1958 Flood at Upper Lansdowne – Source: Manning River Times 16 February 2011
Memories of 1958 flood: In response to the recent flood situation in Queensland and Northern New South Wales early this year, Alan Drury from Taree has been in touch with the Manning River Times to talk about a major flood event that occurred in Upper Lansdowne in 1958. Here is his story: I’m writing this now as it needs to go into print for history, also while there are still a few people who are able to verify it. At approximately 2pm, on or about January 20, 1958, it started to rain at Upper Lansdowne. At this time, I was living where Kenniffs live, just over the second bridge on Coxcomb Road where there is a windmill on the flat. It was the heaviest rain anybody had ever experienced. It rained for one hour and 45 minutes and the nearest we could estimate was between 15 and 20 inches. There was a cloud burst.
We had an old ex-army disposable paint drum, about 14-15 inches high, which was empty when the rain started, and it was soon full to overflowing. One person’s eight-inch gauge overflowed early in the rain. From what I can recollect the area was from east to west Hogan’s Road to Wingham; Comboyne Road about five kilometres, and Coxcomb School to Old Finger Board turn off to Lansdowne of about five kilometres. During the cloud burst a great slice of Mount Coxcomb broke away and hundreds of tonnes of rocks and logs washed down the hill for hundreds of yards or so.
People not as far down as the chook farm, didn’t know of the flood waters coming, as it wasn’t even raining there. Every little gully that was only a foot or two deep when it rained normally, was now a torrent 10 to 20 foot deep.
People not as far down as the chook farm, didn’t know of the flood waters coming, as it wasn’t even raining there. Every little gully that was only a foot or two deep when it rained normally, was now a torrent 10 to 20 foot deep. The Lansdowne River rose four to six feet higher than we have ever experienced before. As it wasn’t raining anywhere else, people down river were seeing gullies running backwards. One man reported he was about to cross Crittenden’s bridge and saw a wall of water coming over the flat in front of him, with the late Vince Payne’s cattle being swept along with it. Luckily, they survived, about one or two kilometres further down.
Ron Drury, who was living where two rivers join, saw the flood waters feet higher than he had witnessed before, which prompted him to ring 2RE to warn people. Luckily it was broadcast immediately. Some people, I understand, thought the warning was a joke, but were soon reassured Ron would not joke about something so serious. A responsible person in the household realised there was a man fencing near the creek – who usually had little children with him. But he was safe and got out just in time. (Ken Drury, my father, related this story to me when he was writing his book on “Banksia”, saying that he was the man fencing).
The next morning the river was only a foot or two above normal level.
Footnote from Ivan Drury regarding this story.
Ivan was at Central Lansdowne the following day. Bertha (Drury) Aldous had been down on the riverbank working in her vegie garden just before the wall of water came down and had just gone up for lunch. Truly remarkable timing as she would have been in the path of the water.
Footnote from Gloria Crittenden
My mother-in-law Kath Crittenden told me about the flood and how Vince Payne’s cattle walked out of the flood waters onto the flats on our property not far past Crittenden’s bridge.
Story supplied by Glenda (Drury) Dutton