Mark Beavis
Mark Beavis
Mark Beavis is yet to see the full extent of a Broken River flood. Since moving onto a property near Goomalibee with his family three years ago, the closest he’s seen it to breaking its banks was, ironically, over the 2004/2005 Summer.
The Beavises, originally from the Yarra Valley district, live on a property with about 3 kilometres of Broken River frontage. Mark reckons the river is in pretty good condition. “There’s a couple of spots that are fairly eroded, but most of it’s pretty good”, he said.
Mark mainly uses the water for irrigation on crops and grasses, and also for filling troughs in the paddocks. He’s not a big fisherman, and he’s been just three times in three years. Each time he’s had no luck, but his family and mates have had more. His Uncle from Violet Town came over in 2002 and caught six yellow bellies, and later a cod around 50 – 60 centimetres in length. But since then nobody has caught anything – not even a carp.
The Beavis children swim in the river now and again, but they didn’t this summer. “We just didn’t have the time”, said Mark.
