QUEENSLAND FLOODS.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 15 May 1928, Page 9

QUEENSLAND FLOODS.

SETTLERS’ HEAVY LOSSES. ENORMOUS STOCK MORTALITY. Graphic accounts of the havoc wrought by the recent floods in Queensland .are given in the Australian papers. Describing his experiences, Mr. G.' Rainey, who had been cotton-picking on the farm of Mr. D. Thomas, on the Don River, stated that the river rose rapidly, and by the time' he reached the house the water had entered it- .to a depth of 12 inches. A snake as thick as a man’s thigh, and fully 12ft long, took refuge on the verandah. It was killed with a rifle. Many smaller reptiles also took -refuge in the house. . The distress calls of the cows and the calves were heart-breaking. Mr. Thomas had his dairy swept away, while a 14-acre cotton crop was flattened. A mounted man, who attempted to reach the house, had his house swept, away from under him, and the -rider was * marooned up a tree until the water subsided. Mr. Dunn’s farm was under water, and the people there were obliged to take refuge in trees. Poultry and crop -losses were heavy. Mr. -James Peet, a farmer, of the Lower Beeford, examined his paddock, which presented a terrible scene. _ It was strewn with dead cattle and pigs. Trees provided refuge for many people in the flooded areas. The police rescued an aborigine, who had been marooned in a tree for four days. So overjoyed was t-lie native at being rescued! that he jumped into the boat which came to his assistance, and narrowly.missed throwing -the entire party into- the flood waters. The Dawson River, at Thodore, was 43ft above normal. There, however, ! were no fatalities, as the police had taken precautions. Constable Dixon, who is stationed at Duaringa, upon receiving a report that three families, comprising seven persons in all, were marooned and in danger, took a small party in a rowing boat on a 30-mile battle against strong flood waters. He located the people and rescued them. Mrs. H. Abbott, widow of the victim of the Blackwater colliery disaster, was engaged cotton picking in Dawson Valley during the floods, and did not learn of her husband’s death till .several days after the disaster. Mrs. Abbott -and her two young children, with both the parents of her late husband, was marooned on a table in a house in the flooded Dawson Valley for 36 hours, the water having risen to a depth of sft in the house. They were finally released from their plight, and it was then that mews of the colliery disaster was first- conveyed to them. Losses by people in the- area from Mount Morgan ,to Wowan are enormous, and further along the district to Ramies devastation has resulted. Losses of stock are appalling. The banks of the Dee and Don Rivers aj-e littered with the carcases of dead! cattle. It is thought that nearly 2000 head of cattle perished between the Dee River and Double Greek. Settlers in this district suffered enormously, crops of corn, potatoes and cotton being levelled, and the soil swept away. Tfie town of Ramies is a scene of desolation. The flood in this town reached an unprecedented height. The post office and the branch of the Commonwealth Bank, together with several other shops and buildings, were swep-t away by the surging waters.