MUD ARMY MIRACLES
Pulling up on a quad bike encrusted with mud flakes, Libby Lund-mcdonald is not your typical superwoman – she’s dressed in gumboots, dark jeans and a bright flamingo-pink shirt. The single mum-of-four chats excitedly to Woman’s Day as she takes us on a soggy trip around the Lismore Showgrounds for the 138th North Coast National Show.
Libby’s spent countless hours organising the community parade and is determined to recognise everyone who stepped up during the floods.
“It was a great opportunity for our community to come together and acknowledge the Tinny and Mud armies, and emergency service personnel,” says Libby, 51.
“It was a very emotional experience for everyone.”
The Lennox Head event manager has been fundraising since day one of the floods, buying beds, tools and whitegoods to assist people back into their homes, cleaning up flooded houses with the “mud army” and delivering items to farmers and communities cut off by floodwaters in a chopper.
“I decided to do all I could to assist those affected,” she explains after seeing the Lismore flood in February.
“We quickly purchased as many blow-up beds and sleeping bags as possible for the evacuation centres. It was lucky that we did act fast because the next day, Ballina was also underwater, cutting off access to shops.”
While the community is not yet out of the woods, it’s people like Libby who are helping shine a light in the darkness. “The generosity of strangers has been absolutely incredible,” she says.
“The recovery is a marathon, not a race. It will be a very long time, if ever, before the North Coast community feels healed.”