THE FLOODS IN GIPPS LAND.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 382, 12 March 1863, Page 6

THE FLOODS IN GIPPS LAND.

SERIOUS LOSB OP LIFE. "We take tho following account of the floods in c'cGipps Land from the Sale correspondence of the

■ <i'.j hGippi Land Guardian : — 'i..iTn ;i'pan scarcely regret that _my last letter did not 1 ' 'teach you in time for publication, inasmuch 'as I am now able to give you a full and accurate account of 1 ■' - "the dreadful and fatal disaster -with which oar neigh- : ■::il)6urhbpd has been visited. 'The rain which appears 1 "'■': to .have commenced with you on Monday evening, °"rJ ))egdn with us on the morning of that day, and con- " ' ; titfu'eduriceasingly, and with scarcely any abatement :' ■l untirWednosday evening. ' During the afternoon of "''"-' Wednestia'yi'sad news came to Sale, to the'effect that a family residing near the Thomson river about ten miles from Sale, had been flooded and were in immi- , " /J'Jkieat 'danger; The police proceeded to the as quickly as possible, some of them Returning after eorae hours with 'the information" that -they have not '■'"'■yetbeen,liTile/to'releiisdthe sufferers, but that ever? ~ ■exerifdiv ¥aJs being .made to obtain the meansof doing ;' '4,tii : rT.H!swaS,Hhefcondition of affairs at bed time on ""'' HVeiiiiesday'night,* but those who slept from then until •daylight on the following morning awoke to a scene euch as few had previously witnessed. The town •of i!-ale itself, of course, only-bore,on its surface such water as had fallen.bn.it,andj from the" absence of . the simplest':systym/pf drainage, could not be carried dffvbut all'the^urrounding portions, as'the morasses, ',:::.{■ b&ck-water/'&c'/were covered with one level sheet of ■;,-' (water." r'Crowds of people fringed, the banks of the .;i! nflreafcoveredby the flood, and deep %vas fhe solicitude ;i .ih«spresßed-3by->a!Lfor .the poor sufferers, the state of wlionu could, notthen; be-.ascertained with anypre•!::i At* thetdaywore on/ many and sorrowful were ti!B:yariousirumors abroad respecting; tho loss not only of property butJife itself, and though:as it ,ij'.';:>!tiirned.:piit, the fears wore expressed in most instances i.;a-n foß,the'WTong:petsons, yet the fact that i»r Arbuckle /.-r.d itak atreadyiheld .inquests on seven bodies, shows how ■ r ir BeSffirafwas the-visitation, and howjlittle the prepara- ; :.;'■fctob-for ifc.,'■}.-./•. ■/ ■■■■■■ •■■!:■ -. :.-•■.■'■. ■ ■ ■' ■ ' .- ■4-ikWh Itseeftisthut the flood broke over the backwater at •:oil niaboilt htil&past(twelve a.m. on-Thursday moniing, ■t'.Tii? ftudltllatitHeidvrellers in tents (of whom I wrote you VI --a short .time-back as being in such extreme danger ;:. r from.the bush fire) had just; time to.snatch up their - .children and.escnpe in their night dresses to places of ■: <,;.'" .coinpaintivesafety- But even this could notbe achieved ;jvT-T;vbydttil,,Atr'-Murphy's family, vyho resided on a higher -::.'.-r.oipoiilt of grOuqd tlmn -the otjiers, being completely •■: 'fr-henmedin by the water , which rose breast highin -if? ' .their; tslegpiiig? room.: To rescue ; these became, of s.I: it>f coursefi.tbe-nrst,d\ity, and well.nnd bravely idi'l Air Kitc*tie:!indihis comrades set to work.. I iutend co.

sciefli' wlieti'i'.sa.y thatthe raft they constructed was not < is vdrysufaone, but such as it was they boldly ;ven- • m TftuTeid tcroee snaps and scrub through a current which r ; -ti-poured Jifco;R:mill race/ nnd reached their destination. k( il'fitey tooklheir, half drowned friends on board: but ; « itivVnJS'inipossible to jeturn the wny they came, so - ' they;"atoodiboldly across, the Jloyal Bxchanse morass. wliioMwasAnowifas full as it well could be, with a ' i ttiODE Current running,- aod by means of long pole 3 ' CTCntunlJy succeeded in reaching the Court House reserve, where they safely landed their freight amid-t tho t**e cneeia pectators who Lai •watt-hed their course with breathless anxiety. But it is known that the calamity did not end here. The backwater stretches away for juiles, foming the boundary of w she parish, oi pale,

