History in the making as association re-open after flooding disaster

A team of 40 volunteers worked tirelessly at the Family History Association of North Queensland in Townsville but faced their biggest challenge yet when flood water swept the association headquarters at Hermit Park in February. 

Seven months later, more than 1,000 articles, including books and documents, are stored in bags and frozen in an innovate attempt to recover them and reduce the onset of mould.  

The cosy home of history is lined with new bookshelves, housing close to 10,000 articles, new computers and furniture, with volunteers and community members hoping to fill their family trees providing a welcome buzz of optimism. 

A few months ago, however, president Marilyn Grogan, member John Johnson and the team were unsure of the future of the association, as the devastating impact of the flooding event became apparent.  

“I was devastated,” John said. 

“I could see where the water level had been, the books were swollen, there was a wet fine silt on the floor, and I thought how are we going to get around this?”  

“I didn’t know where to go. I was in the deep end.” 

John was referred to Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority (QRIDA) for assistance and the organisation was able to access Special Disaster Assistance Grants for not-for-profit organisations within days of applying.  

“We would have closed if it wasn’t for the grant funding,” he said.  

“It was quite rapid, I was surprised. I was so relieved, I could see us folding if it wasn’t for the funding, that was a reality.” 

“We can’t fault QRIDA staff, they were absolutely excellent, fantastic. We could ring with a query and we could get a response. It was brilliant.

 

“The best thing other organisations can do is ask, get on the phone and ask what they might be eligible for. If you don’t ask you don’t know. We sent our application and prayed, and it worked.”  

The association was one of more than 600 not-for-profits across the declared disaster zone able to access grants of up to $50,000 to help pay some of the costs associated with the clean-up and recovery effort following the North and Far North Queensland Monsoon Trough event.  

As of November 5, $1.18m has been distributed to flood-affected not-for-profit organisations. 

Marilyn said the association was able to reopen in late July 2019. 

“We were floating on cloud nine,” she said.  

It was three days before the flood when volunteers realised the enormity of the approaching weather event, but emergency services had already blocked access to the suburb.  

They were able to assess the damage two days after the water subsided. 

Of close to 10,000 articles of information, including microfiche, microfilms and CDs, 1,100 were water damaged.  

The books were washed, excess water removed and stored in two zip lock bags then stored in an archive box and frozen. The books are still stored in freezers to reduce mould.  

“Our first priority was to freeze what we could,” John said. 

“What we could save had to be washed and cleaned.” 

“Our volunteers were wiping books with oil of cloves mixture to reduce mould, it smelt like apple pies.” 

Marilyn said volunteers came from across the street, the council, other community organisations and even school children helped clear the building.  

“It’s the first time we’ve had a disaster like this,” she said.  

“Our volunteer numbers swelled to more than 100 during the clean-up.”

Behind the scenes at a family history association  

The door is open, the kettle is boiling, and volunteers are sifting through thousands of meticulously maintained records, helping Townsville families piece together their history.  

A typical Monday morning at the North Queensland Family History Association is one of anticipation and surprises as secrets of the past, as far back as the 1800s, are uncovered. 

It is also the product of 40 years of commitment on behalf of the team of volunteers which make the association successful – many of which joined after discovering their own family history.  

President Marilyn Grogan joined in 2000 and member John Johnson joined in the 1986 after curiosity into their own past led them to the organisation.  

“The aim is to foster the research of family history so people in the community can come in and find out where they came from,” Marilyn said. 

“We have education programs and special interest groups like on DNA. Our resources cover not only North Queensland but also Australia and internationally. 

“Sometimes we do research for people and we come across great things in the community and elsewhere. 

“You can get back to the early 1800s easily but after that it’s a bit of hard yakka.” 

Starting as the Townsville branch of the Genealogical Society of Queensland in 1980, the Family History Association of North Queensland was established in 1986.  The organisation moved to its permanent home at Hermit Park in late 1998. 

The association started with a box of resources and meetings once a month but is now open six days a week in its permanent home. In the early days the organisation was responsible for recording the headstones in the previously dilapidated West End Cemetery and later the Belgian Gardens Cemetery. 

More recently, the volunteers are responsible for digitising ephemera, continuing research and record keeping.  

Volunteers go to great lengths researching, even writing letters to newspapers or emails across the world to fill in gaps in family histories.  

They can trace a person by their name, as far back as the 1600s, and help to fill massive gaps in family histories.  

“Some members and the community can give us information you could never find in books or on the internet,” Marilyn said. 

“It’s surprising how many connections we can find.” 

John said the excitement of finding the missing link in a family tree never subsided.  

“We jump up and down,” he said. 

“You have someone who doesn’t know anything, and we can help them. They know nothing and suddenly they have this whopping great big family. 

“I didn’t know anything about my family so when they passed away, I decided I wanted to know more about my family tree and then it all opened up. You can find out so much. 

“I found out I had a relative called Daisy Blue Bell, but I don’t know if that was a cow or a person.” 

QRIDA offers a range of disaster recovery assistance. To see what’s currently available visit Disaster Recovery for non-profit organisations.

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.