QUEENSLAND FLOOD SUMMARY 1860 - 1869

Extracts from: Results of Rainfall Observations made in Queensland, H.A. Hunt, Commonwealth Meteorologist, 1914.

1862

29th March to 1st April

Heavy rain at Gladstone. The Calliope and Boyne Rivers rose exceedingly high and flooded a large portion of the district. Several farmers compelled to leave their head stations and seek shelter as best they could. Great numbers of sheep swept away, and a man lost his life whilst attempting to swim across a creek.

Maryborough: Very heavy rains in Wide Bay and Burnett districts. The Gayndah mail a week behind time in consequence of a flood in the Barambah.

Rockhampton: Heavy rain commenced on 29th and continued until the night of 31st, when the storm increased. On the morning of 1st April the river reached its highest level, not less than 20 feet above the highest spring tides.

Reports on the 31st stated that 2,000 sheep had been drowned about a mile from the town, and that the back country was under water for miles.

The Messrs. Archer sailed 7 miles from their head station at Gracemere to within a short distance of the town. The new saw-mill was covered. The water extended from the town as far as the eye could reach, and actually communicated with the Yeppen Yeppen, which rose 18 feet. The wharves and boat sheds were covered, but appeared to suffer no material damage.

5th April

Yaamba: An unprecedented flood in the Fitzroy; highest water level reached by river so far at this township. Some of the farms recently laid out near Alligator Creek were about 2 fathoms under water. Traffic at a standstill. The Calliope and Boyne Rivers in the Port Curtis District overflowed their banks in consequence of the heavy rains, and inundated a large extent of country. One man lost his life while attempting to swim a swollen creek; much damage was done, several hundreds of sheep being washed away.

21st April

Rockhampton: Fresh in the river caused by the late heavy rains considerably decreased, and river almost at its ordinary level.

The Nogoa, Mackenzie, Comet, Isaacs, and the Connors Rivers rose slightly, but the lower part of the Dawson was very high. The whole of the country between Rannes and the River Dee - a distance of 14 miles - was flooded, whilst at the township of Rannes the rise in the river was about 40 feet. In the vicinity of Knebsworth the Dawson rose 30 feet above its usual height.

The Upper Dawson was not flooded, though heavy rains fell in the locality.

The rise was very rapid at Yaamba, and the river reached its greatest height, which was within 6 feet of the level of the township about twelve hours earlier than at Rockhampton.

26th June: Ipswich: The late rains caused a considerable rise in the Bremer, and all traffic was carried by punts.

1st July: Dalby: Owing to heavy rainfall about Warwick, the Condamine rose about 10 feet; passage of drays blocked.

1863

16th January: Heavy flood on the Fitzroy River.

24th January: Severe floods on the Fitzroy River.

26th January: Ipswich: Brisbane River bank high (see Rainfall (Heavy).

30th January: Ipswich: Bremer River still rising, and the Brisbane a banker.

2nd February: Ipswich: Bremer rapidly falling. At the height of the flood a shed on the river bank was about 15 feet under water.

7th February (about): Dalby: Condamine River bank high.

9th to 19th February: Maryborough: Heavy storms of wind and rain; Mary River a great height, wharves submerged; steamers compelled to anchor in mid-stream; Union Saw-mills flooded on the 13th; boats employed to remove resident families from lower part of ground; scrub road to the farms at the south east of the town impassable.

1lth February: Ellangowan, neat Toowoomba: The Condamine River swollen; highest level for years.

13th and 16th February: Severe floods at Brisbane, Ipswich, and places elsewhere.

17th February:

Brisbane: Great deal of damage done by floods; road to Ipswich impassable; Oxley Creek residents flooded out; hundreds of acres of land under water; machinery at the mill affected, work stopped; Frog's Hollow under water; telegraphic communication with Sydney interrupted. River 40 feet above ordinary level.

Taroom: Plenty of rain in the district; Dawson River flooded, and for some clays impassable at the township; bridge under water. A few hundred sheep lost through flood.