the one bank being studded by the occupants of purchased land, the other ly dwellers 'in tents, i\'Jio follow the various avocations- ol bushmen as sawing, splitting, &c. Foitunnfely for several of the latter, Mr District Surveyor Danson's residence overlook? ' the backwater, and this gentleman, seeing the state of nffinr3, at once rou--ed Mr Pettit, of whose value under such circumstances, he was well .ware, and, after'purchasing ropes, barrels, and other neces-a--lics,'the two together proceeded to the pluce of danger. I -vviH not attempt to describe the mode of operations adopted by Messrs Dawson and Pettit, sufSre it to say that they were from seven to tight hours in "an amphibious state, swimming-, wading-, dragging and pushing their raft, saving nien, women^and children, horses and cattle; risking their lives for the safety of those whose too intemperate courage had "placed their own in danger, and acting throughout in the manner which lias pained them that universal respect which is so justly Theirs. Their assistants, Jack and George, deserve the highest commendation having displayed an, amount of courage and intelligence which cannot be too erently praised. Mr Win. Thomson, feeling anxious about tliosa of hia men, .who, with their families, lived in dangerous positions, proceeded in quest of his boat, with the view of going to their assistance. The boat was found swamped and utterly useless, but Mr Thomson had a punt in another place, to which they went, and poor 83 was the substitute, it had to do duty for the other, and the owner and his man (Mitchell) proceeded to the various huts and released his people from their predicament. Their journeys had by this time given them such an insight to the shite of affairs that they felt it possible that the residents •on Nuntin Flat might be in danger. To this plrce they accordingly made their way, with the punt, with incredible (oil and danger, and on reaching the settled land, succeeded in taking off the family of Mr W. Latham. Mrs Latham and the two children were placed in the boat, Mr Latham and the gallant rescuers carrying it along, wading waist deep in the -water. They got along pretty well until near ths junction of Mr Craig's fence with that of Mr Monaghan when one of the party made a false step, the boat struck agiinst something and capsized, and men, women, and children were, -for"the moment rendered helpless and carried a,vay. Mr Thomson Micceedod in seizing one child, but the other, was drowned, the remainder of the party reached the high ground in safety. This part —Nun tin Flat—is described as having presented a frightful scene, the whole fl at was covered with the flood to a great depth, the torrent carrying with it horses, cattle, sheep, fencing, everything that came in its way. At Stratford many lives were in extreme danger, but all save one were rescued by their fellow townsmen. The one missing is George Stretton, a man of Mr Angus McMillan's, who having seen his wife an_d family to a place of safety, went in search of his horse. He was seen to mount the anima' barebacked but never again alive. These are sad details, and Ispare your readers all repetition of and dwelling upr>n them. The other portions of the neighborhood have severely suffered in the matter of property, but no loss'of life has occurred so far as yet known. Tlie preceding account, of course, only brings me to Thursday night. On that day and the following, all remained in a state of anxiety respecting- the fate of the family mentioned in the- early portion of this letter, ajid on Saturday morning it was known that no less than four bodies had been recovered. These were brought up, and _Dr Arbuckle held an inquest, the particulars of which I subjoin, at the Club Hotel, on Saturday afternoon. Lewis Drolette, deposed I am a splitter, and was residing adjacent to the Thompson river, about ten or eleven miles from Sale. On Wednesday morning last, I got up about six o'clock in the morning and went outside the tent, heard the rush of waters. I immediately aroused my wife but betore she could get dressed, I found the water coming down so fast that J had to take her on my back, I had to pass through a small creek to get to some higher ground and whilst doing so, was up to my neck in water. I got safely through, and on to a bank, but found the water still rising, as it was then up to my waist. I carried my wife about 200 yards further came to a dry spot, where my wife put on her shoes which she carried with her. Whilst doing this the' water was rising so fast it reached my knees. I carried my wife then for some time further, expecting to find a stump or some other place on which I could rest her. The only place I could J find was a forked tree, one branch of which had been cut off The fork was so narrow that I could barely get my foot into it. Ipi iced my wife's arms round the tree whilst I got up, and with one foot in the fork and.the other leg resting over the remnant of the cut branch, I stooped over and got hold, of my wife's hands. I made several attempts to get my wife into the tree, but could not succeed. The wa(,er was up to her neck. It was about seven o'clock when T got on the tree and from that hour until, as near as I can guess, between two and three o'clock on the following morning, I supported my wife by holding her hands in mine. About this time she died, and I found the body get t'-.o heavy and could not hold it any longer. My wife spoke to me shortly before lit death.'"She ssw a light at a short distance and was in hopes of being saved. I remained in the tree until between nine and ten next morning when I was rescued by Mr Statham and Constable Feely with others from the Ridge. Constable Feely deposed—On Wednesday I wentwith Sergeant M'Donald and senior Constable Scanlon, to the rescue ot some person supposed to be drowning on the Thompson river, about ten miles from Sale. On arriving at the. spot indicated I saw Lewis Drolette, the'last witness, clung to a tree, and boding something which appeared to ba a woman— supporting her in the water. It was no use attempting a rescue, as no horse or man, however strong, could" reach them. Sergeant M'Donald and senior Constable Scanlon saw that nothing could says them but a boat, and I cooyed and told them we should send for a boat. Sergeant M'Donald and senior Constable Scanlon then proceeded to Sale to try and procure a boat, and by their instructions I remained to watch. I then with others lit a fire and kept a cooey every hour. Just at two o'clock in the morning, f heard Drolette cry out " Oh! God, oh ! God, she's gone," and in about five minutes afterwards he answered a cooey and said "She is lost!'' Between four and five o'e'lcck, seeing no boat or relief coming, I got on my horse to go to Fulhara, hearing there was a boat there, but when I arrived at the station I found the statement untrue. I also found that, owing to the overflowing of the Thompson into the backwater,, that all communication with Sale was cut off, and that I could expect no assistance from there. Mr Simmonds, however, got the two best swimming horses on the station, giving me one, took the other himself, and we both again proceeded to where Drolette was, hoping to be able to succed in rescuing him. Finding we were of no possible use, we proceeded about .%wo miles higher up the river, where we were told three other persons were in danger, and we were the means of saving the life of a man named Lamb. We wera then told by Mr Hugh Buntine that Thomas Hanshaw and bis wife were a short distance further up, and were supposed to be drowned. Mr Buntine accompanied us to the place indicated and we found a raft made of n barrel and a chest or box. and two doors lashed together with rope and calico. The raft was made fast to atrro, but I could see no sign of either Hanshaw or his wife. The water where the raft was tied.wai dead, and without a current. At this time the flood was going down. This was about eleven o'clock on Thursday morning. We again returned to where Drolette was. There was no fign of any relief. I despatched a man to Pearson's bridge, and lie returned about four o'clock with the account that all communication with Sale was cut off by the height of the Thompson and the depth of the backwater. I found Drolette's voice getting gradually weaker and he called out that he was getting cramps. I then faw there was nothing for it but to proceed to the Itidge to obtain a boat, which through the exertions of Mr Statham I procured and with the assistance of that centleman and some more of the llklsje to obtain, the boat was brought to the rescue of Drolette by seven o'clock on Friday morning. Mr Statham bad previous to the arrival of the boat, tried to rescue Drolette with his horse, but was very near being drowned. , After rescuing Drolette we found the body of a man named Pat, with a rope round him. He was under (he trunk of a fallen tree. This man had attempted to rescue Dro'ette while I was absent, and had used a rope I brought from Sale for the purpose of .'ending assistance. Mr Statham then weut out again and found the body of Jane Drolette about, twenty-two or twenty four, yards below where the husband war. There were no marks of violence on the body. We then put the bnat again on the dray and went to where Hanshaws were supposed to hi drowned and the waters having noiv considerably subsided, we found the body of Thomas Hanshaw on the bank.

