1893 Brisbane Flood - Early Warning Signs of The 1st and 3rd Floods

Early Warning Signs of The 1st and 3rd Floods

Henry Plantagenet Somerset (1852–1936), was a landowner in the area where the Stanley River and the Upper Brisbane River meet. He built a homestead called "Caboonbah" on the cliffs above the river, where he lived with his wife, Katherine Rose Somerset (1855–1935). Caboonbah meant “big rock” in the local indigenous language, and it was built 60 feet (18 metres) higher than the rock cliff (Weldon’s Knob) which was the location of the previous highest flood mark, from the 1890 flood event.

In early February, after the heavy rains caused by Tropical Cyclone Buninyong, the weather had finally broken, and to his surprise, Somerset saw from his porch a great wall of water come down the Stanley River. This was especially concerning to Somerset, as the heavy rains caused by a tropical cyclone Buninyong (informally named after the ship that first sighted it) had already caused the Stanley River to exceed the 1890 flood level. Somerset, realizing that people downriver where in great danger sent one of his workers, Henry (Harry) Winwood to Esk to send a telegraph to warn them. The telegraph sent warned the Brisbane General Post Office that Brisbane, Ipswich, Goodna, Lowood and other areas were in danger. The inhabitants of Brisbane were not worried however due to the fine weather, as the days of heavy rain having ended, all threat of floods seemed to have disappeared. The Brisbane General Post Office only posted the warning on a single noticeboard, and it went almost completely unheeded.

On 17 February, another cyclone crossed the Queensland coast near Bundaberg to drench the already saturated Brisbane River catchment. Somerset observed that the Brisbane River was flooded in similar levels to the first flood of the Stanley River. He knew that the telegraph lines were down between Esk and Brisbane, but he knew that there was a telegraph office at the small township of North Pine (now Petrie), although this would require crossing the D'Aguilar Range. William (Billy) Mateer, of Eidsvold (Dalgangel Station) was Somerset's most talented horseman, and he was selected to undertake this dangerous mission. Somerset and his men had to arrange for a dangerous crossing of the already flooded Brisbane River, with Mateer sent on with the only surviving horse (called Lunatic). Mateer survived the hazardous journey to North Pine, and delivered Somerset's message, which was again sadly ignored.

Whilst the warnings went unheeded, as a result of these heroic efforts, Caboonbah Station was made an official flood warning station, with a telegraph line to Esk. Somerset initially manned the station in its early years, having to use morse code for 12 years prior to the introduction of the telephone.

In modern times, Caboonbah Homestead was restored and used as a museum, but unfortunately the restoration works were undone on Monday 11 May 2009, when the homestead caught fire and burnt to the ground.