As we head into a new summer, I think it is always good to reflect on and learn from what has been. It is also good to remember how our people tried their best to keep communities connected across this wide land in summers past. Last summer brought with it some of the most devastating and frightening weather events Australians had ever seen, from bushfires to cyclones, storms and flooding. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures, and some wonderful stories were being told about how the Telstra Operations team responded to these natural disasters.

2. Telstra’s Global Operations Centre provides 24/7
monitoring across all Telstra networks, including
working with emergency services and field groups to
establish restoration priorities during emergency
incidents.

3. Royston Bruce jointing a
new section of 800 pair
cable damaged in the
floods at Rocklea (Qld).

4. Road access was a huge issue, a bridge at
Jugiong, NSW.

5. John ‘Tack’ Hewett rows a boat
across a customer’s paddock to
get to the job (Vic).

6. During the summer’s
inclement weather even the
wildlife had to find alternative
accommodation (NSW).

7. The BigPond® branding and the lady diving on the
side of the van is quite ironic considering the
situation.
Location: Outside the Rochester Post Office, (Vic).

8. Brad Shaw from Beaufort on the
Quambatook-Wychitell Road, Barraport
West, near Boort (Vic).

9. Peter Hickey from Mildura (Vic) checks out his
mud mags.

10. Peter O'Loughlan, wading through water to get to a
job. The water was caused by Lake Boort overflowing
and inundating the Yando/Boort area (Vic).

11. Parked in a paddock near Moore Exchange (Qld) are
(l-r) Marshall Watego, Laurie Kipping and Bob Lang.

12. Dave Webb took this shot of the Black Hawk’s
arrival at Theodore (Qld) and was on hand to help
unload equipment.

13. St George Exchange (Qld) was wrapped in
plastic and sandbagged by Steve
Strugnell and Shane Golding.

14. When
everything is
wet you have to
share the dry
spots.

15. Road access
was a major
issue.
A road just
north of Esk,
South East
Queensland.

16. John Parkin
chatting with a
local across a
washed-out bridge
just outside of
Murphy’s Creek
(Qld).
"How's services
mate? Are you still
connected?"
"Yup, no worries
and thanks for
asking."

17. Working to restore services to Mt Sylvia (Qld)
residents are (l-r) John Mason and Eric Walsh.

18. Andrew Greenstreet from Christchurch,
one of the 29 NZ volunteers, helps repair a
MDF at St Lucia (Qld). Note the watermarks
on the wall – well above Andrew’s head.

19. Radio linesman Dave
Noonan finishes
mopping out the
Rocklea (Qld) site. The
water reached the
ceiling, quite a feat
considering the hut is
three metres off the
ground.

20. At Bushland Beach, Townsville (Qld).

21. Clint Dickson set up
a Satellite Cell on
Wheels on Palm
Island (Qld).

22. Matt Totterdell and Roger Williams replacing a 400
pair copper cable, Carnarvon (WA).
Their team manager at the time advised, “These guys
had just got changed out of their wet clothes five
minutes before this downpour.”

23. A 500 kilogram Brahman Bull lying on our cable was
just one problem the Broome (WA) crew faced.

24. A Carnarvon (WA) RIM roadside cabinet sits
high and dry.

25. A payphone outside the BP service station
in Carnarvon (WA) didn’t fare so well.

26. Dale Richards undertaking
repairs to burnt out
copper cables, after fires
at Lake Clifton (WA).

27. Techs Craig Liddle and Peter
Stone trying to secure
temporary cable to the
trees to prevent it floating
onto the Great Northern
Highway (WA).

28. Due to the reoccurring nibbles on the cable, the
culprit was christened the ‘Kimberley cougar’ by
the Broome (WA) team. The legend of the ‘cougar’
is right up there with the Loch Ness
Monster, Nullarbor Nymph and the Abominable
Snowman.

29. A number of Telstra team members involved in
Cyclone Yasi recovery efforts were invited to meet His
Royal Highness Prince William on Saturday, 19 March.
Below: Brian Crane meets Prince William.

30. In recognition of the
efforts Telstra teams put in
during the Queensland
floods and Cyclone Yasi,
Telstra has won the
Community Contribution
award at the 2011
Communications Alliance
& CommsDay ACOMM
Awards in Sydney on
7 July 2011.

31. The Australian Institute of Management
recognised ourNorthern Region Disaster
Recovery team at a state-level with a
Queensland Project of the Year Award

32. Telstra Operations thanks families of team members
“I am always in awe of the patience and understanding of
our employees’ family members; the
mums, dads, wives, husbands, brothers, sisters, sons and
daughters; who put up with the absence of their loved one
for weeks-on-end during the restoration phase.
After crises such as these, it is understood that birthdays,
anniversaries and other important family milestones are
sometimes missed. Words cannot convey how grateful we
are to our people’s families for their support during this
time.”
– Mick Cooper, Team Manager, Service Delivery West

33. Jason Wade, leaving Grantham (Qld), 18/01/11.