18th to 20th February: Ipswich: Heavy rain fell incessantly from the 12th until the 15th, and caused the highest flood, except that of 18,11, on record. Stores along the wharves swept away; roads and creeks impassable; ferry house and several small buildings on the banks of gullies and other low-lying positions inundated; creek at One-mile Bridge a roaring torrent, telegraph posts submerged; Rosewood township partly under water; Nelson Plains one sheet of water.

19th February: Floods throughout the country; fearful gales on coast.

20th and 21st February: Toowoomba: One of the most violent storms of wind and rain experienced occurred. Heavy and continuous rain; streets almost impassable; creeks unfordable. The greater portion of the lowlands between Laidley and Ipswich one sea of water; Dalby mail delayed.

Warwick: One of the most disastrous floods ever experienced in the district occurred. On the night of the 20th a fearful storm caused much damage. The Condamine rose and flooded the flats; Rosenthal Creek in flood; wash-pools and bridges destroyed; 4 feet of water around telegraph posts at the Warwick Post Office.

26th February: Surat: Floods on the Dogwood Creek; great losses.

27th February:

Ipswich: Macintyre River unfordable; it rose a few feet during the week.

Gayndah: Great rain and wind storms. Burnett River in flood, 40 feet above ordinary level; highest flood in the district for six years. A number of sheep drowned; garden produce, domestic utensils, etc., washed away.

Condamine: Heavy rain lately; river a banker, highest level reached for years.

27th February (about): Leyburn: Abundance of rain; Condamine River for some days several feet above the bridge at Ellangowan. Great number of sheep swept away by the flood. At Yandilla the residents were compelled to climb trees to escape the flood waters.

4th March: Peak Downs: Country flooded; roads impassable; provisions scarce.

9th March: Gayndah: It was reported that one of the up country stations lost 2,000 sheep, and several others lesser numbers during the late storm and flood.

16th March: Maryborough: Some persons injured whilst attempting to cross flooded rivers; roads in very bad state; mails delayed.

17th March: Flood in Queen-street, Brisbane; very heavy fall of rain; shops and dwelling-houses flooded. (See Rainfall (Heavy) ).

28th March: McIntyre River: Long, continued spell of wet weather; floods experienced on all the rivers to the westward.

13th April: Gayndah: Burnett River impassable for last two months.

23rd April: Brisbane: The late rain caused floods over the low-lying ground at Milton and in Fortitude Valley.

25th April: Ipswich: Bremer River rose 15 feet; water within a few inches of the One-mile bridge; rain ceased; no further rise.

20th June: Goondiwindi: Heavy rains; roads almost navigable; river swollen; mails delayed.

6th to 9th July: Warwick: Highest flood known for many years in the McIntyre Brook occurred; the water rose to a great height in the neighbourhood of Pike's Creek.

10th October: Goondiwindi: Roads on many occasions during past nine months covered with water, generally about knee deep; rivers impassable.

13th October: Talgai: Floods; bridge at the Condamine submerged.

3rd December: Ipswich: Continuous rain; flood at Three-Mile bridge; western road impassable.

16th December: Peak Downs Diggings: Copious rains; Belyando River a banker; Mackenzie high; Fitzroy (at Yaamba) swollen.

1864

3rd to 10th February: Goondiwindi: Rain poured down incessantly. The river rose, overflowed its narrow limits, rushed down the streets, and flooded the houses. It remained at its height for two days, then slowly abated.

5th February: Ipswich: Owing to heavy rains communication with the interior cut off and the Warwick mailman forced to return to Ipswich; creek at Fassifern bank and bank; Bremer River rising rapidly.

8th February (from Courier files, 8th to 13th February, 1864):-

The weather has been very tempestuous and rainy during the early part of the week, and the Bremer and Brisbane Rivers rose above their usual flood-tide levels, Very slight inconvenience was felt in Brisbane from the overflow, the proprietors of warehouses on the waterside having taken timely precautions to prevent damage to property by removing their goods. At Ipswich, however, the ferry house was submerged, and the gauging shed was considerably damaged, and several of the wharves were flooded. Steam traffic between the two towns was temporarily suspended. Man drowned whilst attempting to cross the river at Ipswich."

