These reports of the 1934 flood were in The Argus of December 4 & 5, 1934. The report from The Argus of December 3, can be read here and from December 6, here. There are photographs of the flood here, here and here.
The Argus, Tuesday, December 4, 1934, see here.
VAST DAMAGE IN WAKE OF FLOODS
THOUSANDS OF VICTIMS STILL HOMELESS
RELIEF TRAIN REACHES KOO-WEE-RUP
REHABILITATION OF TOWNSHIP BEGINS
Leaving in their wake scenes of desolation unprecedented in the history of the State, flood waters in all the stricken areas began to recede yesterday. Five thousand people are still homeless, and most of them are likely to remain so for some days.
Upon the arrival of the relief train at Koo-wee-rup yesterday, immediate arrangements were made by the Minister in Charge of Sustenance (Dr. Shields) on behalf of the Government for the rehabilitation of the township and the surrounding district, following the disastrous flood which rendered the inhabitants homeless on Sunday.
Incalculable damage has been done in the township of Koo-wee-rup and to hundreds of farms, and the work of reconstruction will take several months. The women and children have taken refuge at Dandenong and other centres, and it is the Government's wish that they should remain away from Koo-wee-rup until conditions are again normal.
HOMELESS MEN ENLISTED TO CLEAN UP TOWNSHIP
BY OUR SPECIAL REPORTER
Within half an hour of the arrival of the relief train at 1.35 p.m. yesterday the Minister for Public Assistance (Dr. Shields) had surveyed the flooded town ship of Koo-wee-rup by using a rowing boat and a motor-car. He then made arrangements for sustenance to be provided for the 4,000 flood victims in the town and district, and put into immediate operation a plan of reconstruction.
After having expressed sincere admiration for the fortitude and cheerfulness of the people, Dr. Shields assured the crowd of about 200 who had remained on the railway station or on the roofs of houses, and the privileged few who occupied the upper floors of the hotel and the bank - the only two-story buildings in the town - that the Government of Victoria would accept responsibility for the repair of damage done by flood water. The question of compensating settlers for the loss of their live stock and crops and the contents of their homes would receive the most sympathetic consideration of the Cabinet. The first work to be done was the removal of the carcases of the thousands of dead cattle, horses, sheep, pigs, and poultry. That had been begun already. The carcases would be dragged to the main canal, floated down on rafts to Westernport Bay, where they would be cut up and deposited in the sea.
Men to Clean Up Own Town
Dr. Shields said that all the homeless men in the district had been enlisted by his department as relief workers. They would be paid wages to clean up the town. More than 60 were at work already that afternoon, and another 150 men who had been rescued and taken to Dandenong, would be brought back by an early train to-day and given work. Until the debris was removed and the sanitation and water supply restored, it would be better that the women and children, who had been provided with food and shelter in Dandenong and elsewhere, should stay away. All the fit men would be brought back to prepare for the return of their families, and when conditions in the town were normal, with the shops stocked with food supplies and clothing, the population would be permitted to return. In the meantime the Government asked all but authorised relief workers to stay away. The families of the relief workers would be returned to their homes at the expense of the Government. In the meantime everyone in the district would be supplied with food, and those in special need with clothing. Relief workers would not receive their wages until the shops reopened. Dr. Shields said that many men and women from the adjoining towns and farms, particularly the fishermen from Tooradin, who had navigated their boats
through the floods, had rendered great assistance to their unfortunate neighbours. The flood had brought forth the best Australian qualities of prompt action, unselfishness, and help to others.
Canvas Town for Relief Workers
The relief train which brought Dr. Shields and the chairman of the State Rivers and Water Commission (Mr. R. H. Horsfield), with Dr. Paul Rowan, of the Health Commission, and other relief officials, was the first to reach the railway station since Friday.
The train brought food supplies for three days, and some clothing. Another train was sent last night with 100 tents, blankets, hydrants for hosing the houses and streets, and other plant for cleaning operations. Most of the relief workers slept last night in the goods shed at the railway station. A canvas town will spring up to-day, and the men will remain under canvas until the immediate work of reconstruction is complete.
Dr. Shields decided that school should not be opened before the Christmas holidays. Provision will be made for pupils to sit for their merit certificates and scholarships at other schools.
It was officially announced last night that the Health Commission had declared all shops and dwellings in Koo-wee-rup unfit for habitation until they had been cleaned and disinfected. Owners or occupiers will be informed when they may be occupied again. Prompt measures have been taken by the police to protect the town against people who may come there seeking free sustenance during the period of reconstruction.
On every hand there were expressions of thankfulness that the flood came in the early hours of Saturday, when many people were awake and able to raise the alarm. Senior-constable Whiteside, who, assisted by recruits from the police depot and scores of volunteers from Tooradin and elsewhere, led the rescue work, said that had the flood arrived in the middle of the night the death roll would have amounted to hundreds. Of the 600 inhabit ants of the town of Koo-wee-rup and about 3,500 settled on farms on the reclaimed swamp. Senior-constable Whiteside said that all had been accounted for except an unknown elderly man who had been camped near the main canal. It was believed that he was washed away after having refused to heed the warning that the flood was coming.
