Great Floods in Australia.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue III, 2 July 1891, Page 2

Great Floods in Australia.

— — * — — About fifty miles north of. the river Murray, in the Colony of New South Wales, stands jbhe town of Wagga "Wagga* which siilee Thomas Castro, the TicUbou!rne claimant left, has become world-wide known, from the celebrated law suits arising from his attempt to obtain the pos- , session of such vast estates. A worse misfortune thai*, this has just visited this town,' \ss on Monday night the Press Association cabled over, that the town was being gradually flooded, and the gasworks were ! already submerged. One nian had been drowned and boats were badly wanted. ..■•:■■ The town of Wagga Wagga is situated on low lying lana* 1 on" the bank of the Murnimbidgea. r river, which is fed miles away,' by the Gundagi and empties itself into the Murray, which river is the boundary be- } t-ween the Co'onies of New South I Wales and Victoria. The town would be some 270 jJ miles from the mouth of. the r The mainline of railway between"Melbourne and Sydney also passes through it, and from this, jfte are . able to guage in wha&raan'het'tl fiood comes down. The cprr,e!?ppnd,ent. pi the Association says 1 thafr'^he^flbod in -the Murrumbidgee is within two feet! of the height of the memorable flood in 1852, when the old township of Gundagi was washed away and 81 of the inhabitants were drowned. Although the water is now- falling the c-aiTenfc is. running; -wij^, j fearful rapidity, and several 1 ' nouses ' Ji|ve been : washed away. '"..'«, :r , , . /, . ji This flood in 1852 washed^ fnige guH in the railway embankment jand cansed 'tlie wreckage' '6t a : pissenger train,. so that the Bpverriment took special precautions to gu|H "against what has now occurred.. , The iflaln channel of the river is both wide and deep and the bridge erected has, over the main portion, two continuous wrought iron lattice girders Jof 640 feet each, the supports bemjy cast iron cylinders nine feet in diameter. On the north side therejare 257' spans of 80 feet each, and on the ..south 56 spans ot the same width. A' little calculation will show- that the engineers, from experience, -have prpvided for a flood two miles jWme ! We must be prepared to War? news of terrible loss to stock and damage to property. During the flood persons made for all points and we learn &at a relief party went out to rescue the men who were perchejTjin trees, and took off four pf the,m.* i % *6n the return journey the 1 boat capsized and the men clung to .snags, for nearly seven hours.' Out of a crowd ! of forty people who had collected' on the dry ground only one named Trqe volunteered to endeavour t,o rescue the unfortunate men.. Kj-;ftrixi&lJ in a boat by himself, and aftei* two^ft^\ tempts he succeeded in rescuing: all except Worland and Goodie. ' ' Settlers along the bank "df the River Yass have lost much valuablo stock by floods. , / l '* v ',*

the water is up to the ceilings ar.d tho tops of the* verandahs of many of the residences, business in the town is completely paralysed, One p&storalist has lost 4000 sheep, The water at Gundagai is nibHiding. •