History and Use |
The series of Queensland cyclones and floods which occurred over the summer of 2010-2011 was one of the most devastating natural disasters in the history of the state. The events which were named by the media as ‘Queensland’s Summer of Disasters’, impacted over 2.5 million people and saw the evacuation of entire towns, power and water being cut off as well as roads, railway lines, buildings, homes and personal property damaged. It also resulted in the tragic death of 35 people and the declaration of 78% of the state as a disaster zone.
After the extreme weather conditions took place and the flood waters receded, thousands of volunteers immediately responded by rallying together to help friends, neighbours and complete strangers clean up their businesses and homes. Many Queenslander’s showed great generosity, courage, strength and community spirit during the clean-up phase of the event with volunteers providing hands-on help, free services, professional advice, donations and much more to help those cyclone and flood affected victims get back on their feet.
Later, on the 2nd March 2011, then Premier of Queensland, Anna Bligh invited Queenslanders to nominate individuals in their community who they thought deserved a ‘Queensland Disaster Hero’ award. Nominated heroes had to demonstrate community initiative, bravery, courage, resilience and strength during the natural disasters. More than 3,500 people were nominated across the state and invited to one of ten recognition ceremonies during the Queensland Week celebrations which ran from 4th to 13th June 2011. Ceremonies were held throughout the month of June in the Lockyer Valley, Tully, Townsville, Rockhampton, Dalby, Emerald, Bundaberg, Toowoomba, Ipswich and Brisbane where each Queensland Disaster Hero was awarded a special commemorative medal as a keepsake and reminder of their contribution. This is an example of the medals handed out by the Queensland Government to those people who were nominated as disaster heroes.
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