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]
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