Norths Rugby Club has avoided serious damage despite threatening floodwaters in Wavell Heights from ex-tropical cyclone Alfred.
The club, located at Hugh Courtney Oval near Kedron Brook, potentially faced a $50,000-plus recovery bill as water levels rose toward the crossbar of goalposts on Sunday. Director of Rugby Michael Bell witnessed the brook overflowing around 7:30-8:00 AM Sunday, with water advancing across the playing field within an hour.
“If it gets into the clubhouse we are in a lot of trouble,” Bell had said on Sunday, noting approximately $50,000 worth of newly ordered playing gear was at risk, along with irreplaceable club memorabilia.
Photo Credit: Facebook / Carolynne Berry
However, a Monday morning assessment revealed a more positive outcome for the Wavell Heights sporting facility.
“Out and about this morning checking on key areas that are often hit the hardest by extreme weather – our local clubs down at Shaw Road have debris on the roads leading in to their carpark and along fence lines but the Norths Rugby Club and cricket fields have avoided serious damage,” MP Leanne Linard reported.
This comes as significant relief for the Wavell Heights club, particularly given their difficult experience during the 2022 floods when water levels at the club reached just below the goalpost pads and came within 6 meters of the club concourse.
While some cleanup will be necessary to clear debris from roads and fence lines in the Shaw Road sporting precinct, the Wavell Heights facility appears to have escaped the worst-case scenario that officials feared when Kedron Brook’s banks first broke.
Published 10-March-2025
