It's a fundraiser for the emergency services and entrants are creating sundry elaborate contraptions. Two will reportedly be "kept afloat using four fitness balls".
It's touted as "fun family time" but it all makes me a little uneasy. Flood channels and levees have been built since, but the sign outside our house – one of several dotted around the neighbourhood – is an unsettling reminder of how bad it was.
A visit to Wikipedia was even worse:
"The flood overwhelmed rivers on both sides of the Great Dividing Range, creating an inland sea the size of England and Wales. Worst hit was the inland city of Maitland, which is sited precariously on low-lying land on the Hunter and was completely inundated by floodwaters. A total of 25 lives were claimed during a week of flooding that washed away 58 homes and damaged 103 beyond repair. In Maitland alone, 2180 homes were invaded by water."
There have been 16 major floods since 1806. I hope this picnic/piss-up doesn't tempt fate.
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