From devastating landslides in the wake of Cyclone Jasper to the closure of Mossman's sugar mill, 2024 has been a year that will remain forever etched in the hearts of Douglas Shire residents.

In a series of 12 articles from each month of the year, Newsport Daily looks back on some of the biggest stories that have impacted Douglas locals the most.

JANUARY

Last December heavy rainfall on the back of Ex Tropical Cyclone Jasper caused a huge landslide to tumble right through the garden of one Daintree family’s home, uprooting trees, destroying creeks banks and in the process nearly wiping the house clean out.

Sitting inside at the time were the Gasper family, or Fruit Aquarian, as they're known on instagram.

The family are self-sufficient and rely on the fruit and vegetables from their garden to feed themselves - they reside at the base of Noah's Hill in an area near iconic Thornton's Peak.

Ex Tropical Cyclone Jasper brought extreme winds late last December but it was the torrential rain in the days afterwards and the massive landslide that ended up causing damage to the Gaspers' property.

“It was a Sunday around midnight, there was a loud rumbling sound for 10 minutes. After that all we could smell was mud, it was even getting hard to breathe… that’s when we knew it was a major landslide," Mr Gasper said.

As the drone picture depicts, the huge landslide stopped just short of continuing on to damage their house, which is just out of shot in the drone picture.

The landslide, did however, crash through Mr Gaspar’s Garden and also directly into his neighbours’ house. Soon afterwards Mr Gasper helped the SES move his neighbours to safety.

While repairs on the family’s garden are well underway, Mr Gaspar believes the most challenging factor is that the roads were so badly damaged near his property that he is unable to receive supplies to strengthen the banks of the widened creek which is now dangerously close to their house.

This could threaten the Gasper family’s self-sufficient lifestyle if erosion continues.