Decades-long connection to shack tested as retiree shares toll of once in a lifetime flood

Lynton Harding and his wife Jane moved back into their flood-impacted Bowhill property less than a month ago. (ABC Riverland: Anita Ward)

Lynton Harding's love affair with his Murray River shack has spanned more than four decades.

He and his wife Jane first stumbled upon the quiet riverfront property in the small South Australian town of Bowhill in the early 1980s and built a lifetime of family memories there.

When it came time for the couple to retire last year there were no second thoughts about the shack becoming their permanent home. 

But just months later a once in a lifetime flood event swept down the Murray, up-ending lives, property, and infrastructure right through to the river's mouth at the Coorong.

"We [just] started unpacking when the [flood] situation in the other three states — Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland — became a known quantity to us," he said.

Murray River floodwaters were a metre higher than Lynton Harding was expecting. (ABC Riverland: Anita Ward )

"How much [we'd get] wasn't known, but we knew we were going to get some." 

The 2022-23 Murray River flood event peaked in the small mid-Murray town in January this year. 

While the shack, which was rebuilt in 2014, was spared by floodwaters, Mr Harding's boat shed and collection of tools were devastated by the water, and the mental stress took its toll.

The tiny town had less than 130 residents at the last census, with most properties being shacks and holiday homes.  (ABC Riverland: Anita Ward )

"Everything stopped. We stopped doing things we had planned. It was quite disturbing for us but the local community rallied around us," Mr Harding said.

"The farmers and everyone [in Bowhill] made it easy. We just popped everything in the caravan and moved up to their block with power supplied."

Despite first-hand experience of more than 40 years of river flows, Mr Harding's personal anticipation of the flood levels were around a metre under the actual level reached.

Clean-up is still ongoing in many of the communities to repair and replace damaged property.  (ABC Riverland: Anita Ward )

Tourists returning to river

Just upstream in Walker Flat, general store owner Marcus Von-zieden was pleased to welcome back tourists as recovery efforts continued.

"Locally it's going to be a very long, slow recovery process," he said.

"Things are starting to come back now and starting to come back green.

"Whereas last week I would use the expression 'Armageddon'."

Mr Von-zieden said recovery for small communities like his own would be a slow process and reliant on tourism. (ABC Riverland: Anita Ward)

Mr Von-zeiden said his community had been supportive as the Murraylands town continued to clean up after the flood. 

He encouraged tourists, like Adelaide-based Margaret Hosking, to continue visiting the small towns along the river. 

This houseboat was the first seen on the river by Walker Flat locals since the major floods over summer. (ABC Riverland: Anita Ward)

Ms Hosking visited the region during the peak of the flood, but this time she was sightseeing from the river on a friend's self-built houseboat.

"We did the drive-through, past all the lookouts, and poor Walker Flat looked terrible then. We can't believe how it's changed so much," she said.

Ms Hosking encouraged other people to visit the region and help the recovery process along.  (ABC Riverland: Anita Ward )

Ms Hosking hoped visitors would continue to support the hard-hit communities.

"Get up here. It's beautiful in action. Just get here and support the Murray."