18th February: -Rockhampton: River within a few feet of the summit of the second bank; low-lying huts, boathouses, and other buildings submerged. Portion of the low-lying land below Crocodile Creek flooded. Country reports indicate a general rise in rivers and creeks. Two deaths by drowning chronicled.

20th February: Heavy floods throughout colony.

23rd February: Leyburn: Flood-one of the heaviest experienced for some years; low lands of the Downs in many places several feet under water; mails delayed for days; roads impassable; 300 sheep carried away by the flood.

4th to 10th March: Lower Condamine: Steady and continuous rain; creeks flooded.

6th March: Maryborough: Great quantities of rain during past fortnight; impossible for teams to cross creeks.

8th March: Floods at Toowoomba (from Courier files 15th to l8th March, 1864): "The rain increased on Tuesday, 8th March, and its effect was speedily apparent in the great body of water that passed down the western swamp at the foot of James-street. The flood in the evening was within 12 inches of the roadway over the Premier bridge in Russell-street, or 2 feet higher than the highest flood level previously known. The streets are, in many parts, 6 to 8 inches deep in mud and slush."

9th March (from Courier files, 15th to l8th March, 1864): The Rockhampton Bulletin of 10th inst. says- . . . The Fitzroy again exhibits signs of an approaching flood - last night the wharves were submerged 3 or 4 feet, and the waters were rising rapidly. (See Rainfall (Heavy) )

12th March: West Maranoa: The heaviest rains ever seen in the district, by either blacks or whites, occurred about the beginning of the month. Rain commenced on the 26th February and continued for thirteen days and nights, except for occasional breaks of an hour or so. One spell of rain lasted for 48 hours without a break. Creeks and rivers swollen; roads quite impassable. Continuous rain also fell between 2nd and l4th February, which caused record floods on the Maranoa and Balonne; and this later rain was expected to cause floods of even more severe nature.

16th March: Brown River: Higher floods in the Dawson, Mimosa, and Brown Rivers than ever known before; Dawson 11 feet higher than previous flood.

17th to l9th March:

Flood and gale at Brisbane and Ipswich (from the Courier files, l9th to 22nd March, 1864): Very seldom indeed is the neighbourhood of Brisbane visited by a gale of wind of so lengthy a duration and of so violent a character as that which commenced on Thursday night last (17th March) and terminated on Saturday. It was throughout accompanied by heavy and continuous rains, which beat into the windows of the best-protected houses, and did a great deal of damage generally. Between the hours of 9 a.m. on Friday until 9 a.m. on Saturday no less than 6.72 inches of rain fell; and in such a manner as to defy every effort made to subvert its penetrating power. Out of doors umbrellas were useless, and indoors the rain made its way under eaves through crevices in shingles - in fact, it came in in every conceivable way. On Saturday night the river began to rise, and it was evident that a flood was impending. The telegraph posts at the One-mile Creek Bridge, Ipswich, which had been raised 20 feet higher than they were at the flood of 1863, were swept away, although they had been let into the ground to a depth of 9 feet and supported by struts. The water at Brisbane rose throughout the whole of Sunday, and at 4 o'clock in the afternoon Albert-street, from Alice-street to Charlotte-street, was impassable, and many, of the residents of Frog's Hollow had to abandon their tenements. Raft's Wharf was 5 feet under water, as also were Harris's, Forrests', and Towns'. The water went up Russell-street as far as Mr. Kinchela's store. At the 3 miles scrub the water rose 25 feet above the ordinary level. At Milton much damage was done, and the whole of the cemeteries were under water. (See Windstorms.)

