Cow swam farmer to safety in flood
Enduring tale of survival from a survivor of the the 2004 floods
Awoman clung to a cow that swam her to safety as floodwaters rapidly rose. The story of Cow 569 became an enduring tale of survival from the lower North Island floods of February 2004.
There was record rain and destruction.
An unseasonal southerly blast heralded a sodden week. Those who lived through it will never forget it, including Kim and Keith Riley.
As the swollen Manawatu¯ River began to swallow the dairy farm where they were equity partners next to the entrance to the Manawatu¯ Gorge, on the Woodville side, the pair sprang out of bed into the dark to move stock.
They’d had a call from the Horizons Regional Council telling them the flooding was getting serious, and decided to split up, with Kim Riley initially heading out with a farm worker.
But, they separated, and moving stock to higher ground became hard when a tractor submerged and the cows scared themselves as they splashed through the water.
Kim Riley remembers how fast it rose on the morning of February 16, 2004.
“It was nearly like running a bathtub. That sounds really ridiculous, but you could stand there and actually see it creeping, creeping, creeping up a fence post.
“Next thing we’re all floating together and we floated over fences and it was like: Wow, this is a little bit serious.”
It was more than that as many parts of the Manawatu¯ and Rangit¯ıkei regions bore the brunt of the most devastating floods in 100 years.
They ultimately caused hundreds of millions of dollars of damage, including to more than 1000 farms.
About 5000 sheep were lost and more than 500 cows, although only a few on the Ballance land of the Riley farm perished.
About 1500 people were forced out of their homes, and 200 houses were damaged. Towns, such as Feilding, were cut off as bridges were destroyed or rendered impassable.
And the rain kept falling — up to 300 millimetres in some places.
As all this unfolded in the breaking dawn, Kim Riley knew she had to get to safety and out of the warm but dirty floodwater.
“I guess I was in the water for something like 40-odd minutes trying to swim across the current to get back to the motocross area [next to the farm].
“I didn’t have the strength to do that, so I thought I actually need to find somewhere I can grab a hold of either a log or a bit of flotsam, and this cow just happened to come past pretty close. I grabbed her. It was luck of the draw.”
Cow 569, a black and white friesian, was a strong swimmer. “Cows swim really well,” Riley said. “They kind of blow themselves up and roll on their sides a little bit. It’s a bit grotesque, but when they decide they’re going somewhere they sort of roll back and start doggy paddling — very slow methodical strokes.”
The cow swam to a dry bank, where it and an uninjured Kim Riley made it to safety.
“When I first landed on the bank next to 569 I sat there for a few seconds, then thought: Gosh, this is dramatic.
“I went to stand up and I couldn’t. I thought I’d broken my leg, but I realised it must have been shock, or adrenaline. My body just went to jelly.”
A concerned Keith Riley eventually found his wife.
“I found Kim along a ridge, which was a relief,” he said.
“It was dramatic because the cattle had scratched themselves going over fences. There was blood in the water.
“It looked like they were significantly hurt, but they recovered well,” he said. “Kim was distressed. She plays it down a bit, but she wasn’t in a good shape.
“She had been trying to get the cattle that were stuck on fences out with her bare hands, so we quickly got some fencing gear and sorted that out. Kim was a bit distressed by the whole situation.”
The water on the farm peaked about 6pm that Monday — about four hours earlier volunteers had realised their efforts to prevent a cow shed being inundated were futile.
The winter was a wet one and Keith Riley said that and the silt left by the floodwater made the recovery a hard slog.
The pair, who now live in Northland, farmed there until about 2011.
About 15,000 people were without power, wind gusts of 230kmh were recorded on the Tararua Range and four rivers burst their banks.
Keith Riley recalls getting calls from the likes of the BBC and Channel Nine in Australia to cover Cow 569’s heroism.
TV crews wanted to be there when she gave birth to a calf and even years later Cow 569’s death made the news.
Kim Riley’s cow ride to safety lived on in print — she wrote two children’s books stemming from her experience.
She was approached by a publisher and wasn’t initially keen on becoming an author, but changed her mind when a friend told her writing down details about her ordeal could help her. It did.
“I was called the Cow Lady for quite a few years after the book was published, but now it’s like there’s not many people that seem to remember it. It’s 20 years ago after all.
“There’s a bit of water under the bridge.”