Torn apart by tropical cyclone Marcia in February 2015, Nerimbera Magpies are finally nearing full strength after being sustained by a rallying sense of community spirit.
Nerimbera, based just outside of Rockhampton in Central Queensland, lost their entire clubhouse almost 18 months ago when the category five cyclone ripped through the region and destroyed up to 350 homes.
Countless hours of hard work and generous donations have since enabled the rebuilding of the clubhouse to near completion.
Nerimbera president Rick England says the new facility will provide the 106-year-old club with a stable base for progress.
“We’ll be able to have some revenue coming into the club,” England explained.
“We’ve had nothing coming in for the last one and a half years, without having the facilities to run a canteen.
“That’s the only way we can get money into the club. The last two years have been very tough just to survive.”
After repairing and replacing damaged infrastructure, restoring water and lighting and clearing away the remaining wreck, the club returned to hosting matches at their Pilbeam Park home in April of this year.
Established way back in 1910, Nerimbera had plenty of support to call on in their arduous road to regeneration.
“We’ve been around for a long time and a lot of people in this town have either played here or had something to do with the club,” England said.
“There has been a lot of help from businesses and just people in general helping us out. It’s been a rough time but we’re getting there.”
Dates are now being finalised for the grand opening of the historic community icon’s new clubhouse.
England is excited to make the most of the fresh start.
“It’s been a long two years so it will be awesome to get back in there and run things from up top,” he said.