A quad bike and a generator are delivered to residents through the Esk River. Photo / Paul Taylor
A quad bike and a generator are delivered to residents through the Esk River. Photo / Paul Taylor
A lone debris-covered rail bridge across the Esk River is all that directly connects half of Ellis Wallace Rd with the rest of civilisation.
But the people living at the end of the road have found a way to carry on without power and on supplies brought over by excavatorsor helicopters for just over a fortnight.
Bronwynne Oliver and her family have stayed because they don’t want to leave their home and animals behind, including goats, cows, sheep, chickens, ducks and dogs.
“Yes, we have other places to stay, but it’s just not the same,” Oliver said.
“When the cyclone hit, I took it semi-seriously because it was all over the news and everything, so I made sure I battened down the hatches; I brought things in that could go flying, we moved the stock to higher ground and then we just carried on like normal.
“At about 8am on Tuesday, [February 14], the power went out and the power is still not on.”
She said their home was elevated from the floodwaters, which stopped about 150 metres before it.
Bronwynne Oliver with some Ellis Wallace Road residents Joe Oliver (second from right), and Matt Ericksen (right) from Ericksen Honda delivering a generator and quad bike for one isolated customer. Photo / Paul Taylor
She said they used a generator, and helped out neighbours without a generator until they got their own.
“We run the generator for an hour in the morning and then maybe four hours at night, just to keep our stuff frozen,” she said.
“Unison is doing a great job. They are getting there, so we just carry on. We can’t change that.”
She said the railway bridge remained the only access point in and out for residents and, although it has been deemed unsafe to walk across by Kiwirail due to debris, many have due to necessity.
Oliver works at Napier Boys’ High School, and she said many others down the road also do essential work.
“When I was told [about the lack of access], I just burst into tears because I am very loyal to my employer, Jarred Williams, and he has been very fantastic, very supportive, because it has been very overwhelming.
“We’re cut off, but as a little community of our own we are working together, making sure everyone has fuel for their generators, and we organised the helicopter to come in the other day and drop off food, because people down the very end of our road have lost all of their meat and everything.”
Sam Parsons, currently living on the non-isolated end of Ellis Wallace Rd, delivering supplies to a stranded mate across the Esk River, using the only remaining passage across to the other end. Photo / Paul Taylor
She gave credit to Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council and Kiwirail for the urgency they had in trying to restore access in the area.
“When they can, they are putting double crews on to get the bridge cleared, re-route the river and try to get us access, and they have been really understanding of our situation.
“I can’t ask for more than that.”
Excavators ferried in a quad bike and generator across the washed-away ford on Wednesday afternoon for some Ellis Wallace Rd residents who ordered the essential equipment.
Matt Erickson, from family-owned company Erickson Honda, said he wasn’t worried about the quad bike, but it was “nerve-racking” watching a generator worth thousands being taken over the river.
“We held our breath as two really expensive pieces of equipment were carried above what looks like a warzone,” Erickson said.
He and his family had travelled across the country since the cyclone to gather generators, and they were delivering them to ensure the need in Hawke’s Bay and other East Coast communities was met.
“We’re trying everything we can to get the means for these people to have a little bit of normality,” he said.
Matt Erickson said it was "nerve-racking" watching an $8800 generator be carried across the wrecked ford. Photo / Paul Taylor
A Hastings District Council spokesperson said Kiwirail advised them on Monday evening the bridge was unsafe for pedestrian travel.
There is currently no estimated date for when a safe bridge crossing point can be restored, but the spokesperson said there were many options their engineers were working through.
“Our original plan to shift the river back to the original crossing has uncovered some issues that may not be able to be resolved, so alternative ways to connect with the community on the other side of the river are being explored with expediency.”
