flood

It was the ‘great flood’ of 1893 that set the standard for the Brisbane River. This event is memorable, among other things, for destroying the Victoria Bridge and the Indooroopilly Railway Bridge and for stranding three ships in the Brisbane Botanic Gardens. In the case of beer production, the 1893 flood was most interesting because of its conspicuous effect on several of the many breweries which then operated in and around Brisbane. In particular, it inflicted major damage on one of the city’s biggest beer producers, the West End Brewery. Of the five breweries in Brisbane at the beginning of 1893, the West End suffered the most from the devastating flood in February of that year. At the height of the flood, the water had risen up to the windows on the second storey of the tower, and all the dwellings in the immediate neighborhood were completely or nearly submerged. When the waters receded, the extent of the damage was revealed; the brewery tower remained, but the surrounding timber buildings were completely wrecked. The brewery had been surrounded by water during an earlier flood in March 1890, but compared to the 1893 event, that of 1890 was only a minor inconvenience. A curious side-effect of the 1893 flood was an increase in drunkenness at South Brisbane and certain other places, due to the kegs of beer—said to number 500 hogsheads—that floated away from the West End Brewery. Some were taken to the railway embankment, the nearest high ground, and broached. Others washed ashore at the foot of Bowen Terrace, downstream on the other side of the river. The resulting scenes of misconduct were said to be ‘disgusting in the extreme’. Men were seen ‘drinking all they could and then quarrelling for possession of the cask containing the balance.’ Source: brewsnews.com.au/queenslands-breweries-in-the-1893-flood/

Built around a tidal river, some 20 km from Moreton Bay, Brisbane often floods, usually in conjunction with La Niña events bringing heavy wet conditions and cyclonic activity across the state. ‘Surviving the river’ has subsequently become an integral part of the city’s history and people’s experience of living in Brisbane. In the aftermath of floods, communities have pulled together while governments have sometimes rallied behind ambitious schemes aimed at modifying, controlling, and predicting the river. Brisbane may experience a variety of different floods throughout the year. Flash flooding in creeks is not uncommon and results from high rainfall over the Brisbane metropolitan area. Because the Brisbane River is tidal, storm surges may contribute to flooding particularly if it coincides with a high tide. River floods are less frequent though potentially more damaging. Following heavy rainfall across the catchment, water may remain above flood height for several days causing extensive backwater flooding along smaller tributaries such as the Bremer River and Oxley Creek. Throughout Brisbane’s history, the flood has repeatedly brought challenges and demanded a response, however, they have also continued to raise important questions regarding the settlement of the floodplain, where the persistent threat of flood has often been ignored and the lessons of the past easily forgotten. Source: www.qhatlas.com.au/brisbane-floods-1893-summer-sorrow

Between Wowan and Goovigen in Banana Shire, Central Queensland lies a distinctive landscape feature of the Fitzroy Basin. Three rivers—the Dee and Don Rivers and Callide Creek—converge, sometimes with dramatic consequences, on a three-pronged floodplain. The DeeDon-Callide floodplain is approximately 37 km long, up to five km wide, and about 16,000 ha in area. Complex patterns of water flow ensure that it is rich in wetland features: channels, waterholes, ponds and swamps. Major floods are a constant concern during the wet season at Calliungal and historically the station has experienced some huge losses of cattle. In 1928, about 2000 head of Calliungal cattle were drowned or lost: “The animals went down in hordes. On all sides along the course of the river the beasts were tossed and swirled, some being caught in the branches of trees and others going downstream to be drowned and thrown on the banks for miles down.” And “the sight of cattle suspended in trees 20 to 30 feet from the ground was sufficient evidence that the losses sustained by stock being swept away are very heavy.” 1 Mark Collins recalls that in one such flood, a dead bullock from Calliungal washed up in Rockhampton; Source: wetlandinfo.des.qld.gov.au/resources/static/pdf/resources...