Brigadoon Holiday Park is calling for qualified tradesman to help shortcut months of flood repair work

Staff and local volunteers have stripped soaked flooring and furniture from cabins, but many residents will be unable to return until each home is plastered, floored and painted, says concreter Glen 'Cookie' Cook.

Mr Cook said while the park's residents were receiving clothing and furniture donations, the priority remains re-flooring cabins.

"We are crying out for tradies at the moment. If there are retired carpenters, plasters or painters, we need those three main trades to lend a hand for a day or two," he said.

"If there are businesses that can offer trade discounts or give us products at cost price so that we can get materials such as flooring, plumbing, carpets and kitchens. That would be appreciated.

"There are a lot of people helping us but it's nearly four weeks now and there are only four residents back in the park. There's 60 residents with no flooring, lounge rooms or kitchens in their empty cabins.

"The way that it is going, it's going to take months to get these people back into their homes."

Mr Cook, who has lived at the park for 12 months, was responsible for evacuating more than 30 people from the floodwater by rescuing them in his dingy.

"I came home from work on the Friday night and the water was coming up. I decided to help people get out because the water was coming up quick," he said.

"I got my tinny and starting rowing around the park basically just getting elderly people into the boat and getting them back to high ground at the office.

"My neighbour, Ron Barnett, had fallen over the floating debris in his cabin during the night. He couldn't see where he was going, he was in the water and nearly drowned. I knocked on the door and he was there up to his neck in water before we got him out."

The Make a Difference charity has also organised a campaign to provide 100 appliances over 30 days for returning residents. More than 38 machines have so far been donated across three days.

There is a GoFundMe page active for the Brigadoon rebuild.

What else is happening in news, sport?

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: