Constable James Sangster & the Jackson Family

Flood waters were steadily rising when engine-driver Peter Jackson left his home, near the bank of the Brisbane River at Blackwall, for work about 3 o’clock on the afternoon of Friday 3rd February, 1893.  The home had never been under threat of flood waters before, and all felt safe again this time.

As dawn broke on Saturday morning, Mary Jackson, along with John Rowe, a labourer on the farm, urged her mother to leave their house and seek higher ground on top a nearby hill.  Mrs. Jackson, still thinking the water would not reached the house, lingered until the family had no choice but to escape.

As the house became surrounded by water, Mrs. Jackson, along with daughter Katie and younger children Harry, Elizabeth, Beatrice and Ada boarded a boat and headed towards land.  Mary and John remained in the house, waiting for Katie, a strong swimmer and rower, to return.

As Katie rowed towards the riverbank, it struck a woody projection, capsized, throwing all into the water.  Mrs. Jackson and Beatrice were able to reach trees, where they were rescued by neighbours.  Katie, with Harry, Elizabeth and Ada clinging on to her, disappeared under the water.

As the house was inundated, Rowe found a rope and helped Mary climb to the roof.  The force of the water lifted the house off its stumps. The current took the house more than two miles down the river, before smashing it against a tree.  With the house breaking up around them, Mary and John gripped the tree, climbing several feet above the raging river.

The plight of the Jackson family reached the North Ipswich Police Station and Constable James Sangster set off on his horse.  Sangster, 26, had left Aberdeenshire, Scotland, some years earlier.  He had joined the Queensland Police Force two-and-a-half years earlier and, aside from a few weeks spent up north during the Shearers Strike, had served in Ipswich for more than two years.


As Sangster arrived, a rescue attempt was about to be made.  Sangster joined in, boarding a boat as it entered the rising river.  They floated with the current to Mary and John’s tree, but their boat was swept down the river.

As Sangster and Sydney Webb made their way back to the tree, they became entangled by submerged tree tops and were swept back down the river.  The boat struck a tree and sank, pulling Sangster under the water.  The time was now about 4 o’clock.

Webb managed to make it back to the shore.  Sangster resurfaced, grabbing hold of tree branches.  Attempts were made to reach Sangster, but the strength of the water prevented any rescue boat getting near.  At half-past five, the branch which Sangster clung to broke.  He was pulled under the water, resurfacing briefly, before disappearing again, never more to be seen.

At sunset, fires were lighted on either side of the bank as the rescue party waited for dawn.  The sounds of ‘cooee’ drifted across the river throughout the night, comforting Mary and John, still perched in their tree. At 7 o’clock, as the water was beginning to recede, a new boat arrived and another attempt was made to rescue Mary and John from their tree, this time successfully.  After nearly twenty-four hours, Mary and John were once more on dry land.

Katie (Catherine) Jackson was 17, Henry Peter 9, Elizabeth 7, and Ada Isabella 5.  The four were buried together in the Wesleyan section of the Ipswich General Cemetery.

Despite multiple searchers, over many miles of river bank, Constable Sangster’s body was never located.  At a public meeting, it was decided that a fountain be erected in memory of Constable Sangster and his heroism on that day.  It was unveiled at Brown’s Park, North Ipswich, in May 1898.