Clermont Community Morning Tea

Isaac Regional Council Deputy Mayor, Councillor Jane Pickels, Councillors and staff; frontline and emergency services personnel and SES volunteers, local community members, welcome.

I begin by acknowledging the Original Custodians of the lands on which we are gathered, and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and to any First Nations people here today.

Thank you for welcoming Graeme and me into your community. I am so pleased, as Governor, to be making my first official Vice-Regal trip to the Isaac region, and to have this opportunity to meet some of the people who make this part of Queensland renowned for its charm and its compassion.

I know that this year has been tough for Clermont, with January’s severe flooding causing significant damage—not just to infrastructure, services, homes, and kilometres of farm fencing, but to lives and livelihoods.

From all accounts, you endured an incredibly frightening experience, with floodwater rising so rapidly, coming from multiple directions with such power, and inundating everything in its path.

As the largest flood in 100 years, it no doubt brought to mind the disaster of December 1916—which still holds the sad record of being our nation’s second worst flood in terms of loss of life, and resulted in the entire town being moved to higher ground.

In homage to that tragedy, this tight-knit community has preserved the memories of this event through the generations: the cemetery contains a mass grave for the victims; the flood marker records their names; and the piano in a tree marks the height and demonstrates the force of the waters.

Fortunately, this time, there was no loss of life, but six months after January’s floods, the difficult, heartbreaking work to repair and rebuild continues, and the mental load is heavy.

What resonates with me through this crisis are the stories of genuine care that appear to be part of this town’s DNA.

SES local group leader, Elizabeth Slattery and volunteers immediately leapt into action—doing everything they could to ensure people were safe, until more help arrived, while helicopter pilots from the region carried out urgent rescues of stranded families. Congratulations to Liz, and to the Clermont SES team for receiving recent SES Awards.

SES teams, Swiftwater Rescue, the Rural Fire Service, the Isaac Local Disaster Management Group, the Queensland Police Service and Queensland Ambulance Service, community organisations and mud army volunteers, the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Councillors of the Isaac Regional Council, and the State Government worked together to look after those affected, because the scale of this disaster required the assistance of many.

And the people themselves stepped in to ensure their neighbours were secure. I believe that the community evacuation centre was unused, because displaced residents had already been taken into the homes of others6. Businesses and farmers provided equipment to assist in removing mud and debris, and the footy team pitched in to lend a hand where it was needed.

I take this moment to commend every individual who has assisted Clermont through this ordeal.

This sense of community runs deeply here—it stretches back to the early days of European settlement, with echoes of the fortitude of the gold prospectors, timber getters, stockmen and squatters, and the contemporary influence of agricultural producers and FIFO workers, but it is also expressed in the vibrant way people connect here.

Whether it’s through the activities of the QCWA—of which I am proud patron; the Men’s Shed; through school initiatives, or enjoying events like the upcoming Clermont Outback Sailing Regatta, the enthusiasm for this place demonstrates a valuable and important cohesion.

After all, your town’s character and spirit are defined not by tragedies, but by the way you support each other, and I thank you all for contributing to making Queensland such a friendly and strong state.