“It’ll basically drown the grass and roots, then we’d have to start all over again.”

When he was on the boat floating above his beloved grass, he was shocked.

“It was surreal,” Mr Fenech says. “I couldn’t come to grips with it. Just to see it like that is incredible.”

Several neighbouring turf farms are also flooded and Mr Fenech worries for them too.

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“The whole industry in the Hawkesbury’s gone now - the silt will ruin them, they’ll just end up with all this soil on top of their grass.

The boat's return journey to Mr Innes's and Mr Streat's homes passes over Lynwood Country Club golf course as the boat squeezes underneath powerlines and the depth gauge touches 9.8 metres.

Neighbour and friend Mr Innes says he feels for Mr Fenech and what he's lost.

"Muz has been my best mate for 35 years. He'd give you the shirt off his back."

Mr Innes is lucky his own house is just above the flood line, and he now has 270-degree water views.

Sitting on the boat and looking back, he quips: "How good does my place look from the water! It looks like Hunters Hill."

Mr Streat, who lives next door to Mr Innes, is holding the fort after his wife and kids evacuated on Sunday.

When he woke before dawn on Monday, he managed to rescue his chicken, Yasmin.

"I grabbed the excavator and drove through the water to get the boat ... and paddled over there," Mr Streat says.

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"I only found Yasmin - she only had her head above water, the poor thing. So I cut the top of the mesh open and pulled her out.

On Tuesday, Pitt Town residents braved the incessant rain to gather at the high-water mark and share stories as they mark this historic moment together.

It's the kind of community spirit Mr Fenech says will ensure everyone recovers.

"The community comes together to help each other. That’s what I love about being down there. We all pitch in and help each other," he says.

While the support doesn't stem the financial losses, it still makes a difference.

"Having friends and family there to support you when you’re in need – that's living."