BRDRA secretary Robyn Guedes, Cook Shire Council Deputy Mayor Marilyn Morris, BRDRA committee member Barbara Dunn, BRDRA treasurer Judy Edwards and BRDRA president Ashley Holliday celebrate the new and improved Tin Shed. Photo: Supplied.
A kitchen is just a kitchen for some people, but for many Bloomfield residents who went without during the ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper flooding disaster, it was a display of community support and resilience.
Residents from across the region came together to celebrate the grand opening of the upgraded Tin Shed on 21 February, getting a first look at the new kitchen, bathroom, and fresh interior.
When many residents were displaced during the December 2023 flood devastation, the Tin Shed became a community hub, but with no kitchen and a “pretty disgusting” bathroom, it was not exactly a home away from home.
Since then, the Bloomfield River District Residents Association (BRDRA) has led the charge in updating the old building, ensuring that should the worst happen, the community is prepared.
“A lot of people said they wanted to move in and live there because it’s better than their kitchen and bathroom at home,” BRDRA secretary Robyn Guedes laughed.
“Everybody’s seen what it was before, but a lot of people hadn’t seen [the upgraded version] at all, so they were pretty amazed at the facilities.”
She said, alongside the sense of pride, she also felt an air of resilience and strength from everybody, especially when ex-Tropical Cyclone Koji looked like it might hit the Cook Shire region in January.
“It eventually went south, but for a minute there, we didn’t know where it was going,” she said.
“There was actually a day or two there where we felt like it was going to be used as a hub, and it was a really reassuring feeling that we have somewhere we can go to.
“It was different to how it had ever been before, because there are facilities now.”
Ms Guedes said the grand opening was well attended by Cook Shire Council and Wujal Wujal residents, adding that it was heartwarming to see the Tin Shed bring so many community members together.
“To have Wujal Wujal come to it, as well as the non-Indigenous community, was really lovely,” she said.
“It provided a venue for us all to get together, have a good time, enjoy the community facility, and just enjoy being a community together.
“I think it shows that the community is supported, both by Cook Shire Council, but also by a community organisation that has put the assets, as well as the grants people, to keep on improving the conditions for the community.”
