Fires, Floods & The Future 

By definition, history is a study of past events and therefore, Weston's history includes disasters that the townsfolk lament.

Above: Group of six photos of 1990 flood indundation around 

Swanson and Fourth Streets, Weston.

~ Lisa Williams

In this article by Donna Sharpe from 2012 , Fourth Street resident Errol Walker said he slept with one eye open and prayed his home would not be flooded a second time. Mr Walker was one of about 50 residents whose houses were flooded during the June long weekend in 2007.  Mr Walker said during this storm, the water reached 1.2m deep inside his house. "We lost just about everything and all we were left to work with was basically a shell."

He joined other Abermain and Weston residents whose homes backed onto Swamp Creek to lobby Cessnock City Council to clean the creek and for a solution to quell the flow of water during heavy rain. 

The late Cr. Maybury, a Freeman of the City of Cessnock, and a 'Weston Worthy' on this website (see Weston Worthies), raised residents' concerns and called on officers to look into the feasibility of recommissioning dams on several old mine sites in the area.

He said the dams at Hebburn No.1 and No.2, Abernethy and Abermain No.1, 2 and 3 pits could be resurrected to take the run-off into Swamp Creek. 

Cr. Maybury said, "I have been chasing this up since the 2007 storms when about 50 homes were indundated and the repair bill running into well over $1million."

"I believe it was first raised in 1990 with the state member Bob Roberts when a petition with 150 signatures was presented to him."

The late Cr. Maybury worked tirelessly on this issue. As he said, it was not just about properties, but also human safety.

In the Newcastle Herald article from 2012, Abermain and Weston residents expressed their fear for their lives and homes during extreme weather conditions, and stated that they wanted action from Cessnock City Council, especially after it had commissioned seven flood studies over the past 20 years but failed to act on the recommendations. 

They were seething that a $58,000 government grant for Kurri Kurri Landcare to clear a flood-prone creek was handed back to the State three months before the devestating 2007 storm that destroyed houses backing onto the same creek that was to be remediated with those funds. 

Irate residents said at the time that attempts to have Council work crews dredge the creek had failed. Anne Warburton of Abermain said, "We are just being ignored and can't speak with anyone at the council." Mrs Warburton's home was inundated during the June 2007 flood.  Likewise, for Mr Bill Emerson who lost his Elizabeth Street, Abermain home in the same storm.  He said he was told by Council that some plant species growing in the creek bed were protected so dredging could not take place. Residents believed that their homes and lives did not matter and this was nothing more than an excuse to not carry out this necessary work. 

The late activist for remedial creek work at Weston, Mr Nobby Bartlett, said he had been fighting for dredging since 1990. He moved from his Fourth Street home because of the strain of living there after several inundations and the chronic mould problem.

In an article in the Maitland Mercury dated Aug 1, 2012, five years after the 2007 floods, Mr Bartlett told reporter Sam Norris that water had reached two metres high inside their former home in Fourth Street, Weston when the weed-choked creek rose without warning.  While Cessnock City Council acknowledged in 1990 that there were problems with the creek there was still no flood mitigation work carried out. The inaction forced the late Mr and Mrs Bartlett to leave what had been their family home for 50 years. Mr Bartlett told reporter Sam Norris, "We just couldn't live there anymore; the terror was too much."  Cessnock City Council was approached by the Maitland Mercury for comment at the time but did not respond.  

Mr Col Maybury said residents had approached Cessnock City Council to clear the creek and install floodwarning devices but they failed to do this.  It was left to Kurri Kurri Landcare to spend $2,800 on two warning devices each for Weston and Abermain.  A Weston resident informed us in August 2023 that a warning device near him did not work.

In this  article headlined: 'Six years on, the fear of flood remains' that appeared in The Advertiser on 5 Jun 2013, Kurri Kurri Landcare president, Mr Col Maybury (above), again warned that it was only a matter of time before more flooding occurred, and  he was absolutely correct. Floods followed again in 2015 and 2022.  Mr Maybury said back then that clearing and dredging Swamp Creek and constructing a gabion wall at Hebburn Dam were two ways of alleviating the flooding.

He said at that time that despite recommendations from at least seven Cessnock City Council flood studies since 1992, the creek remained choked with noxious weeds and vegetation.  With no subsequent action from Council since, the state of the creek in 2023, is now much worse. 

