DISASTROUS FLOODS IN QUEENSLAND.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2463, 11 February 1893, Page 4

DISASTROUS FLOODS IN QUEENSLAND.

(Sydney, Feb. 9. A number of merchants subscribed which was forwarded to Brisbane to-day to the sufferers by the flood. A public meeiiT® has been called to raise relief funds, and it 1." expected that the other colonies will copy xh? example of Sydney residents and take steps t° a F leviate the distress which is bound to follow the disaster. Brisbane, Feb. 9.

Traiii communication with (South Brisbane was resumed to-day, but a gap of about 150 yards in length at Goodna has to be traversed by the passengers on foot in order to join the train on the Ipswich side. The telegraph line has been temporarily repaired. Antigua bridge, across the Mory river, which cost £30,000, was swept away. Many small vessels lying in the river have disappeared. There is very little food in the city, and £ls is asked for a bag of flour. The newspapers are being printed at the Government Printing office. It is still raining intermittently, and more rain is predicted. It will probably be many weeks before a true estimate of the damage can be arrived at. The gunboat Palumah and the steamer Elamang are now lying in the pathway in the Botanical Gardens, where they were deposited by the flood. The steamer Derwent and tug boats are ashore near the mouth of the river. Three lives were lost in the city through a boat capsizing, and a boy named Halters and a man named Florace were drowned by the upsetting of a punt. Two children were drowned in the State School ground. Toowoomba, Feb. 8.

Queen street, Brisbane, is now free of water. Victoria bridge collapsed with a fearful crash on Sunday, shaking the buildings in the vicinity as if an earthquake had occurred. Nothing is left to mark the site of the structure. South Brisbane is in a terrible state, and only twenty-five houses are left standing in Stanley street, which is one stretch of ruin. At Kangaroo Point families clung tenaciously to their belongings, but they were eventually forced to flee for their lives, losing all their possessions. Rescuing parties were at work day and night. Many families are living in boats covered with sails, while the less fortunate ones are sheltered behind logs and timber. There has been great destruction amongst live stock, nnd the stench from the carcases lying in all directions is terrible.

A portion of .he residents in Oxley were in a critical condition for some time, but a torpedo boat towing a whaleboat convoyed them provisions and rendered them assistance.

The botanical gardens are a complete wreck. The names of those drowned so far as is known arc Messrs Power and Gray, and a boy, Hank in. February 9.

Many exciting sc'-mes occurred in Brisbane dining the Hood. A number of women were rescued scantily clothed, and were carried to high grounds, where they wore camped under verandahs. The wailing of the women and children and cries of distressed animals could bo heard over the noise caused by the roaring river. The steamer Belle br«ke away from her moorings, and after rounding Kangaroo Poirrt a crash was heard, and it is feared that the vessel has sunk with her crew of four hands.

At Sandgate immense quantities of debris, including portions of Ironses, are coming ashore.

Two men, named Keogh and Young, have been drowned, and several otherc are known to be lost, but their names are not obtainable.

The damage in North Brisbane alone will roach hundreds of thousands of pounds. Over one hundred houses were washed down the river within an hour, being smashed to pieces as they collided with Victoria bridge. Many statements

have been made that human beings were washed down the river clinging to wreckage, and, if so, they must have perished.

A man and a woman were seen on the roof of a house which capsized at a bend in the river, and both were drowned. The authorities have secured all the disinfectants in Brisbane, and gangs of men are employed removing the deposit of mud from the streets. The same tale of disaster comes from outside districts to the southward of Rockhampton. The whole of the eastern portion of the colony is almost literally under water.

Late last night it was reported that 15 bodies had been found in Hanby Street, South Brisbane.