1893 Brisbane Floods: Queensland's Most Deadly Flood

The 1893 Brisbane Flood saw Brisbane and surrounds inundated due to three rain events in the month of February during which the Brisbane River rose to seven metres.
Queensland State Archives has a comprehensive collection of images from the devastating 1893 Floods: www.flickr.com...
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One of the most important reactions to the 1893 flood was recognising the need for a comprehensive river observation and warning network. This was demonstrated at the time by the prominent pioneer, and later member for Stanley (1904-20), H.P. Somerset. Overlooking where the Brisbane and Stanley Rivers combine, Somerset saw a ‘wall of water’ crashing past his Caboonbah homestead in early February. He subsequently sent a man to Esk with the following telegram message addressed to the post master general in Brisbane:
Please warn inhabitants Brisbane, Goodna, Ipswich, Lowood, other centres, of tremendous flood, eighteen ninety level already exceeded several feet. Stanley River only, Brisbane to follow.
At the time there was no direct telegraph line to Brisbane and the message had to be repeated from Ipswich. As no formal procedure was in place, the warning was either misinterpreted or ignored. Only a copy of the telegram was posted outside the office of the general post master. After the flood, eyes were ‘apparently opened’ but the telegraph lines were now down between Esk and Ipswich and roughly beyond Goodna. When the second major peak occurred, Somerset rowed across the swollen Brisbane River with two horses to send a ‘good game stockman’ named Billy Mateer to North Pine where the warning was received.
Brisbane’s first monitoring station was later established at Caboonbah which, as his ‘civic duty’, Somerset offered to operated free of change. Linked by telegraph, other stations were established throughout the Brisbane Valley at Goodna, Ipswich, Lowood, Browns Crossing, Rosewood, Gatton and Harrisville. The entire system was tested in the wet season of 1896.
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You can discover more about the 1893 floods at the Queensland State Archives, such as the Flood Relief Effort: www.archivessea...
The Queensland State Archives, located at 435 Compton Road, Runcorn. Opening hours are 9.00am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday.

[@kurtbrayford6491]

and when we get another big one like that people will say it never happened b4

[@ValKraken]

Yep

[@BlackStump172]

It will be worse because of the flood plains along Kedron Brook have been filled and built on . That is why
Toombul Shopping-town flooded in the last flood . Only the lower terrace flooded in 1974 .

[@kurtbrayford6491]

@@BlackStump172 have a look at the size of the floods they have had b4 1974, about twice as big at least

[@wvs3917a]

I always enjoy the little bits QSA hand out,I have to admit the words spoken didn't always match with what was written, interesting none the less.

[@QueenslandStateArchives]

Thanks William. Not sure how that happened. It's fixed up now. Thanks, David

[@Fiji-Aviation]

this was a whole city of ships.

[@TJ-ov1nr]

The indigenous people tried to warn white settlers not to setter too close to rivers. In 2022 we still have the same problem.
When will white Australia listen to the beautiful and wise indigenous peoples of Meanjin (Brisbane)?

[@grahammcneil7194]

Never..because whites are too bluddy thick....or believe it will never ever happen to them.....on a sidebar 2029 it hits again. See Inigo Jones. BOM are a waste of money.

[@vader745]

The urban development and infastructure will have no hope when a flood like this hits again which is just a matter of time and theres nothing to suggest it wont be even worst, the Indigenous peoples warned the british about developing where they did early on and they would know what took place hundreds, thousands of years back and what can happen. Even with dams in place in 2011 did virtually nothing and more dams have never been built by government contributing to the left wing socialist greenies blocking it to take place and probably also contributing to a useless government going back from when Peter Beattie was a disaster (who publicly said he will fix his own mess before passing reigns to Anna Bligh) premier to now.

[@sabretoothed99]

But BOM said this was the COLDEST TIME EVER LOLOLOL

[@waxdrwest]

what do you mean mate?