DISASTROUS FLOODS IN NEW SOUTH WALES.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIII, Issue 3123, 20 July 1867, Page 5

DISASTROUS FLOODS IN NEW SOUTH WALES.

(PEOM THE "EMPIRE," JULY 1.) The. steamship 'Ruahine,' which leaves the port of §ydn"ey this day for Panama, will convey intelligence which musr be most shocking and distressing, not only to those who feel an interest in the prosperity of these colonies, but to all who have regard for humanity. This country has been visited by a more terrible flood than any that has been known since the first white man set his foot upon the soil, and its results have been most desolating, making whole families homeless, destroying life and. property to an extent which is as yet beyond calculation. When the 'Kaikoura' left Sydney, on the 1st June, it was noted that the rain continued, almost without intermission, for two months. The weather continued bad on this coast, on Wednesday, the 19th June, culminated in a storm which has been described as a hurricane, and which continued for four days. Great fear was entertained in the city of Sydney that the low-lying lands of the country most exposed to floods by reason of the numerous water courses falling through them, and the narrowness and circuitous course of the outlet to the sea, would be inundated ; but no one expected that this was the beginning of the most disastrous flood that had ever occurred in ftew South Wales, and that the sympathies of the people of the country would be tasked to a degree beyond anything that had ever been previously known. Yet so it has proved. On Friday, 21st June, accounts reached Sydney which startled and alarmed the whole of the inhabitants, but which, unhappily, proved to be true. The whole of the valley of the Hawkesbury River had been flooded to a height unknown and unrecorded by the oldest inhabitant or by history. The town of Windsor was surrounded by water, and so sudden had been the rush of the flood from the high lands, in consequence of the previous saturation of the ground, the farmers and their families had to flee for their lives, abandoning all they possessed to the raging waters. The incidents that occurred were most shocking. In one case a farmer sat upon the roof of his house with his family for twenty hours, holding his youngest child in arms, until the infant died from the effects of the cold and exposure, for the rain was still pouring down in torrents, and the whole of the surrounding land wai one wide sea of water. The father then had to throw his dead child into the flood, and take up another in the hope of preserving it. On Saturday morning, the 22nd, the house gave way and was swept down with the flood, drowning the mother and nine other children. The father and four others were saved by the boats which had been sent off to rescue these unfortunate sufferers. By this time the whole of the valley was inundated, and the fertile district of Bichmond presented the appearance of a great lake. Fears were felt that the town of Windsor itself, where at this time some thousands of persons were congregated, would be involved in the general devastation, but, happily, this did not occur. The flood was so sudden and so overwhelming that all means of escape seemed to be cut off, and many families, some consisting of weak mothers and young children suffering from illness, had to remain for hours on the roofs of their houses during the severest weather ever known on this coast, until succour could be given. As soon as this sad intelligence was known, the Government acted with the utmost promptitude. Boats, and crews to man them, were despatched by railway to the nearest point to Windsor, and although the flood was still rushing down in a torrent, and a part of the railway was submerged, the brave men who manned these boats succeeded at last in reaching the scene of desolation, and in rescuing very many who had almost given up all hope. The Prime Minister, Mr. Martin, and Mr. Byrnes, the Minister for Works, were amongst the most conspicuous in their personal exertions ; and the Colonial Secretary, Mr. Parkes, left Sydney before daylight on Saturday morning, in a iteamer chartered for the purpose, with the object of giving relief to lufferers in the lower parts of the Hawkesbury valley, who were still believed to be exposed to danger and suffering from the moat extreme privation. Mr. Parkes took with him a large quantity of provisions, blankets, clothing, and other necessaries, and his visit will, no doubt, be very acceptable. But the devastations of this terrible flood are not confined to the valley^ of the Hawkesbury. At Penrith, on the Nepean Kiver, the disaster has been most destructive. Many families have been washed Out of house and home, and some most extraordinary cases of preservation are recorded. One poor woman was seen wading mid-deep in the flood, with her infant held in her hands above her head, while the run still poured down like an avalanche on both. Happily they were rescued. From the east coast the storm seams to have taken a westerly course, for from Buthurst, Menangle, Goulburn, Yass, and as I *r wost as Mudgae, accounts continue to reach

os of the losses and sufferings occasioned by the floodi. From Burrendone, between Wellington »nd Mudgee, we hear of ft poor woman rowing a boat across the lake of flood, and saving a shepherd and his two eldest children, who had with great difficulty managed to get in a tree, after the rest of hi« family, consisting of a wife and aeven.children, had been drowned. Ai far as the Murrambidgee River, the storm has extended, and tome thousands of sheep are reported to have been washed away. On the sea coast it appears that the tempest has not been so destructive as had been feared, but several small vessels and tome lives have been lost. At Bnlli, on the coast to the south of Sydney, the jetty in the harbour was carried away by the violence of the sea, and four lives were lost. At Newcastle, where the storm raged fearfully, the lifeboat, which had been taken out for the exercise of the crew in the anticipation of wrecks, was nearly lost, and one man in her perished through cold and exposure. The valley of the Hunter was flooded, and the town of Maitland has again suffered severely. The total loss of life during this dreadful rainstorm cannot at present be ascertained, but at least forty persons have been drowned ; and the des« truction of property is beyond all possible estimate. Boats sent to the rescue of the survivors in some cases struck against the chimneys of houses submerged by the flood, and several instances are mentioned of the boats being nearly upset by coming in contact with the upper branches of trees. Sad and shocking as this brief record of disaster is, it is some satisfaction to add that the Government and the people of this colony have t»ken all possible steps to alleviate the distress occasioned by it. All the time of the last great flood a large subscription was made for the sufferers, and, from the funds thus raised, a balance of more than nine hundred pounds I remained in hand. This sum was immediately devoted to the relief of the distress occasioned by the present calamity, and the Government, in addition to the prompt and energetic measures before alluded to, at once forwarded a hundred pounds in money to each of the flooded districts, to be devoted to the immediate use of those in need. But thia was not all. A public meeting wag held at the Masonic Hall, in Sydney, last Thursday, the Mayor of the city presiding, and the hall being crowded with a most sympathetic audience ; when resolutions, proposed and supported by some of the first men in the colony, were carried to the effect that it was necessary to give further public aid to the sufferers by the late floods and storms. These resolutions are being responded to in the most liberal and noble manner, and it has already seen announced that a sum amounting to _ more than a thousand pounds sterling has been contributed. In all parts of the colony this feeling of deep sympathy is responded to in a similar spirit, and there can be no question that a very large sum of money will be raised by private subscription, in addition to whatever aid the Government may further afford.