Robert Dowling mounted constable _ deposed that about nine o'clock this (Saturday) morning found the body of the deceased Mary Hnnshaw in the Thotr.son river, between Heyfield and Fulhain. Her i%hfc aria was over the water but her body was under. Mr 'Johnson lent a horse and cart, when he took the holy of deceased down to Mr Fisher's where the other bodies wjre lying. : : ;

The jury returned the following verdict:— .''That the jury are unanimous of opinion that Thomas Hanshaw, Mary-Hanshaw, and the man known by the name cf 'Pat' came by their death by Accidental .Drowning:, and that deceased Jane Droletfc died from Exhaustion and-Immersion." The jury also recommended strongly, and requested the Coroner also to recommend that a boat, under the care of the police should be stationed at. Sale, by wh'eh means many valuable lives may bo saved. The Coroner promised to accede to the request of ihejmy.

The 'eighth death is that of a. poor 'fell»w n»|neil' ~\ic Gregor, who went clown the Punt Laiie on Thursday for the purpose of getting about. Others were with him, and lie quitted them for the purpose of saving a mare which he found there. When this happened they were on their return to Sa'e, having been unsuccessful in their endeavor to procure the boat. Very soon afterwards the ware returned ~to them" riderless, and Tuesday his body was found in the morass aboutjSOO yards from where ho quitted his niates. Dr Arbnokle has lioM inquests on the bodies of McGregor, Stretton; and'Mr Latham's child, in in each of which verdicts similar to that repoited have been given. . .