Photo flood book helps victims

IT IS a Christmas that no-one in Taroom is likely to ever forget.

Taroom Flood Appeal committee member Amanda Teale sent out the call for people's photos to help make a photographic book for future generations to remember the floods.

Like the area was back in December, she was swamped.

Amanda sorted through about 1000 photos to find the best for the book called Taroom 2010-11: Rain, rain go away, come again another day.

The books were available for sale at the Taroom Show earlier this week and almost sold out by lunch on the first day.

Amanda said funds raised by the sale of the $15 book would go to help Taroom flood victims, with some still working to rebuild their lives months down the road.

Another flood at Easter hit some farmers hard, including Amanda's own family.

Her finance's family lost fences and was still counting stock losses.

It is not surprising the book sold out so fast – the Taroom community has a reputation for showing bush spirit and pitching in to help those in need.

They showed true Aussie mateship after a flood fundraiser earlier in the year raised an astonishing $24,000.

That event had auctions, raffles and yabby races, with former CQ NRL Bid media manager Jason Costigan as MC.

Former Baralaba, Bulldogs, Queensland and Australian rugby league hooker Jason Hetherington was also a guest on the night where about $24,000 was raised by just 120 people that attended.

Vouchers for flood victims from those funds have just gone out.

Amanda is working to create another photographic flood book, this one a hardcover book with dif-ferent photos than the first softcover one.

Many people have already placed an order for the hardcover book, which sells for $45.