The past six months have been crazy for the Eichler Team with the devastating 2022/23 high flow flood event impacting our hometown of Mannum and surrounding communities. We have been very busy building and then dismantling Levy Banks and rebuilding flood damaged roads to help protect and rebuild the community.
We were given the challenge by the Department of Transport & Infrastructure to reconstruct the Ferry approach section of Hunter Road that had cut off the residents access to the town via the Ferry and after three months of having to travel around via Murray Bridge in record time of three weeks we were able to get that project completed under time allowed and under budget.
Our staff worked long days before Christmas, seven days a week in fact, to beat the rising river levels and we were appointed by the Mid Murray Council to construct a large long levee bank at the Mannum Caravan Park. Thankfully it did its job and the Caravan Park and its assets and infrastructure were saved! There is still a lot of work to be done and Mannum as several river communities still look like a war zone, but we are here for it and glad we could support in these ways.
The community spirit was amazing and its remarkable to see how people come together in a crisis from all walks of life to work toward one goal. To respond so quickly and protect the river properties as best as possible was no mean feat.
We were thankful for the data and information that was easily accessed daily and the assessments and predictions were incredibly ingenious. All we could think about was how they managed in 1956, when that famous flood, still the largest in the Murray River to date, compared to that of our recent event, and how the townsfolk managed with no technology, limited machinery and resources. It’s mind boggling really.
Eichler Earthmovers was founded after the late Cec Eichler helped a dairy farmer down on the swamps at Belvedere, just out of Mannum repair his levees with an old tractor. The farmer couldn’t afford to pay him but gave him the old tractor, which was in much need of repair as a thank you for his assistance. Cec was then inspired to continue to repair this old tractor and his love for Earthmoving was born.
As we continue to help the region rebuild, we look forward to assisting customers with their repairs to their properties and fill their orders of sand, rock & pebble and gardening supplies that will help them restore their much loved homes and holiday places.
We will rebuild better than ever before, and we are grateful for your support.
The Eichler team