Gayndah: After a brief cessation, rain again set in; continuous rain from evening of the 17th until the morning of the 18th. The river rose; communication between the town and the mountain cut off, except by boat. The Barambah Creek rose 40 feet, and at Nanango it was higher than on any previous occasion within the memory of the residents.

17th March (about): Leyburn: Heavy rain again set in; Condamine River and the creeks again flooded; plains near Ellangowan entirely under water; heavy rain at Callandoon.

18th and 19th March: Toowoomba: Heavy rains for some weeks past. At 10 p.m. on the 18th the river commenced to rise at the rate of 3 feet an hour, and families settled on the premises of the Union Sawmills were taken off in boats. On the 19th several houses began to float, and farms adjacent to the town were flooded. The flood rose 2 feet higher than that of 1857 and reached nearly to the eaves of a shipping store 25 feet above the level of the wharf. Bridge in Kent-street covered by water to a depth of 1 foot or more.

18th to 20th March: Maryborough: Terrific storm of wind and rain. The water rose rapidly and reached a height of 8 feet over the watermark of last year. Much damage to buildings, &c.; greatest flood in district since the first white settlement.

19th March: Warwick: The Condamine at Warwick rose 20 feet. The whole of that part of the town called "The Flat" under water, and the people forced to remove elsewhere. Great devastation occasioned.

19th to 22nd March:
From the Courier files from 19th to 22nd March, 1864: Deluge at Dalby: "Our Dalby correspondent reports a perfect deluge in the Dalby district. The Condamine River and Canal and Thaw Creeks are in flood, and for several days communication between the eastern and western portions of the town has been cut off whilst the principal street has been converted into a canal."

From the Courier files from 23rd to 30th March, 1864: Flood damage at Oxley Creek. A large amount of property has been destroyed at Oxley Creek by the late floods. All the farmers on the Brisbane side of the creek were compelled to leave their houses, and camp on the high ground in the neighbourhood of Cooper's Plains. On the opposite side very few were driven out. Mc'Donald's Hotel was submerged to the eaves, and a sheet of water extended from the new sawmills, situated near the junction of the creek with the river, to the high land at the back of Cooper's Plains, a distance of nearly 7 miles. River rose 18 feet above the level reached during the flood that occurred about a fortnight ago, and 10 feet above that of the flood of March, 1863.

From the Courier files from 4th to 9th April, 1864: Details of the floods in the west given. The Moonie and Balonne joined and formed a sheet of water over 25 miles wide. At one place fifteen horses stood for nine days in the water; nine of them died, and the six survivors had their tails and manes eaten off. Mr. Beck, of Canmaroo, lost 250 rams, and Mrs. Browne, of Southwood, lost 1,500 out of 1,800 sheep. It was reported that four men were drowned on the lower part of the Moonie.

21st March : Knebsworth : At least 70 or 80 feet of water in the river; nearly all the town flooded.

23rd March:
Brisbane: The greatest amount of damage by the recent floods occurred at South Brisbane, Frog's Hollow, and Fortitude Valley. For many miles along the banks of the river farmers were flooded out, and crops, furniture, and in some cases their habitations, swept away. Stone jetty at Cleveland completely swept away during a gale on the 18th.
Ipswich: Ipswich surrounded by impassable rivers and creeks; immense damage caused. At Gatton the creek rose 15 feet higher than ever known before.

24th March: Dalby: Fearful floods. Old residents stated that the Condamine was 7 feet higher than on any previous occasion. Losses among sheep very heavy; embankments of a bridge at Myall Creek washed away.

26th March: Rockhampton: River commenced to fall. The mailman who left Brown River (Comet district) on the l9th brought news as follows: Unable to reach Springsure; Brown River three-quarters of a mile wide; flood at Knebsworth (Dawson River) 12 feet higher than on any previous occasion.
29th March-Yandilla: Country for 6 miles around Yandilla under water for last three weeks; from the head station to Connor's, a distance of 16 miles, the entire surface of the country was from 2 to 4 feet under water.

