Store owner’s hunch realised at a cost
THE owner of a Railway Estate convenience store who was adamant his shop would not flood has been proven right but still lost thousands after his storage shed was inundated.
Frank Apsland, owner of the 10th Avenue convenience store, had stubbornly refused to close up shop during the height of the unprecedented flood crisis.
He said the century-old building had never flooded and wouldn’t this time either.
It didn’t, but the water was less than 10cm away from entering the store.
Mr Apsland said the night the Ross River Dam spillway gates were fully opened was “hairy”.
“Sunday night was very hairy because that’s when they released all the water and told you about how much water was coming,” he said. “Once it started to lap that last step we were gone [into the unit at the back].”
Unfortunately the floodwaters inun- dated Mr Apsland’s shed, where all his bakery equipment from a previous business had been stored.
He was too devastated to enter the shed.
Thankfully the shop was safe, although low on stock. The little corner store even became a meeting point for rescuers.
“We have no vinegar. People have gone crazy for it. And there are no gumboots in town, can’t find them anywhere,” he said.
“There’s probably no cat litter either, that’s the first thing we sold out of, the absolute first thing.
“All the boats were tying up here, when they were rescuing people, people were standing on the steps and getting on.”