me, right? When I've spoken to people, they tell me that you're family. You're like the big daddy of Broke now, right? So look, mate, fantastic work. I don't want to go on about it, but you mightn't think of yourself as a hero, but Kintsugi knows you're a hero, bro. So well done, mate.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 43:03
Thanks, John.
John Milham (Host) · 43:04
Good on you. And thanks for sharing such wonderful advice and stories of the floods.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 43:10
I got my cheese.
John Milham (Host) · 43:16
Thank you for listening to this week's episode of Beyond the Deluge about the 2022 floods in Broke and the Hunter Valley. If anything in this conversation has had a triggering effect, please seek support and find someone who can help keep you safe. Please share the show to your friends, family, and colleagues so we can help more people with their recovery from natural disaster. If you'd like to find out more about Kintsugi Heroes and our other podcasts, please head to kintsugiheroes.com.au. Our theme song was provided by Colin Lilly. Thanks to Matthew Bliss for editing and production and to John Millum for hosting the conversations. And most of all, thank you to the community of Broke and the Hunter Valley for sharing their lived experience with us. We'll see you next week in Beyond the Deluge.
Mick McCardle (Guest) · 44:29
Only when it's broken. Take pride in those cries, it's only for tonight, and then you rise. Only when you're broken. Only when you're broken. Only when you're broken.
You don't have to be in crisis to call.
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