‘Townsville will survive’: Recovery grants helping get back to business

Up to a metre of flood water, mud and debris crept into their Hermit Park business, Rod Pether Motors, overnight in February, swamping cars, ruining office equipment and almost taking their business. 

“The initial thought was we were done for, we were finished. It was heartbreaking,” Mr Pether said. 

“I was worried, I was deeply concerned. I never doubted my ability to sell, I always backed myself but self-doubt started to creep in for the first time in my career.” 

The couple were faced with a long road to recovery but made the early decision the flooding was not going to be the end of their business. 

With the help of a Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority (QRIDA) administered Special Disaster Assistance Recovery Grant, they were able to re-open two weeks after the flood water resided. 

“We picked ourselves up and didn’t give up. We worked too hard for this business to give up,” Mr Pether said.  

“We still had to pay wages and bills. The bills didn’t stop but the income did.  

“After the $10,000 grant went into the bank, I started sleeping at night. Having QRIDA there was the difference between us giving up and going on.” 

Mr Pether has traded on his Hermit Park site for 29 years, withstanding previous cyclones, but he has never seen the property flood.  

“We were totally unprepared for when the dam was release and it had a massive impact on us,” he said. 

“We lost a third of the cars in stock, they were flooded because we could not move them any further away. The building had water through it, it was coming in the roof and we lost office equipment, the phone system and furniture and desks, the fridge, everything. Inside the building is wrecked.  

“We weren’t overly concerned before the flood because we have been here 29 years and never had water through the yard, it wasn’t at the forefront of my mind.  

“About 12 cars were unsaleable and we have donated them to a local community organisation to use for monster trucks. At least they will be able to get some use out of them.” 

Mr Pether said it took two weeks to re-open for business. 

“We didn’t give up, we knuckled down. We had no power for over a week so we borrowed a generator and started cleaning. We did dump runs, cleaned the mud and got on with it,” he said. 

“We operated on a shoe-string. Prior to the floods we had up to 30 cars on display and afterwards we had five. It puts your cash flow out a lot so there was a lot of pressure. 

“Cheryl is working downstairs on a card table.  

“Now we are back on deck, I have 12 cars we can deliver right now and I think we’ll be ok. We just have to ride the wave and keep going, doing what we do best. 

“We just have to dust ourselves off and keep going. Townsville has a lot of good people and good business. Townsville will survive. 

“The next street over, people had all their worldly goods, their whole homes on the footpath. The whole street was flooded, they had nothing left. After that it made me stop feeling sorry for myself. It put it into perspective I had something to come back to. There are other people worse off than us.” 

Mr Pether said he was able to apply for an initial $10,000 grant even before he knew the outcome of his insurance claim. He said he would consider an additional $40,000 grant after an insurance outcome was finalised.  

He is one of 94 small business owners, mostly in Townsville City Council area, to have benefited from the grants so far as at midday on March 22.  

QRIDA has approved 480 grants worth a total of more than $25 million across the affected areas for small businesses, primary business and non-profit organisations.  

“My wife and I went into the city and made an appointment to see somebody in the Disaster Recovery Hub. They gave us guidance and the paperwork and told us what we had to do to put the application in,” he said. 

“QRIDA staff were very supportive of us and answered any questions we had.  

“I would have no hesitation in recommending other flood-affected small businesses to at least go through the application process. There is light at the end of the tunnel and help is there if you need it.” 

To find out what disaster assistance is currently available visit our Disaster Recovery for business page.

QRIDA administers financial assistance to disaster affected primary producers, businesses and non-profit organisations under the joint Commonwealth / Queensland Government funded Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements 2018.