No sooner had he set up camp with his wife and children in the border township than it too was under threat of floodwater — several residential areas in Echuca ordered to evacuate as the Murray River rose substantially.
Mr Cuttriss, who had been travelling back to Rochester on a daily basis until Saturday, was relying on news from neighbours to the new family home he is building on Cohen Rd — to the east of the Rochester township and, more importantly, the Campaspe River.
His final attempt to check on the new property, on Saturday, almost went pear shaped when he was turned back by Nanneella floodwater.
“I got to a mate’s farm at Nanneella and had to head back to Moama. It got a bit hairy,” he said.
The new home, though, was not front of mind for the community minded sportsman and school teacher.
“Our new home is the furthest thing from our mind after seeing what our families and mates are going through,” he said.
“We are all safe, which is the most important thing.”
Mr Cuttriss was part of a sand-bagging volunteer army in Rochester’s west on Friday, not really knowing what was happening with his new family home.
On Sunday he received news that water had not infiltrated the new building site.
“A neighbour in Cohen Rd went to check on it for us. There water all around the house, but it hadn’t got inside,” he said.
“There was a little bit of water in the shed, but considering some of the stories I have heard I can live with that.”
Mr Cuttriss said, compared to a lot of other people, he felt very lucky.
“We were hoping to brick this week, and put up plaster. That will have to wait,” he said.
Mr Cuttriss said he had seen some drone footage of Cohen Rd and some homes had water lapping at their front door.
From a school point of view he said the Department of Education was considering its options.
“We look like having nine teachers from Tongala affected by the floods, if all things go badly in Echuca,” he said.
Classes at Tongala were affected by teacher absences on Friday as they attempted to prepare their homes for floodwater.
Mr Cuttriss did say other schools had fared much worse, in particular the Rochester primary and secondary schools, where all buildings were affected.
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