Helicopter and jetboat to rescue for Southland farmer

Thursday, 6 February 2020

A rescue helicopter arrives to evacuate the Bradfield family from their farm after floodwaters surrounded their house near Seaward Downs, Southland on Wednesday.

A helicopter and jetboat came to the rescue of a Southland farmer whose property was swamped by floodwaters this week.

The plight of Matt Bradfield and his family featured on Stuff after the Mataura River burst its banks and floodwaters swamped their farm and surrounded their house, near Seaward Downs.

Cows enjoy a feed on the cowshed yard of the Bradfield property, near Seaward Downs in Southland, while surrounded by floodwaters.

When the dramatic photo of their home surrounded by water circulated, Bradfield said he was considering asking for a rescue helicopter to take them out.

On Thursday he confirmed this was done, with a helicopter landing near the house on Wednesday afternoon and flying the family to the other side of the flooded Mataura River.

View from the kitchen window of the Bradfield family home, looking towards the cowshed. The family were helicoptered from their property near Seaward Downs in Southland on Wednesday after floodwaters surrounded their home.

Floodwaters surround the Bradfield family home near Seaward Downs, Southland, on Wednesday.

They stayed with friends at Edendale for the night, but Bradfield's alternative means of travel had just begun.

On Thursday morning Bradfield and a mate were helicoptered back onto the property so they could milk and feed his cows, then another mate jet-boated them back out again.

The floodwaters had not entered his home but it did enter his garage and caused some damage, he said.

Bradfield and his family were staying at Edendale again on Thursday night and he was hopeful the water would recede so he could walk onto his property to milk the cows on Friday morning.

'At this stage it's still a raging torrent.'

He would not be able to properly assess the damage on his farm until the flooded paddocks had receded, but said a lot of fences were wrecked.

'Lots of people are volunteering help already, it's awesome.'

Meanwhile, Federated Farmers Southland vice president Bernadette Hunt said high water levels on farms in northern Southland were going down on Thursday but were receding more slowly in southern Southland.

The Feds had mobilised to help farmers get stock back into their paddocks.

For many farmers affected by the flooding, debris had covered their electric fences and there was an immediate need to get it off, she said.

The electric fences shorted out with debris such as grass and foliage on them, she said.

'Fences that aren't electric can't contain stock.'

As such, Federated Farmers were looking for 'Farmy army' volunteers to help with cleaning debris off the fences, with work to start on Saturday.

There would be many fences affected, she said.

'There are a lot of farmers around Southland who haven't been affected by floods who want to help, and this is a way they can.'

Volunteers could register to help on the Federated Farmers Facebook page.

'The farmers have a lot of work to do [after the flooding], if we can focus on this simple thing for them they can get on with other jobs.'

Southland farms affected by the flooding suffered damage to sheds, culverts, bridges, lanes, water supplies, feed and more, she said.

'There's a mountain of work for people to do.'