'Australian spirit' alive and well in Eugowra during flood clean-up

Geoff Olde, of Orange, was part of a four-person crew from Springside Rural Fire Service which has been helping communities get back on their feet since floodwaters ripped through the Central West on Monday.

He said there was a "monumental task" ahead of the Eugowra community, where he had been lending a hand on Wednesday and Thursday.

"It's devastating for everybody," he said.

"People's lives have been ruined. In a lot of cases, their family homes have been washed away. All of their personal belongings and their photographs have been lost. It's just terrible."

This is far from the first natural disaster that Mr Olde has responded to.

He was in Port Macquarie in 2021 during their flood event, in Lismore this year when the town was destroyed and spent 65 days fighting on the front lines of the 2019-2020 NSW bush fires.

"That's just what we do and why we're here," he said of his role with the RFS.

"Whether it's a fire or a flood or any other type of emergency, we're tasked to do it. We put our hand up and help out wherever we can."

"That's why we're a voluntary service, we're happy to help and we put back into the community."

While Eugowra is still reeling from Monday's events, Mr Olde noted that people had banded together to help in anyway they could.

"Everybody's pitching in. It's that community spirt, that spirit that Australians have got to help out in times like this," he added.

"They're very happy to see us when we turn up to give them a hand and very thankful.

"I just spent one-and-a-half days at the school and there was an army of people helping, so it's not just us, it's a lot of other people coming to help."

Mr Olde added that for the moment, people seemed focused solely on the task at hand.

"I haven't spoken to anyone about that," he said when asked about people's plans were moving forward.

"I have just asked what we can do and we get stuck in and do it. I've not spoken to anyone else and nobody has spoken to me about it."

NBN Australia issued a statement on Wednesday to say that about 460 services in Gooloogong, Canowindra South & Eugowra remained offline due to flooding and mains power outages.

"At this stage, there is no estimate for restoration. We are waiting for flood waters to recede and roads to reopen so we can safely assess the damage," the statement added.

"To support the community, we have free Wi-Fi access at the Eugowra Show Grounds and Gooloogong War Memorial Hall. Our team is also on hand to answer any questions."

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