The trouble with life on the Mary

Muddy Waters Cafe owner Michael Cox and Mal Churchill, FCRC disaster planning co-ordinator, watch the river.

Alistair Brightman

THE implacable force known as Mother Nature is again asserting her authority over Maryborough's marina businesses.

For the second time this year, the Muddy Waters Cafe and Mary River Marine Supplies and Chandlery have had to be stripped of all stock and equipment amid warnings of rising water levels.

While nearby regions like Gympie and the Sunshine Coast were being hammered by heavy rainfall, authorities were not predicting any major flooding for the Fraser Coast.

Still, the once-bitten staff of Maryborough's embattled waterfront weren't taking any chances.

Chandlery owner Bill Brown reported a loss of $90,000 when the Mary River rose to crippling levels and devastated the marina precinct last year.

"Probably nothing is going to happen, but we're just taking precautions," Mr Brown said as he packed up his shop yesterday.

"We had to do this on Australia Day and we're doing it all again.

"We took a big hit last year and can't afford to do that again. It's just going to hurt too much."

There was an air of tension as workers, perhaps in vain, shifted everything from inside the building and pulled down any outdoor signs and flags.

A team of about 10 were helping Mr Brown and his wife Margaret move their marine equipment upstairs, or into shipping containers that would be stored in a Kent St car park.

Muddy Waters owners Michael Cox and Mia Argeropoulos removed everything from their restaurant, but for a few tables and chairs.

Ms Argeropoulos was not expecting the business to get flooded, but was still playing it safe.

"It might not even come up over the deck, but we're just being careful," she said.

Despite these efforts, the Bureau of Meteorology was maintaining that water levels in Maryborough would not exceed minor flood levels of 5m.

It was, however, warning of major flooding at Tiaro, with water levels there expected to reach 13m today.

Mungar Rd was closed and the bridge was under water that had reached 7.2m by noon yesterday.

Council's disaster planning co-ordinator Mal Churchill was also not expecting Maryborough's marina to be swamped.

But he praised the business owners for planning ahead.

"The businesses are preparing early and I compliment them on that.

"The trigger has been the flooding at Gympie and we'll have to see what happens there before we can do anything else."

The Bruce Hwy was cut south of Gympie, and was expected to remain that way until late last night.

Five businesses were flooded when the Mary River reached 15.44 metres in the town, under the predicted 15.7m.