Gundagai floods
The Gundagai floods of 1852 represent one of the deadliest natural disasters in Australian history, occurring when the Murrumbidgee River overflowed, devastating the town of Gundagai in New South Wales. This catastrophic event resulted in the destruction of nearly the entire settlement, claiming the lives of approximately 89 individuals, including many children, and forcing survivors to seek refuge in treetops as floodwaters surged. The region had a long history of flooding, with local Indigenous peoples, the Wiradjuri, warning European settlers about the river's dangers, which were initially dismissed.
The floods not only resulted in significant loss of life but also led to the complete destruction of many buildings, prompting the New South Wales government to relocate Gundagai to higher ground in the years following the disaster. Among the heroes of the flood were two Wiradjuri men, Yarri and Jackey, who undertook perilous rescues, saving numerous townspeople. In recognition of their bravery, the people of Gundagai later honored them with breastplates and pensions. Today, Gundagai is celebrated as an iconic Australian country town, with memorials and commemorative sculptures acknowledging its history and the resilience of its community.
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Gundagai floods
The Gundagai floods occurred in 1852 when the Murrumbidgee River overflowed its banks and devastated the New South Wales town of Gundagai. The raging river destroyed almost the entire town, leaving only three buildings intact, and forced people to flee into the treetops. An estimated eighty-nine people—about a third of the town’s population—died in the floods, making them the deadliest in Australia’s history.
Background
Gundagai is located in southern New South Wales, just north-west of Canberra. The Murrumbidgee River, Australia’s third-longest river at 1,485 kilometres—flows from the Snowy Mountains through the plains of the Gundagai region. The Wiradjuri people had lived in the area for more than 50,000 years and were well aware of the river’s potential for flooding. European settlers first arrived in the region in 1824 and established the town of Gundagai in 1838. As the newcomers were in the process of building, the Wiradjuri warned them of the dangers of flooding, but those warnings were disregarded at first.
In 1844, the Murrumbidgee flooded the town, killing two people and causing significant damage. The townspeople sought the help of the New South Wales government, asking Gundagai be relocated. However, the government declined to take action, believing the worst flooding had already occurred.
Impact
In June 1852, the Gundagai region experienced several weeks of heavy rains, culminating in the Murrumbidgee jumping its banks on 24 June. The floodwaters struck with such force that houses and buildings were torn from the ground and swept away. Whereas in 1844 residents had sought shelter on the town’s rooftops, this time only the treetops remained as potential safe havens. Some people spent days clinging to the trees, while others died when they lost their grip and fell into the swollen Murrumbidgee.
As the river tore through Gundagai, several Wiradjuri men risked their own lives to save the townspeople. Legend has it that a Wiradjuri man named Yarri rescued forty-nine people in his bark canoe. Another Wiradjuri named Jackey rescued another twenty using a rowboat.
When the floodwaters finally receded, about 89 out of the town’s population of 250 had been killed; however the true death toll may never be known. At least thirty-five children were among the dead. It was the greatest loss of life in a flood in the nation’s history. Forty-eight of Gundagai’s seventy-eight buildings were completely washed away and all but three of the remaining structures were damaged beyond repair.
In the years after the Gundagai floods, the government of New South Wales relocated the town to higher ground on the slopes nearby of Mount Parnassus. Today, Gundagai has earned a reputation as an iconic Australian country town and has been the subject of several songs and poems. In 1875, Yarri and Jackey were honoured by the people of Gundagai with engraved breastplates and lifetime pensions. On the 165th anniversary of the floods in 2017, the town erected a bronze sculpture in their memory.
Bibliography
Edwards, Caroline, and Jono Lineen. “Australia’s Deadliest Flood.” National Museum of Australia, 21 June 2018, www.nma.gov.au/explore/blog/deadliest-flood. Accessed 16 Dec. 2020.
Gapps, Stephen. “On the River to Gundagai—Yarri, Jacky and the Great Flood of 1852.” Australian National Maritime Museum, 24 Nov. 2017, www.sea.museum/2017/11/24/yarri-jacky-great-flood-1852. Accessed 16 Dec. 2020.
“Gundagai Flood.” National Museum of Australia, 15 Apr. 2020, https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/gundagai-flood-1852. Accessed 16 Dec. 2020.
“Gundagai, NSW.” Aussie Towns, 2020, www.aussietowns.com.au/town/gundagai-nsw. Accessed 16 Dec. 2020.
“Murrumbidgee.” Murray-Darling Basin Authority, 28 Oct. 2020, www.mdba.gov.au/water-management/catchments/murrumbidgee. Accessed 16 Dec. 2020.
O’Gorman, Emily. “Gundagai 1852: The Town That Moved.” Flood Country: An Environmental History of the Murray-Darling Basin. CSRIO Publishing, 2012, pp. 15–60.
Soerjohardjo, Wardiningsih. “Remembering Yarrie: An Indigenous Australian and the 1852 Gundagai Flood.” Public History Review, vol. 19, no. 120, December 2012.
“25 Jun 1852—Flood Disaster in Gundagai.” NSW Government, 2020, www.records.nsw.gov.au/archives/magazine/onthisday/25-june-1852. Accessed 16 Dec. 2020.