Back in 2013, Mr Maybury wanted to know why so many flood studies had been carried out with little follow up action.  He said all the studies used the same creek profiles. All were virtually the same study with some slight wording changes. Several had been 'cut and pastes' with the same typographical error appearing in many, while another had the wrong date. A gabion wall was recommended in an April 2011 flood study only to be removed again from the next study a month later.  

Of significant importance, Mr Maybury claimed in that article ten years ago in 2013, that Cessnock City Council had misled the former Environment Minister, Robyn Parker, since her office was only aware of the studies dating back to 2005, not 1992.  

Above: Bob Wells Bridge, Fourth Street Weston, during and after inundation. 

~ Billy Gillon

In the Advertiser article dated Apr 19, 2016 by Krystal Sellars that is headlined: Weston residents plea for Swamp Creek to be cleared, one year on from April 2015 super storm,  homeowner Lisa Ashpole, pictured above with her children, said she would not be getting her Fourth Street home repaired or moving back in until something is done to alleviate the flooding in Swamp Creek.  She said, "I used to take pride in my house, but not any more." Ms. Ashpole said she had high hopes after the 2007 flood that the creek would be cleared but those hopes had faded by 2015. 

SWAMP CREEK ABANDONED

Swanson Street residents, Ron and Marilyn Wright shared Ms. Ashpole's concerns about Swamp Creek. The ground floor of their home was indunated during the April 2015 flood.  Ms Wright said, "It (the creek) has just been abandoned."  Ms  Wright also said the creek is not just a flood risk now - a grass fire broke out there over the summer.

In this same article, Krystal Sellars wrote that:

'Cessnock City Council will receive $100,000 from the Office of Environment and Heritage for the environmental investigations and design stage of the Swamp Creek flood mitigation works.  

These works are a priority project of its floodplain risk management plan that was adopted in December 2013.'     

Above: Group of six photographs taken during and after Swamp Creek flooding at the bridges in Kline and Fourth Streets Weston NSW in 2015. The bridge at Kline Street has since been  replaced. 

~ Leslie Bender

On April 28, 2015, The Advertiser reported that backwater waves had submerged Kurri Landcare's flood alarms in Swamp Creek and Abermain. The alarms were installed after the 2007 floods that caused millions of dollars damage in Abermain and Weston...

'They were designed to give residents warning that the creek was rising, and to evacuate if necessary.

Two alarms were erected in Abermain and two in Weston, at a cost of $2800 to Landcare – money they didn’t have, but found.

But, despite the recommendations of at least six flood studies, council did not install its own or take over the maintenance of these alarms.

The solar cells failed after seven years of operation, so Kurri Landcare made a much cheaper version that had the siren mounted on the float switch box.

Unfortunately, this meant in Tuesday’s downpour, the waves travelling upstream flooded the alarm’s siren before it sounded.

Kurri Landcare president Col Maybury said he wasn’t aware of backwater waves until hearing about the tragedy at Maitland, where a female motorist was washed away.

“Backwater waves, BW, are sudden wave reflections travelling upstream,” he said.

“I did not know of this till the lady was killed at Maitland, washed off the Fishery Creek causeway by a BW.

“The BW at Abermain and for one of the alarms at Weston flooded the siren. The sirens have been raised much higher so this cannot happen.

“I apologise for my lack of knowledge of backwater waves and the too-low placement of the sirens. It has been corrected.”

Mr. Maybury said it was “absolutely disgusting” that Cessnock City Council has taken no action since the 2007 flood.

“Council, I think any reasonable person would presume, has been incompetent in flood amelioration since 1992,” he said.

Council has done 11 flood studies in that time, and told Mr. Maybury in 2013 that the creek would be dredged. 

Mr. Maybury has also called on Cessnock City Council to remove the severe restrictions under the bridges at Abermain, and to install concrete block dams on the HEZ detention basins and the Hebburn Dam and at the power lines corridor in HEZ, south of Fan Hill, Abermain.

“I took Mayor Pynsent and the flood engineer to HEZ and showed them detention basins that could be used to slow the rate of rise at Weston and Abermain. Nothing was done,” he said.

Mr. Maybury said he will be applying to address the May 6 council meeting to speak about flooding issues.

A council spokesperson said council is committed to fulfilling the actions set out in the Swamp Fishery Risk Management Study and Plan, which affects residents in the Weston and Abermain area, as soon as is practicable.

Priority works identified in the plan includes vegetation removal and management.