31st March:
Toowoomba: Incessant rains, which fell at times in torrents. Roads in a most dreadful condition; bridges swept away; serious losses sustained by all classes. Goondiwindi, Condamine, and Dawson mails eighteen days overdue. Eye witnesses declared the Condamine to be 2 miles wide in places.
Maryborough: Roads fearfully cut up by floods; some of the streets of the town impassable; bridge on the road to the scrub farm carried away, and access to the farm by horse or dray impossible.
Rockhampton: Floods subsided. Considerable damage done to wharfs and approaches to the river. The level reached by the river in February was 6 inches lower than - that attained by the February flood of 1859; but this recent flood was 2 feet higher than any yet experienced.

March: Upper Warrego: Floods; roads impassable.

2nd April: Brisbane: Two hundred teams stuck up on the road between Ipswich and Toowoomba. Highways throughout interior in impassable state after heavy rains; distressing accounts of destruction received from the northern and interior districts; several lives lost.

4th April: Condamine: Loss of property on Maranoa tremendous; Mr. Tooth's station at Maryvale swept away; several people lost all their sheep.

9th April: Brisbane: Accounts from the distant interior were to the effect that the floods extended to the furthest limits of settlement. On the Moonie River a considerable loss of stock and other property was caused by unusual rise and spread of the waters beyond all former limits.

5th May: Toowoomba: Mr. S. Heyland stated that the whole of his premises (Callone Stores) at Balonne River were swept away by the late flood. He said, " There have been great floods down here. We had no mails for seven weeks. The water came down in the night; before daylight it was in the house, and before sundown it was 12 feet over it."

5th to 10th August: Ipswich: Heavy and almost continuous rain; river rose; wharfs many feet under water; One-mile bridge impassable rifle butts under water.

1865

9th June
Brisbane: The recent rains were not confined to the Brisbane district, but extended generally over the colony. The Auburn River (at Auburn?) rose 22 feet during the night, or nearly 2 feet per hour.

17th June: Gayndah-Mails to Dalby, Taroom, Nanango, and Walla were brought back by mailman; creeks in each direction in high flood after recent rains.

19th September: Gayndah: The Burnett on 18th a mere mill stream, but on l9th it was a wide river. The creek at Baramba rose 30 feet, and the water was, at one time, 15 feet over the low-water bridge. The stonework at the ends of the bridge was much damaged, and the approaches on both sides were completely torn up by the water. The Burnett quickly fell again to it summer level.

22nd September: Brisbane: Some damage done to the dam in course of erection at the Enoggera Creek waterworks by a heavy fall of rain.

1866

27th January: Bowen: Roads impassable; rivers high, team unable to cross.

27th October: A terrific storm occurred at Brisbane; town flooded and some buildings unroofed.

28th November: Cleveland Bay: The Upper Burdekin rose 2 or 3 feet in consequence of the heavy fall of rain.

10th to l2th December: Brisbane: Almost incessant rain since 2 a.m. on the 10th inst.; creeks and water-courses overflowed lower parts of South Brisbane flooded to a considerable extent. A.S.N. Co.'s wharf covered; a foot of water in the shed. Total rainfall from 2 a.m. Sunday, 9th, to 9 p.m. Wednesday, 12th 5.75 inches. At 9 a.m. on llth inst. the water was within 3 fee of the by-wash at Enoggera Reservoir, and rising at the rate of 4 inches per hour. At 1.30 a.m., l2th, the depth of the overflow was 9 inches. By 5 p.m., the 11th, all the wharfs at Ipswich on the southern bank were several feet under water, while there were 3 or 4 feet of water in the sheds; water almost level with the top of the Railway wharf at North Ipswich, and about 10 feet above its ordinary level at high water.

11th December: Tremendous storm at The Kogan, about 35 miles north west of Dalby; rain fell in torrents; road covered with water; creeks impassable; Condamine River within 6 inches of the underside of bridge.

