STRENGTH. Determination. Tenacity. Resilience.
The sheer grit of thousands of producers and residents impacted by the catastrophic north west Queensland flood is evident in their dogged commitment to rebuild.
A year after an area the size of Victoria was inundated to resemble a vast inland sea, the recovery continues.
The land, which 12 months ago was awash under metres of flood water, has dried out, too much in parts, with drought conditions remaining in much of the north west.
While some green shoots appeared after the flood, the lack of follow up rain caused cracks to return to the arid landscape.
The immediate aftermath of the event saw the recovery process kick off with military like precision. All levels of government worked together and everyday Australians pitched in to give the region a leg-up.
Carcases were buried, fences, roads and rail lines repaired, but for most affected there will be no quick fix.
Stock losses were estimated at more than 500,000, with cattle, sheep and goats all succumbing to both the flood, and the bitter chill that swept the land in the days that followed.
There is still evidence of the devastating toll, with kangaroo and cattle carcases still dotting the landscape, high up in trees and wedged in fences.
But overall, for the folks most impacted, their love of the land has never wavered. There's been no talk of giving up and everyone is looking to the future.
McKinlay Shire Mayor Belinda Murphy said recent rain across the district had buoyed spirits and graziers were hopeful that more was on the way.
"Everyone is just moving forward with it all after the flood," Cr Murphy said.
"We've had some good rain, and hopefully it keeps coming and people have the confidence to restock.
"It was looking very dry in a lot of parts, and again it is still patchy with people receiving 6-7 inches is generally what I'm hearing.
"We're not dealing with a monsoon quite yet, it is more just storm activity but people will be looking for more, hopefully in February, to get a decent season this year."
Cr Murphy said the support the region received in the direct aftermath had helped the communities move forward.
"I think the support was overwhelming, the response from everyday Australians was very humbling to a lot in our community, as people are now finding after the bushfires.
"Everyone just got in and did their bit and that's what made it bearable and for the recovery to begin as quickly as possible."
Queensland Rural Industry and Development Authority disaster recovery manager Ross Henry said people from an area spanning from the coast around Townsville to western shires had been approved for special disaster assistance recovery grants, totaling more than $100 million. As of last Friday, 2898 applications had been approved for flood victims, totaling $115,571,305.
Of them, 2011 applications for primary producers were approved totaling $102,684,775.
Small businesses, predominantly in the Townsville area had 774 grants approved worth $11,335,317.
Not for profit organisations had 113 applications approved worth $1,551,212.
Another 50 disaster assistance loans totaled more than $6.5m, while six exceptional disaster loans were paid out worth $4.3m.
"It has been a huge and massive impact in the agricultural space, both on the coast and out west," Mr Henry said.
"We've had 796 specialised beef farming enterprises apply for over $50m of assistance, and another big impact was sugar, with 990 applications for cane farmers just over $39m.
"It impacted everything from bee keeping, to offshore aquaculture, nurseries, vegetables, pigs and poultry.
"The scale of this event when you look at it, basically every part of Queensland's agricultural industry was impacted."
Mr Henry said affected residents would still access the grants until February 28.
"A lot of it goes to those initial repairs in the regions, it's a kick-start for people to get back up and do what they do best. Definitely, 12 months on it's still an emotional event for a lot of people, but they are resilient and are utilising what resources as available to help them recover."
North Queensland Restocking, Replanting and On-farm Infrastructure Grants of up to $400,000, of which $41.5m has been paid out so far, will be available for those eligible until June 30, 2021.
Agriculture Minister Mark Furner said 40 per cent of north west Queensland's grazing lands were badly affected by the record rainfall, and since then the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries has significantly increased its presence across the north west.
"We've opened a new office in Richmond, put on two additional beef industry extension officers, and have appointed a flood recovery coordinator and five industry recovery officers working across the region," he said.
