Long-road to recover from 2022 floods as Riverina caravan park reopens to the public

Darlington Point Riverside Caravan Park has now emerged from under the floodwaters which saw it closed since mid-October and is back open for business.

Park manager Luke Payne said the flooding caused extensive damage to the precinct.

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Taking over the park in 2019, the flood was the first Mr Payne had seen in his time there, although the park did experience flooding in both 2012 and 2016.

Mr Payne said while flood levels this time round were similar to those a decade ago, this time the water stayed around for a long time.

"The Caravan Park was inundated for a total of six weeks with clean up not being able to start until [the end of] November," he said.

As a result, there was significant infrastructure and damage to buildings to the extent that all cabins had to be removed from the site. They have since been sold off.

"We definitely need new cabins for the economic sustainability of the park and to help fuel the economic growth of Darlington Point," Mr Payne said.

"But this will be dependent on local, state and federal government assistance."

While he believes the park is eligible for flood assistance, Mr Payne said it's becoming "very difficult to access."

"The message from the government and what is actually available seem to be two different things," he said.

Meanwhile, he said the economic impact not only to the business but also the town's economy has been "quite significant."

"Having a business like a tourist park closed in a small town for such a long period of time has definitely impacted the township of Darlington Point," he said.

While the caravan park has now officially reopened, Mr Payne said caravan traffic is still "pretty quiet" with the Kidman Way still closed north of Hillston.

"In saying that we are starting to see the online bookings increase," he said.

Looking ahead, Mr Payne does not expect business to fully recover financially until the new cabins are installed, however he has no idea when that will happen.

"Prior to the floods and the change in federal government leadership, the Darlington Point Caravan Park had received a promise of funding for a major re-development," he said.

"This has since been ignored by the current federal government."

The reopening also comes just in time for the Annual Riverina Classic Fishing competition which is set to return to the park for it's tenth year from February 10-12.

"It is shaping up to be a great event," Mr Payne said.

"We will have live music, bar facilities and kids entertainment across the whole weekend.

"This will also be our first event after reopening so we are hoping for a good roll up."

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