The Yellow Company director Jo Killick, Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Shire Council Mayor Alister Gibson, aged care co-ordinator Gina Manai and The Yellow Company managing director Ben Norling celebrate the community’s success at the Queensland Resilient Australia Awards on 28 August. Photo: Queensland Reconstruction Authority.
It was a natural disaster that devastated the community, but Wujal Wujal’s resilience and recovery from the 2023 ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper flood event has been recognised after it won two categories of the Queensland Resilient Australia Awards in Brisbane last week.
The south-eastern Cape York community claimed the Business and Local Government categories at the awards for its Wujal Wujal Rising: A Community-first Recovery Project, which was managed by Yellow, and the Wujal Wujal Master Plan Review, run in partnership with Meridian Urban and Water Technology.
In early 2024, Yellow was engaged by the council to support the delivery of a community recovery project that extended beyond the restoration of infrastructure, and prioritised the revitalisation of community life.
The project was run by Yellow director Jo Killick, and managing director Ben Norling said her existing relationship with the community had played a role in the success of its delivery.
“She’s director of prepared communities with Yellow, and put her hand up, having previously had plenty of work and relationships in and around Wujal, and plenty of connections,” he explained after the 28 August win.
“She was keen to do it, so Jo basically performed the role of a community recovery project manager on behalf of council there for three to four months while they worked through that return to community.”
Mr Norling added part of the challenge was ensuring the community had a say in the recovery with so many external stakeholders involved in the evacuation and subsequent clean-up and rebuilding effort.
“When you’ve got a situation like that in Wujal, it can be tempting for government and the system to want to take over, and want to provide the support, but almost overwhelmingly so,” he said.
“So, I think it was our role to ensure that the community’s heard, and that it (the recovery) is truly led from local government.”
The community secured its second win for the master plan review, which guided the safe, resilient and culturally grounded development of Wujal Wujal once the floodwater had receded.
The project delivered a flood-responsive, community-driven update of the township’s master plan to shape future land use, infrastructure and community development.
Minister for Disaster Recovery Ann Leahy praised the ingenuity and spirit of all category winners.
“Each initiative recognised has improved the lives of others, and in doing so is telling an important story about selflessness and growth,” she said.
“It’s also clear recent disaster events have created an appetite for change in our regions and cities, with awarded resilience innovations helping people from Wujal Wujal to Brisbane’s West End.
“What these Queensland Resilient Australia Award winners remind us is our impact is only limited by our imagination.”
After winning on the state stage, Wujal Wujal is now in the running for the national Resilient Australia Awards, which will be announced later in the year.
Mayor Alister Gibson could not be contacted for comment before Cape York Weekly went to press.
Queensland Reconstruction Authority CEO Major General Jake Ellwood (Retd) and Tropical Cyclone Alfred state recovery co-ordinator Colonel Justin O’Connor (Retd) congratulate Meridian Urban principal Upendo Kowero and Wujal Wujal Mayor Alister Gibson on the community winning the Local Government category of the Queensland Resilient Australia Awards. Photo: Queensland Reconstruction Authority.