1867

1st February
Brisbane: The recent heavy rain caused floods on low and excavated land and basement floors of buildings in several portions of the town.
Ipswich: At about 12.30 p.m. the Bremer River had risen 20 feet at the Ipswich wharfs, and was still rising; the One-mile Creek bridge at Little Ipswich was submerged; the railway at Walloon flooded, and traffic suspended. The embankments upon the line, 4 miles from Gatton, were washed away. A man and a team of horses were drowned while trying to cross the creek at Helidon.

2nd February: Serious floods at Brisbane, Ipswich, and in parts of the country.

10th April: Taroom: Dawson River flooded.

21st April: Severe flood and gale at Brisbane and Ipswich; loss of life occurred; houses unroofed; damage done to new Victoria Bridge works.

26th to 28th April: Brisbane: During the most of the week ending 27th April, the weather was very unsettled, and on Friday, the 26th, rain commenced to fall steadily, and continued with but little intermission all day on Saturday. Soon after midnight on Saturday the rain, which had been falling in heavy showers accompanied by squalls of wind, commenced to descend in torrents. The wind also increased in violence, and the storm raged furiously until about 2.30, when there was a temporary lull. Shortly before 4 o'clock the gale again increased, but gradually subsided, though the rain continued to fall incessantly until daylight. In consequence of this heavy rain the river rose, and never within the last twenty years have the indications of a flood shown themselves within so short a period. The river at high water on Sunday was on a level with the highest spring tides, although the present are dead neaps. Between 8 and 9 o'clock at night, which would have been about half ebb, the water had fallen 2 feet. The two lowest wharfs in the town were covered. A strong current was running down the river all Sunday, carrying with it large quantities of drift timber in single logs and rafts as well as other debris, evidently washed off the banks of the river.

The railway line between Gatton and Walloon was submerged. Many of the dwelling houses situated in the lower parts of Brisbane were flooded. Fences were blown down in all directions, windows smashed, roofs damaged, verandahs carried away, and trees blown out of the ground.

The following interesting meteorological facts in connexion with the gale were supplied to the press by the Rev. J. Bliss, the Government Meteorologist:

" A gale of very unusual intensity visited the neighbourhood of Brisbane on the night between Saturday and Sunday, but from the observations taken at the time there is reason to think that only the outskirts of the storm reached us. The wind appeared to come from a little north of east, but the darkness was so thick that it was impossible to see the vane, and therefore the direction can only be guessed at. The following is the record of the barometer reduced to 32 degrees Fahr. and to the sea-level:

Saturday, at 9 a.m., 29.893; 3 p.m., 29.740; 9 p.m., 29.708. Sunday, at 1.30 a.m., 29.414; 3.30 a.m., 29.334; 9 a.m., 29.578.

It will be seen that the barometer on Saturday, at 9 a.m. was low; but at 3 p.m. only a little lower than might have been expected; but the reading at 9 p.m. clearly indicated the vicinity of bad weather, and on Sunday morning, from 3 to 6, it was blowing a strong gale. The actual force of the wind as experienced here would hardly account for the low reading of the barometer at 3.30 a.m. which is the lowest on record since 4th December, 1863. At this time the gale was at its height, but shortly after that hour it began to moderate, and the barometer slowly to rise.

The rainfall has been as follows :-

At Breakfast Creek many trees were uprooted, and two horses were killed by trees falling on them. One of the most curious effects of the wind on Saturday night was the destruction of a small wooden cottage situated in a gully near the oval. During the night, while the occupants were in bed, the wind lifted the house bodily from its foundation, leaving the floor intact, and carried it to a distance of 8 or 10 yards.

When the steamer Brisbane left Ipswich at 9.30 a.m. on Monday the water was fully 30 feet above the level of the ordinary high tide. The water was at its highest about 2 o'clock on Sunday afternoon, when it was 10 feet higher than at the time the steamer left. In spite of the exertions of the men employed to clear the bridge of the accumulation of drift timber that collected on Sunday, they were unable to remove the logs and rubbish as fast as they drifted down the river. The mass of timber increased-in size, and the immense pressure occasioned by it caused the piles to yield . . . . About 6.30 p.m. the two narrow bays on the north side of the wide one left for the passage of the river steamers gave way with a tremendous crash. The piles were broken off, and the planking fell into the river, leaving a gap of about 70 feet . No further damage took place until past 10 o'clock, when the whole of the remainder on the north side of the gap, with the exception of about 30 feet from the abutment, was carried away. Fortunately no accident to life occurred.

