QUEENSLAND FLOODS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19940, 8 May 1928, Page 12

QUEENSLAND FLOODS.

SETTLERS' HEAVY LOSSES. MANY MAROONED IN TREES. 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. Kainey, 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 'o 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 too-* refuge m the nuuse 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 horse 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 Peot, a farmer, of the Lower Deeford, examined his paddock, which presented a terrible scene. It was strewn with dead cattle and pigs. Trees provided refuge for many people in the lioo led areas. The police rescued an aborigine, who had been marooned in a tree for four days. So overjoyed wae the 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 30mile 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 tho parents of her late husband, were marooned on a table in a house jn 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 news 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 Rannes devastation has resulted. Losses of stock are appalling. The banks of the Dee and Don Rivers are littered with the carcases of dead cattle.

It is thought that nearly 2000 head of cattle perished between the Dee River and Double Creek. Settlers in this district suffered enormously, crops of corn, potatoes and cotton being levelled, and the soii swept away. The town of Rannes 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 swept away by the surging waters.