Long period of gales in Brisbane. Finished and unfinished
houses, stores, sheds, awnings, and signs blown down; roofs and
portion of roofs carried away; trees blown down and gardens
devastated.
Tremendous gales off the coast on 18th. Stone jetty washed away
at Cleveland. Considerable wind and rain damage at Toowoomba and
trees down at Gladstone. Severe flood at Maryborough reached 27
feet (8.2m) above low water. Water reached the eaves of cottages
and one homestead was swept away.
The barque Panama, 414 tons, was wrecked on the 18th on Breaksea
Spit near Sandy Cape with 10 people on board. At 4 am on 19th wind
shifted from ESE to NW with increased violence. The ship was then
driven onto the beach and broke in two. One of the crew drowned and
ten were lost and never seen again.
Account from the Courier, Monday 21 March:
Early on Saturday morning March 19, the awning in front of Mr.
Campens shop was carried away; a new wooden house on Petrie Terrace
was blown down at about the same time and in Stanley Street at
South Brisbane, a store belonging to Mr. Hockings shared a similar
fate.
Several unfinished structures in different portions of the town
have completely disappeared, and the only proof that they ever
existed is a heap of prepared timber, a great deal of which is
broken. Roofs innumerable have suffered neither shingles,
galvanised iron, slates, nor tiles having been proof against the
violence of the storm.
The fastenings of a portion of the galvanised iron roof which
covers the ferry houses were burst, and one of the sheets of iron
was literally doubled over. Fences have been thrown down in the
most remorseless manner, and have been rendered quite useless for
any other purpose than firewood.
The damage done to property generally by the gale has been much
exceeded by the disasters occasioned by the flood, of which we are
at present enabled to give but a meagre account. Previous to the
very heavy rain on Friday night the appearance of the river gave no
indication of a flood, although an ordinary fresh was
observable.
Early on Saturday morning, however, apprehensions wore
entertained that a heavy flood would take place and towards the
afternoon the state of the river showed that those apprehensions
were not groundless, and precautions were taken by the owners of
several of the stores on the banks of the river to prevent any
loss. Goods were removed to higher ground. As the night advanced
the height of the river rapidly increased, and by daylight on
Sunday morning it was evident that the flood would be of such an
extent as to cause a great deal of damage to property.
Advice was received from Ipswich, to the effect that on
Saturday, at six o'clock p m., the telegraph posts at the One Mile
Creek Bridge, which had been raised twenty feet higher than they
were at the time of the flood in February, 1863, were swept away,
although they had been let into the ground to the depth of nine
foot, and were otherwise supported by struts. It was also found
necessary to remove the goods from Messrs. Wienholt and Walker's
new stores, Bremer Street, which was built much higher than it was
supposed a flood could reach. The water was at the foot of Dr.
Rowland's stable. Oxley Creek was also as wide as the Brisbane
River generally is in Brisbane.
In Brisbane the water gradually rose throughout the whole of
yesterday and at 1pm Albert street, from Alice street to Charlotte
street, was totally impassable, and many of the residents in Frog's
Hollow were compelled to leave their houses and furniture to the
mercy of the devastating elements.
