AUCTION ACTION IN THE KIMBERLIES
John Pearce
President
The mighty Fitzroy River runs through the town of Fitzroy Crossing. In January this year massive rain falls in the Kimberley resulted in widespread flooding in the area.
There is a sewerage pumping station in the town with an electrical switchboard that sits on a concrete pad. The top of this pad is the height of the previous highest flood level ever recorded in Fitzroy Crossing. When the Fitzroy River peaked this year the water level was some two meters above the top of the concrete pad.
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On Saturday the 25th of March the Toodyay lions club held our annual auction at the football oval. Prior to the event we announced that our beneficiaries would be the Toodyay District High school chaplaincy and Youth Care and our local Karate Club. We also wanted to give some support to the people affected by the floods.
Our son Simon lives in Broome. After the auction I rang him and mentioned that we had raised some money and were hoping to be able to locate a worthy cause in Fitzroy. One of his workmates had lived in Fitzroy crossing before moving to Broome. When told of our dilemma Luke told us about this remarkable woman who worked as a nurse at the local hospital, drove a bus for special needs children and in her spare time operates a wildlife refuge for sick, injured, and abandoned birds and animals.
Tamala and her band of volunteers operate the sanctuary on a purely voluntary basis. There is no vet in Fitzroy Crossing.
Tamala has lived in Broome for twenty-three years. The concept of the wildlife sanctuary started some three years later. Tamala lives on one side of the river and the sanctuary is located on the other side. Three weeks after the auction we travelled to Fitzroy crossing to meet her.
The sanctuary was home to 35 kangaroos (reds, wallaroos, and wallabies), 25 milk babies (Joeys still living on milk), 6 owls, a kite and a bush turkey.
As the river rose the birds and animals were moved to higher ground. Wild kangaroos also ended up at the sanctuary as they retreated from the rising river; by the next morning the river was still rising so Tamela and her partner Azman decided to relocate all of the animals in their care to their business premises back across the flooded river in a dinghy.
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The animals were sedated to make them easier to manage, the kangaroos were put onto a kayak before being transferred to the dinghy and the river crossings began. The river was in full flood and during the crossing they had to dodge tree branches, carcasses of pigs, kangaroo and cattle and numerous household items including gas bottles and the odd washing machine.
By this time Tamala and Azman were exhausted but local residents also helped out with the transfer. On one of the boat journeys the propellor fouled on a submerged tarpaulin and Azman was thrown out of the boat. As the out-of-control boat continued to circle Azman had to fend off the boat to avoid being run over. Tamala had been sitting in the front of the boat so it took some time before she could take control and help Azman back on board.
By the end of the second day all the birds and animals had been successfully relocated. Azman operates a bus charter company from his premises. At the peak of the flood the water level had come right up to his front gates. His business is 1.3kms inland from the riverbank. The kangaroos are currently housed in his converted vehicle spray booth until a more suitable location is found or they are released back into the wild.
When we met with Tamala and heard her story, we believed that she and her team of volunteers would be worthy recipients of a share of the Lions jumbo auction proceeds. We know that a massive amount of time and money will still be required to resurrect the wildlife sanctuary. We also extend our best wishes from all the members of the Toodyay Lions club and the community in which we live and serve.
We wish to acknowledge everyone who assisted us with the auction this year, from Jess Corby who organised our online promotion, from our volunteers who helped out on the Friday and Saturday, our auction donors, sellers and buyers, the shire of Toodyay for their support and to Roz and her Toodyay Locals Care teams who catered on the day.
Special thanks to our auctioneers Tony Maddox and Adrian Gamble. Tony has been a long-time supporter of our auction for as long as I can remember.
John Pearce
President
