The floodgates are mainly in front of drains that were installed on the floodplain as part of flood mitigation works mid last century.”

Draining the floodplain has enabled agriculture and the development of towns. Most of the floodgates were installed after major flood events in the 1950s and 1970s. Our floodgates operate passively as one-way valves.

When the river rises, whether it’s tidal or a flood, the water pressure will close a floodgate and stop the land inundating; when that water recedes, the gate opens. In some drains, tidal water is allowed to flush drains to improve water quality and fish habitat.”

Every day is different on the floodplain, and I love that, there’s always a new challenge. As well as a new trade, I’ve learned the skill of talking with different people, like landholders, in difficult situations. Maintenance is also a big part of our work. We find defects or problems with a gate and bring them in to work on them. Broken gates need fixing, new welds on stainless steel pins or the bands that go around the pipes. A lot of the time we need to get the gates back in action as quickly as we can before the next high tide – our work really revolves around the tides.

We check and clear the floodgates of debris that gets stuck and holds them open, or silt and mud that builds up, or weeds. Then I might build a gate over two or three months – starting out with a piece of sheet metal and adding the components. The tricky part with aluminium is that it bows and buckles with the heat, so you need to know how to bring it back.”

The Richmond River floodplain covers 1,000 square kilometres, with a waterway area of 19 square kilometres. Born and bred in the area, local knowledge is a boon.

Knowing the area is a huge factor. I’m a mad fisherman and am passionate about the river system. Working with the floodgates in a way that’s trying to manage the impact of drains on the rivers is really rewarding.”

Over the past 14 years working at Rous, Luke has grown close with his team.

I just feel grateful to be working in a great atmosphere where there’s a small group of us who work so closely that it’s like family, you know how others are thinking and it just works well. The teams in the office have our back and are just a phone call away. I don’t think I’d find something like this anywhere else.”