1974 Flood

To say the summer of 1973 / 1974 was wet is an understatement.  The Bureau of Meteorology estimated that 900,000 million tonnes of rain fell over Queensland in January of 1974, contributed to by cyclones Una, Vera and Wanda and their accompanying monsoonal troughs.  By the end of the month, most rivers in the state were in flood and large parts of the Sunshine State were submerged.  

Wanda formed off the Mackay coast on the 22nd January, crossing the coast further south at Double Island Point on the 24th.  Wanda became a slow-moving rain depression within a monsoonal trough, with a high-pressure system over the Tasman Sea slowing the trough further.  This resulted in three separate periods of intense rainfall over the Brisbane River catchment that Australia Day long weekend. 

Floodwaters in the Stanley River were held back by Somerset Dam for a time, but with construction of Wivenhoe Dam still several years away, nothing could hold back the Brisbane River.  To make matters worse, Ipswich creeks were already in extreme flood by late afternoon on the 26th, exceeding the 1955 flood heights.   

Over the next 24 hours, Ipswich received 341mm of rain - the city's highest recorded daily total.  The Bremer River was rising at 0.3m an hour, reaching its peak of 20.7m at 3pm on the 27th.  The river roared at it reached speeds of between six to seven metres per second, carrying with it beds, chairs, tables, mattresses and other remnants of people's lives.  The untamed Brisbane River started backing up around The Junction, causing the water in the lower Bremer to become trapped.  As a result, river heights remained above 19m for another 39 hours.

Ipswich became isolated.  Cut off by road and rail for several days, there was no possibility of travel to Brisbane.  Individual suburbs like Leichhardt and Karalee were isolated.  Booval, East Ipswich and Brassall were some of the worst affected areas.

In the centre of Town, the lower lying areas were submerged.  The water along Brisbane Street stretched from Mortimer Street in the east, to just past East Street in the west, and past Limestone Street to the South.

At One Mile Bridge, the Bremer bulged to a width of one kilometre.  Families on the Leichhardt side of the river took refuge in the Avon Picture Theatre and at the school.  RAAF helicopters delivered a generator, portable gas cookers and food supplies to the Golf Club, as club members provided cooked meals for evacuated families.  Many of the homes affected in Leichhardt and One Mile area were Housing Commission houses.

Goodna bore the brunt of the combined Bremer and Brisbane Rivers, as the Brisbane backed up into the Bremer, inundating the suburb.  As the waters subsided, and the owners of Goodna's Royal Mail Hotel were able to once more access the hotel, they were surprised to find a bull in the second floor men's bathroom.  At neighbouring Gailes, more than 100 caravans were smashed against the bridge, and four people were reported missing.

At Tivoli, water flowed into the Moreton Extended Colliery in the early hours of the 27th.  Neighbour D. Biddle said a large shed and office were sucked into the mine's entrance.  Shortly after, he heard a loud rumble, the ground shook, and the mine exploded, caused by a build-up of pressure in the mine.  Other mines in the area were also inundated, or suffered damage to surface buildings and plant equipment.

On the night of the 28th, an estimated 85% of Ipswich residents were without power.  During the outage, the BP Lockyer Service Station was able to power one pump, with the aid of a motorcycle. 

Communication was hampered with telephone lines brought down.  Footage was broadcast on the TV news, however few experiencing the flood had power or access to television to watch.  The radio became a lifeline, with DJs reporting river heights, road closures, relief efforts, and personal messages, although 4IP's radio transmitters were flooded, forcing it off the air.

Around 1,800 homes and businesses were inundated.  41 homes were washed away, compared to only a dozen houses destroyed in Brisbane.  Sydney Street, at Brassall, lost 12 homes, with only their stumps remaining in place.  11 homes were lost at West Ipswich.  A number of roads and bridges also fell victim to the River.  The population of Ipswich, at the time, was 68,795.  15,000, from 3,500 homes, were evacuated.

Sixteen lives were lost, fourteen in Brisbane and two in Ipswich.  Ipswich chemist Noel Stretton's car was swept away as he drove through floodwaters on his way to empty his shop.  

Throughout January, Brisbane had received 872 millimetres of rain (1,026mm fell in February 1893).  Ipswich exceeded the February 1893 record of 737mm with 780mm falling over the city, most of that in just four days (603mm from the 25th to 28th) and with 340mm falling on Sunday 27th January - the city's highest recorded daily total.

The Australia Day weekend floods of 1974 were the fourth highest recorded floods along the Bremer River since 1841.