1927 Flood

The Bremer Flood in Ipswich, Queensland Times, Friday 28 January 1927, p.5

The flood waters entered the first house in Ipswich at 11 o'clock yesterday morning, but no other place was invaded before dark. Mr J. Topp, who built a house in the gully below St. Mary's Church about four months ago, was forced to leave it on Wednesday as the water was flowing up a drain-age vent under the River-road, and filling the gully around his house. Even on the previous night, he had been serenaded by a choir of frogs in the beginning of the pool which eventually filled his home. Everything of any value had been taken from the house, and Tommy, the cat, was the only living being remaining. Tommy stayed only because he was shut in a hamper on the front verandah. At midday, Mrs Topp became anxious regarding the comfort of Tommy, and went as near to the house as the water would allow her. The flood was then nearly a foot deep inside, and was still rising.

 

A kindly council tipman volunteered to do what he could for Tommy, and to bring out of the house a few small things that had been left behind. He waded in above his knees, and found the cat, which had broken loose from his prison, "meowing" disconsolately on the edge of the bath. Puss merrily purred with relief, and promenaded along the top of the bath, rubbing against his rescuer's trouser leg. He was carried out, and the house was left without any guardian. Later in the day, the flood rose another foot.

 

In the lower suburbs, although the water came very close to some places, and a few were surrounded, no homes were entered. Mr Geertz's home in Anzac-parade, Devil's Gully, was quite surrounded, and the family left it. Several of the business places in Brisbane street, at the head of the gully, had made preparations to move at any time it might have become necessary. Some had shifted stocks that were liable to damage by water. 

 

About 11 o'clock in the morning, the water broke over the bank along the River-road leading to Woodend, and the road was flooded to a depth of several feet. The stream around the river bend brought piles of debris to this point, and boys with long sticks spent half the day fishing for firewood. Amongst the spoils of their salvage were two fine pumpkins which had floated down from some farmer's garden. The old Tivoli Bridge was covered with about 18in. of water, and the new bridge was barely above the stream at 5 o'clock in the afternoon. 

 

Strangely, the One-mile Bridge, which was so rickety before the flood that everybody thought and hoped that enough of it would be washed away to make compulsory the building of a new one, still held out against the attack of the flood. At least it appeared to do so, for an unbroken line of turbulent water marked where the submerged bridge and the debris gathered against it arrested the flow of the river.

 

By nightfall the water, which had been flowing through the drains under Brisbane-street all day, had risen to a depth of 3ft in the basement of the three shops on the opposite side of Brisbane-street from Devil's Gully. The water had still to rise another 18in. to 2ft., to cross the road itself, although there was a small lake behind the shops.

 

More trouble than anywhere else was caused in the basement of Mr C. Okada's laundry, where the water stopped all work early in the morning. The machinery was greased, and all easily movable parts were taken upstairs.

 

Yesterday, the General Hospital had to fall back on its reserve supply of water. The reserve is only enough to supply the needs of the staff and the patients for three days, without leaving any for laundry or similar purposes. The hospital sanitary system of course, will have to be supplied and with this the greatest trouble will arise if the town service is not renewed soon. The difficulty will probably be greater at the hospital than in any other institution in the town it some water supply is not available in a day or two.