St George 'City Cat' kept busy during flooding

16 February 2011

School-bound ... All aboard the St George City Cat.

By Claire Quinn

Students from the farms surrounding St George found themselves using an innovative form of transport to get to and from school each day - "the St George City Cat".

St George was one of the 89 flood-affected Queensland schools to reopen in time for the start of the new school year after a massive cleanup, but the flood's effects were still being felt during week one.

The students travelled across 2km of water on a boat dubbed "the St George City Cat" because the Balonne River had cut access to the town.

St George State School principal Col Geiger said the school bus brought students from outlying farms to the edge of town.

'The bus travelled hundreds of kilometres to get around the floodwater to make sure it could still bring students to school,' Mr Geiger said.

'The State Emergency Service boat was used to bring them in and was driven by volunteers.'

Mr Geiger said the students' safety was paramount, and all had to wear lifejackets.

Tom Fisher, who has just started in Prep, said using the City Cat was 'scary and kind of fun'.

'I liked the mud and getting my boots wet!' was his verdict.

The town banded together to get through their second flood in 12 months. Mr Geiger is a member of the disaster management group and was attending daily briefings from Christmas.

St George State School is also the location of the community's evacuation centre, which has been set up three times in the past year.

The boat was only needed for the first week of school. After that the floodwater receded and the roads reopened.

Floods relief day

Australian schools will lower their flags to half-mast on February 17 to mark SchoolAid Australian Floods Relief Day. A minute's silence will be observed at noon Queensland time (1pm AEDST) and staff and students are being asked to make a gold coin donation to help flood-affected students and schools.

This national initiative is organised by SchoolAid, a non-profit organisation that encourages children to turn their compassion into action. Schools must register their participation in Floods Relief Day to be eligible for the 2011 Kids Helping Kids Awards. For further information on how your school can get involved, visit the SchoolAid Australian Floods Relief Day website.