RAWCS national chair Brad Quilliam was in Rochester less than a month ago meeting with community leaders, flood recovery co-ordinators and shire and Rotary representatives, along with members of the wider community, to put together a priority list of items required for the community to recover from last October’s flood event.
He said last week RAWCS was expecting to tick at least one “big ticket’’ item off the wish list by providing a large portable building to the Rochester community as a meeting place.
Mr Quilliam will meet with representatives of Rochester’s Rotary cluster, which includes Bendigo, Echuca, Rochester, Bendigo South, Bendigo Sandhurst, Eaglehawk, Kangaroo Flat and Castlemaine clubs, this Thursday.
“Through Rotary Australia’s network of relationships, we are hoping to achieve the goal of providing a building to the community,” he said.
Mr Quilliam said the Rochester club had gone “above and beyond’’ through its on-the-ground work in the town, most recently through the distribution of 2000 items during a blanket appeal.
Rochester Rotary president Heather Watson said her club had purchased and distributed eight clothes dryers.
“We have ordered another four through the funds donated by surrounding Rotary clubs,” she said.
“We have been working with Rochester Community House to identify the people who are most in need. People living in caravans aren’t able to dry their clothes during winter.
“We are also making funds available to people for use at the laundromat, for both washing and drying.”
Mr Quilliam has put together recently appointed Campaspe Shire flood recovery officer Lachlan Couzens and the company at the centre of the temporary building securement to negotiate the arrival of the facility.
He said the other major item discussed at the meeting — portable buildings to be located on the site of people’s as-yet unrepaired homes — was still some time away.
“We will be continue to work with the Rotary clubs, the shire and flood recovery committee in Rochester to make this a reality,” he said.
“I have spoken with Leigh Wilson (Rochester flood committee) and met with both the current and incoming Rotary club presidents (Mrs Watson and Bryan Griffiths).”
Mr Quilliam said he expected a more detailed update of what was being made available to Rochester after next week’s meeting.
“We stalled a little because so many people were attending the International Rotary Convention which is on in Melbourne at the moment,” he said.
“It meant that, for almost two weeks, a lot of people important to the recovery effort were unavailable.”