The committee held two clean up days recently, following the most recent, and biggest flooding event in November where the river peaked at 8.10 metres, which cut off access to the area, and turned the track into an enormous swimming pool.
Wahgunyah Speedway president Brendon Eames said after most of their races had been washed out over the last twelve months, the latest flood inundation was “heart breaking.”
“Most of this area was underwater for two weeks. Some areas were almost two metres under. It took around nine days to just empty the track alone,” he said.
“The water flowing through here was so powerful it knocked down fencing. We had equipment and machinery under water and rubbish and equipment was scattered everywhere.”
Brendon said despite the massive clean up task, volunteers had come down and pitched in with the clean-up effort.
“We had the huge task of mowing, hosing down different structures, disinfecting surfaces and cleaning equipment,” he said.
“Every machine had to be pulled apart because of the oil throughout the engines and gear boxes.
“We’ve also had different people and businesses in the speedway community who have pitched in to help get us back underway. Whether it’s through donating oil, paint or just offering their services. I personally can't thank those who helped out enough.
“Everything is starting to come up great now thanks to their efforts. It’s certainly a big improvement form where we were at nearly three weeks ago.”
Brendon said this year had taken a huge toll on the committee.
“We’ve been working really hard over the last five years to make this a more welcoming and family friendly environment,” he said.
“To come down and see it after the floods was something else. It looked like a war zone.
“It’s particularly challenging after two years of the pandemic. We’ve missed out on so many meets.
It’s not only disheartening for us and our members but also the people who travel from all over Australia to be here.
“Every year we get cars across from Tasmania, Western Australia, Queensland, Sydney, ACT, and Melbourne.”
Brendon said in the face of the challenges, Wangaratta Speedway had stepped up to support the club with a special Boxing Day meet.
“They’ve given us their track to use, and we get the profits from it,” he said.
“I was speechless when I found out. I’m not usually one who has few words to say. It’s the first-time tow clubs in the area have come together to support each other in such a big way.
“I’m just so grateful for their support. I would never have expected them to approach us in this way.
“This will help us get back on our feet and look to the future. We have big plans for the club including a major upgrade of our lighting system, new toilets and that sort of thing. We’ve been very fortunate to have great sponsorship in recent years which has contributed to the improvement of our fencing, ramp cess for all abilities and much more.”
The special December 27 event will take place in Wangaratta where volunteers will join with available Wangaratta volunteers to hold a race meeting with the club taking a financial return.
Not only will the club make profit from the meeting itself, Felicity Roycroft a Wangaratta club member and Goulburn Valley resident from Kialla, and Bree Claridge a resident from the Bendigo suburbs and Swan Hill Speedway Club member are organising a raffle to raise funds.
The planned raffle is not any ordinary raffle. The organisers are pitching for other speedway clubs, businesses associated with speedway or just any businesses who do not want to see a community sports venue go under.
For anybody interested in this cause, they can contact Wangaratta City Raceway via their social media accounts with offers of support or visit the Wahgunyah Speedway Facebook page for more information.
Brendon said he was hopeful the 2023 year would see the club back on track.
“We can’t wait to welcome crowds back here,” he said.
“It’s such a great environment to be part of. We usually attract anywhere between 600 to 1000 people so the flow effects to the community are enormous. We’re confident it will be all systems go when we host our first event on January 21st. We look forward to welcoming back our members and guests.”