The Government will supply chaff for surviving cattle marooned on hills which are still surrounded by flood.
Telephone communication with Koo-wee-rup has been restored. The first motor-car to reach Koo-wee-rup contained the chief linesman from Lang Lang (Mr. J. Cuneen) and his two assistants Messrs D. Donaldson and J. Dixon. They drove for more than two miles through flood waters by the device of taking off the radiator fan, pulling rubber caps over the distributer, the oil intake, and other parts, and driving with the engine submerged. Water at one stage was 4 inches above the floor of the car. From the railway station they were taken across to the town by boat. The water was still 5 feet deep in the post office but the post mistress (Mrs Hamilton) remained in the town and yesterday afternoon she sorted the mails again. The telephone exchange is still submerged.
"Merged Into One Great Flood"
After an inspection of the whole Koo-wee-rup area yesterday accompanied by his district engineer (Mr Lupson) and the engineer of the Shire of Cranbourne (Mr Cockroft) the chairman of the State Rivers and Water Commission (Mr R. H. Horsfield) said that the rapidity with which the waters were draining after the catastrophe demonstrated that the drainage system although unable to cope with an unprecedented flood was more than enough for ordinary floods. Six rivers and creeks and all their tributaries over an area of 500 square miles had brought down the torrents from a deluge varying from 10 to 12 inches of rain in a few days. All the waters had merged into one great flood and had been thrown with unparalleled swiftness on to an area of about 100,000 acres. The drainage system could not cope with that. The banks could be repaired with little cost.
The Argus, Tuesday, December 4, 1934, see here.
TALES OF TRAGEDY
AND HEROISM
From Our Special Representatives
KOO-WEE-RUP, Tuesday.- The streets of Koo-wee-rup are now free of water, but surrounding paddocks are still submerged. Rooms are being hosed out bodies of dead animals removed, and debris and litter cleared away. About 150 men have been enlisted for the work. The Johnson and McMillan families, and their eight children, sought refuge on Saturday in the rafters of Johnson's house. All 12 persons lay on one mattress strung across the rafters, until they were rescued yesterday afternoon. They were practically without food for two days.
Wrecked by Cattle
The house of Mr Stanley, editor of the shire newspaper, at Koo-wee-rup was wrecked when a herd of terror-stricken cattle broke in and smashed furniture and china. The first car to make a complete journey to the Koo-wee-rup swamp area thus morning was The Herald car, which travelled by way of Tooradin,Lang Lang, Koo-wee-rup township and Pakenham. Miles of road and fences have been destroyed. Paddocks are strewn with dead stock. Starving chickens are perched in dozens on farmhouse roofs. A swarm of bees was seen clinging to a branch above flooded hives.
Hardly a house on the swamp is inhabited. The only sign of life among the ruined crops and pastures are a few mobs of lost cattle, and here and there knots of homeless persons surveying the remains of their farms.
The Argus, Tuesday, December 4, 1934, see here.
POTATO CROPS
DAMAGE BY FLOODS
12,000 ACRES DESTROYED
SERIOUS SHORTAGE FEARED
Melbourne potato merchants said yesterday that floods in the Koo-wee-rup and Trafalgar districts and other low-lying potato-growing areas in Gippsland had destroyed 11,000 to 12,000 acres of potato crops representing a loss of from 40,000 to 50,000 tons of potatoes. As the crops in these areas have been under water for some days a merchant considered that no potatoes would be obtained from Koo-wee-rup.
The flood occurred at a time when growers would be unable to obtain seed for replanting he added. The areas affected supplied the bulk of the potatoes for Melbourne in the first five months of the year and Melbourne consumers would have to rely upon supplies grown in the Western district and in the Gippsland hill country. It is feared that there will be a temporary shortage of potatoes in the immediate future because growers in the Brighton district are unable to dig their crops. Owing to scant supplies in the market yesterday prices increased 20/ to 30/ a ton. Brighton Carmens were quoted at £10 to £11 and prime old season's redsoil potatoes at £7 to £7/1 a ton.
The Argus, Wednesday, December 5, 1934, see here.
BUSINESS AT STANDSTILL AT KOO-WEE-RUP
200 MEN CLEANING TOWN
KOO-WEE-RUP, Tuesday. - About 200 men were engaged to-day cleaning out business premises and houses. Business is at a standstill, and shops will not be allowed to reopen until passed by the
Health Commission. The houses are uninhabitable.
DANDENONG, Tuesday. - All the men refugees from the flooded areas of Koo-wee-rup, who had been cared for in the Scout Hall, Dandenong, returned to Koo-wee-rup this morning to help in the work of reconstruction. Several more refugees were brought to Dandenong last night and given clothing and food. One man, who had not removed his rubber waders since Friday night, was in a serious condition, and he was admitted to a private hospital.
The special committee of men and women appointed to carry out relief work in Dandenong gave splendid service in administering relief to sufferers at the Scout Hall. The Colonial Gas Association installed several gas-stoves to provide hot food and drinks to the refugees. After the men victims returned to Koo-wee-rup this morning a quantity of surplus clothing and foodstuffs in the Scout Hall was sent to Bunyip for distribution among sufferers in that area.
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