This time last year many Murray River communities in South Australia could only watch as floods destroyed people's livelihoods. For the small town of Kingston on Murray there was fears it could wipe them off the map when the river swept away its beloved caravan park. But with the support of their local community the park owners are choosing to fight on.
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00:00 (Music plays)
00:04 Situated on the picturesque River Murray,
00:07 the Kingston-on-Murray Caravan Park is the place to stay
00:11 when visiting this small country town.
00:14 But a year ago, the very thing that attracts tourists here
00:18 swept that all away.
00:20 I can't even describe it, it was just heartbreaking
00:23 to watch everything just go under, all in slow motion.
00:27 The owners spent about $300,000 building this levee around the park
00:33 before it was hit by its biggest flood in 60 years.
00:38 But they were evacuated before they could finish.
00:41 I could just see the trickles start coming over the top
00:44 and that's it guys, get out now.
00:47 So we did and I just sat there for an hour and watched it come in.
00:51 Only allowed back in three months ago,
00:54 work is underway to get the park back up and running by Easter.
00:58 How long before you were able to actually dredge all the water out as well?
01:02 Yeah, because it acted like a big dam
01:04 so it nearly took me two weeks to pump it all out.
01:07 Missing out on two Christmas seasons, $800,000 out of pocket
01:12 and not knowing whether insurance would come through.
01:15 They weren't sure that they'd stick it out.
01:18 Tossed back and forth but in the end it really came down to the town
01:21 and they've given us so much support.
01:24 And if the town loses this caravan park,
01:28 there's a lot of other smaller businesses rely on the tourism we bring in here
01:32 for their businesses.
01:34 I can't believe it rained today.
01:37 For Jeff and Barb Calvert, this is also their home
01:41 and they're just starting to move back in.
01:43 Plan of attack for tomorrow, Barb?
01:45 I don't know, scratching my head, there's still so much more.
01:49 I haven't even moved the office back here because of all the rain today.
01:53 While in the end this levy wasn't enough to save this 50-year-old caravan park,
01:58 the Calverts are determined to keep its story going
02:01 because they know if they can bounce back, their community can too.
02:06 It's been a hard recovery for a community of around 300 people
02:10 with the closure of its general store threatening to ship their post office out of town.
02:16 So Barb Calvert put her hand up to help.
02:19 Morning, Sheridan. Thanks for that.
02:22 I said, "Well, we've got to keep the post office."
02:25 I said, "Yeah, if we need-- that's the only way to have it open.
02:28 "I'll do it for now, but yeah, it might be for the long haul."
02:32 It makes it easier for us people in Kingston to still have a letterbox to go to.
02:38 She hopes they can keep the office local by eventually moving it to the caravan park,
02:44 helping her push through a tough period of her life.
02:47 Our home, our business, I just didn't want to know any more about it and just bury my head in it.
02:55 Christmas Day we spent in Benning, didn't want to open the door, didn't want to see anyone.
03:00 It wasn't a time of celebrating at all.
03:03 But with the support of neighbours, happier times could be around the corner.
03:08 Jeff and I have come up here and we've really loved the area, and that's all we have.
03:14 A community battered and bruised, but far from beaten.
03:18 [BLANK_AUDIO]