THE FLOODS IN AUSTRALIA.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4351, 22 February 1893, Page 2

THE FLOODS IN AUSTRALIA.

The Waters Subsiding in Bnsbam. London,-February 20. The Queensland Relief Fund has reached L2OOO. Sidney, February 21. The floods are receding at Grafton, Reports from tho neighbouring districts state -that the maize crop is nearly all destroyed. The youug sugar canes have sustained much damage. Brisbane, February 21. Tho flood waters are slowly subsiding. The loss, as compared with that of a fortnight ago, is comparatively small in Brisbano itself. The country between Ipswich and the city, however, is in a terrible condition, The railway is considerably damaged, nud many small bridges have been washed away. The Post's correspondent at the Bluff wires: —Cnpt. Vernor gives a •Iramatio account of tho escape of himself and his family. He says— Wo remained in the house getting things on tho ceiling until the water drove us out. We then went in a boat to the loft of the stable, but within half an hour were driven out of there also. We intended fastening on to a tree, but the current was so strong that we did not manage it. As a forlorn hope we made for the main on the chance that we might, reach the land on the other side, but we ran into the branches of a tree, Tho boat capsized, and we were all struggling in the fearful torrent, My boy and one of the girls managed to get hold of the branohes and by the greatest miraole my wife and our other two daughters, my brother and myself, got hold of the branches nf a tree about 80 feet away. This branch was Boon under water, so my wife tore up her skirt, made a rope of it and my brother and I managed to pull them through the water to another small branch, This was getting covered with water, so we managed after a hard struggle to pull the children 011 to the main branch, but tho river was running at such an awtnl rale that wo could not attempt to bring my wife, Thero was a small fork at the top of the limb she was on, and, with the help of my shoulders, she managed to scramble on this, and there she remained in a most fearful position till we were rescued. It rained nnd a bitterly cold wind blew all tho time; I thon'got to whero tny little girls were and held ou to them. We were in this position for 23 hours, and when it was getting near dark we gave up hope, The end must have come within an hour, when to our joy we saw two little flat-bottomed puntß coming to the rescue. There were two men in each punt, and how they had managed to • guide their frail crafts I cannot tell, Within ton minutes wo were all aboard, and after we landed on the other side we were received with great enthusiasm by our friends, Thoy crisd, laughed hysterically, and seemed mad with joy, and in a very short time wo were housed und in dry clothes, We managed to get across to the old home yesterday for an hour or two. The scene of devastation I cannot describe. First we found a dead horse and four big calves in tho house, The ceiling where we had placed our valuables and clothes had fallen down, and everything was laying in a jumbled condition, covered with a foot of mud, The stenoh was fearful, . The children are all right, but I don't think my wife will ever completely got over it. From Loward to Fern Vale only one bouse besides ours is loft on the bank of the river.

Tho principal articles of food and horso food are fetching big prices, The following are somo of the retail quotations Flour, £5 per sack of 2001b; sugar, id to Gd per lbj maize, JOs up to 15a per bushel, Potatoes in some places aro sold at a penny each, Bakers, by common consent, are charging very little more than the ordinary prices for bread,

Tho stenme.rs on the river wore in great peril during the flood, While tho Wodonga whs lying on her two anchors a keen watch had to bo kept, The sheds on tho wharves were covered, and vessels were swinging as in a lako, being kept in their course by reference to tho compass alono. The officer? and crew had an anxious time. On Saturday night it was noticed that the Konoowarra, which was lying just above, had broken tier cables. For a timo a collision appeared imminent, but tho vessels cleared one another, and the Konoowarra was brought up and moored in tho stream, where she remained until tho waters fell, The samo night the Patore, which had also broken from her moorings, passed an Association Company's boat and all the Government dredges, and went down the stream, Tho Buninyong also had a narrow escape from being run into by a small sternwheeler, which was just kept off her bows, All night the utmost anxiety was felt, as in addition to tho larger vessels that broke loose, numberless small orafts were carried down the stream, as well as wreckage of tho bridges and houses,

(By Telegraph.—Press Association.) Wellington, Wednesday, _ Telegrams from any Bank, remitting monej collected for tho Queensland sufferers, will pass free ovor all land and cable linen,