Environmental assessment and localised design work is also required to enable works to be undertaken. The assessment and design is expected to take 12-to-18 months to complete.

"In light of the recent natural disaster, our current focus is assessing damage to infrastructure in the community and public safety," the spokesperson said.

"We have been on the ground this week mapping the flood affected areas and collecting additional flood level data.

"This will help inform council’s floodplain modelling for the catchment and also to determine the size of the recent event."

Above: A torrent of water spilling from Hebburn Dam at  Weston NSW  

during the floods of 2015.

~ Leslie Bender

In Matthew Kelly's Newcastle Herald article dated May 5, 2015, he stated that Hebburn Dam at Weston, New South Wales was among the state's oldest water reservoirs and that there were fears it was on the brink of collapse.  The 19-megalitre reservoir was built to provide water for the steam-powered Hebburn Colliery. 

Photograph's (above) taken by Col Maybury of Kurri Kurri Landcare illustrate why they are fearful.  Landcare group members said the structure had visibly deteriorated during the previous month with large chunks of concrete missing from the spillway.  That was following the April 2015 super storm.

Mr Maybury said, "If it collapses it will dump about 150 Olympic-sized swimming pools of water on Weston."

Mr Maybury attempted to address the issue at a Cessnock City Council meeting at the time but was refused on the basis that the subject of flooding was not listed on the agenda.

A Cessnock council spokeswoman  said the dam's condition was under investigation.  "We are currently investigating this matter as it's believed the dam in question is on private property."  

In the Advertiser edition dated July 12, 2022, Krystal Sellars headlined her article: 'It's like Groundhog Day': Homes in Abermain, Weston and South Cessnock flooded again.'

Ms Beauchamp, pictured above, had experienced three floods in 15 years. Floodwater entered her home at 3.pm on the Tuesday reaching a level of 300mm.  In 2015 it was twice as high and in 2007, about 1.8m.  

Ms Beauchamp credited the work of Abermain District Landcare removing vegetation from the creek for improving the situation in this most recent flood. She said it saved a lot but they still got wet.

Above: Group of six photographs taken 7 Aug 2023 show the overgrown creek banks and creek bed near Bob Wells Bridge in Fourth Street Weston.  

~ Tracey Falk Hill

Hot, dry and windy conditions in December 2023 helped produce a devastating inferno in the Coalfields. Three fires merged into one on Thursday 14 Dec. and threatened homes and businesses in Kurri Kurri, Abermain and Weston. It was reported that the fire burnt through nearly 850-hectares. It destroyed a business, five homes and a number of sheds, as well as damaging a further eleven homes in the Coalfields.

Gabriel Fowler reported in The Advertiser, Dec. 17, 2023:

'The fire started in the Coalfields scrub near Abermain on Thursday afternoon and spread to the suburbs of Kurri Kurri, Abermain, South Weston and Pelaw Main.

Within hours of the first alert, NSW Rural Fire Service volunteers were on standby to defend Kurri Kurri hospital as it was evacuated and the flames approached.

Five homes were destroyed in the fire, along with a dozen other buildings including Teasdale's Tyres. Another 11 homes were damaged.

The fire has been brought under control, with containment lines shored up by late Saturday afternoon. But firefighters were on the fireground to continue blacking out and mopping up, NSW Rural Fire Service chief inspector Ben Shepherd said yesterday.

"They held it through yesterday's weather, but there's still a bit of work to do each day just to make sure it doesn't spread any further," he said.

"There is some bad weather coming through on Tuesday, when we will see the return of hot and windy conditions again but the good news is, it's contained."

The fire held behind containment lines was likely to continue to burn for a number of days, Inspector Shepherd said.

The impact of the fire had been significant, he said, and the message this fire season was that fires did not have to be massive to pose a threat.

"Primarily, the areas that didn't burn through 2019-2020 were close to some of the most significantly populated areas ... in the Hunter, Central Coast and in and around Sydney, where we had fires on the outskirts but it did't necessarily come into bushland near suburbs and this year, that's where we're warning the threat could be.

Residents have been advised to monitor surroundings for ember attacks. Authorities are yet to determine how the blaze started.'

It s a tribute to the many firefighters on the frontline that more homes were not lost in this disaster.  Whether on the ground or in the air, the residents of Weston and surrounding areas are grateful to firefighters and all support personnel and volunteers from both within and outside of the area. Without them, the losses for residents would have been far, far greater.