Principal tackles hazard in tinnie

16 February 2011

Hazard ... one of the telegraph pole sized logs at Bundaberg East State School.

By Andie Gatti

Log wrangling isn't usually part of a principal's duties.

But Doug Ambrose of Bundaberg East State School was up to the challenge on New Year's Eve when floodwater covered the lower half of the campus, including the adventure playground.

When Doug spotted 10 of the 20 four-metre logs which usually encircle the playground floating in the new river, he grabbed his 24-year-old son Daniel and launched his 3.8 metre tinnie to retrieve them.

'The playground was under about 10-12 foot (3-3.5 metres) of water and we were worried the logs might become a navigation hazard if they floated downriver into the ocean,' he said.

'Luckily the logs were close together and the water wasn't rushing too fast so we roped the logs together and towed them back to higher ground.

'We had to make a couple of trips and the logs that were left around the playground had partly popped out of the ground so we tied them to other playground equipment so they wouldn't drift away.'

Damage ... Brassall State School.

Apart from the runaway logs, Doug said that because most of the school was on higher ground, only the sheds and grounds of his school were flood-affected, with grounds equipment like mowers and tractors moved to safety and unaffected.

Brassall State School in Ipswich fared less well, but an army of volunteers including RAAF 1 Squadron members and groups from a Gold Coast gym and the Buddhist Support Federation of Australia helped ease the pain of the cleanup.

Principal Peter Doyle said all buildings bar two were affected, with the library, administration area and learning resources lost to the floods.