1868

22nd January:
Floods throughout the country, especially the southern parts.

Ipswich: Bremer rose 9 feet; wharves submerged; flood anticipated.

23rd January: Ipswich: Floods subsiding, weather clearing up.

25th January: Dalby: Roads on the black soil plains almost impassable owing to the rains. Flood water from the Bunya Mountains coming down, and creek rising.

l2th to 15th February: Rockhampton: Fresh in river during last three days. At Yaamba on l2th inst. the river was 4 feet higher than any water mark made last year, and on the l4th it rose higher still. Eighteen--mile Island submerged; Alligator, Lion, Ten-mile and Deep Creeks all in flood. At high tide on l4th Queen's wharf was more than 2 feet under water.

l4th February: Rockhampton: The Fitzroy rose 9 feet, and still rising; the Dawson bank high.

18th February: Maryborough: River 50 feet higher than during the dry season; roads in very bad condition.

19th February: Taroom: River in flood; greatest height reached since the great flood of 1864.

24th February: Rockhampton: Mails between Rockhampton and Clermont detained by floods.

25th February:

Ruthven: Creeks all bank high, and plains almost under water.

Maryborough: River 50 feet above ordinary level.

2nd March: Rolleston: Rivers and creeks bank and bank for several days; large trees uprooted and carried down stream; low lands covered with water for miles. On 31st ult. the Comet River was 16 feet above the bridge.

30th March: Burketown: Very high floods on Albert and Leichardt; the latter rose 50 feet in 24 hours. The township of Chandos, was completely submerged.

5th April: Heavy floods reported on Flinders River; losses of sheep on several stations.

27th April:

Ipswich: Heavy rains. Slight fresh in the Bremer last week, and on 27th the river continued to rise with great rapidity. Shortly after noon it was flush with the wharves, and towards evening there were several feet of water in the sheds. The railway line was also damaged.

Warwick: Creeks much swollen, and roads in very bad state.

4th May: Goondiwindi: Unceasing heavy rain-flood succeeding flood; mails held up; grass most luxuriant.

6th May: Rain fell for nearly 50 consecutive hours over the country at the head of the Clarence River, which rose from 20 to 30 feet above the usual level. I

24th June: Jimna Creek Diggings: Mary River and creeks swollen.

29th June: Taroom: The recent rains flooded the Dawson.

1869

13th March: Gulf Country: The following is an extract from a letter published in the Cleveland Bay Express of l3th March, referring to the condition of the Gulf Country: " We have had fearfully heavy floods, higher by 4 feet 6 inches than ever before known to the station hands. Some stations were 4 feet under water, and nearly everything was swept away, whilst one man was drowned. Very heavy losses of sheep -one owner lost 3,000, another 2,000, and at Port Bowen 800 died. Some of the stations further down have been swept away, rations and all, but no loss of life reported."

8th April: Maryborough: Rain almost daily since the 20th March; grassy flats transformed into lakes; river rising; roads very bad.

10th April:

Rockhampton: Fitzroy rising steadily; wharves almost under water; Dawson and Mackenzie Rivers bankers; country traffic stopped.

Leyburn: One of the greatest floods experienced in the district swamped the water-course known as Canal Creek in less than two hours; much damage done.

10th April (about):

Goondiwindi: The mailman from Mungindi reported that the Barwon was a sea; nothing seen like it for years.

Mary River: No end of rain; country like a swamp. Man drowned while attempting to cross a creek near Tiaro.

21st April: Goondiwindi: Creeks flooded; mails delayed.