The only thing is, it’s growing.
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An elderly couple is waiting to find out when it will be safe to return to their home west of Brisbane after their backyard started to disappear down a century-old mine shaft.
Lynn, and her husband, Ray McKay were woken up by their neighbor on an eventful morning, when they got to know about the sinkhole.
It is thought the sinkhole developed over a disused mining shaft that dates back to the early 1900s.
“I can assure Ray and Lynn they won’t be alone”. The couple lost everything back in 2011 when floodwaters inundated their home, the Courier Mail also reported.
O’Neill said everyone was taking the process step by step.
Pisasale said arrangements had been made for the McKays to stay at a hotel so they can have “some peace of mind”.
“If they have to move then there would be another option but at the moment I’m not trying to stress my parents out”.
Council workers have put up fencing.
The town’s mayor said the state’s Department of Mines will send a team to investigate.
“When the cap sunk, the water has come up, that is initial assessment”.
Local authorities believe an abandoned mine could be to blame for the giant eight-metre hole.
“I’ve lived here for near 41 years, so I’ve never seen anything like this before in my life”, neighbour Darryl Preston told Australian Nine Network. John Campbell talks to property owners Ray and Lyn McKay.
Mines Minister Anthony Lynham said an earthmoving contractor had been bought in to help.
“And once it’s filled, where’s the water going to go”.
“It’s probably about two feet away at the moment, but we expect it to survive”, Mr Pisasale said.
“We would say (the whole process could take) somewhere between seven or 14 days, but again it is only an estimate and would depend on the type of material and rehabilitation techniques we would use”.
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Experts have ruled out that the McKay’s house will be affected by the sinkhole, but it is creeping ever closer to that Australian icon, the Hills Hoist rotary clothes line.
