The 1956 Murray River flood involved the rising of waters in the Murray River and flooding of many towns in three states of Australia, including the towns of Colignan, Iraak, Mannum, Murray Bridge, Mildura, Nangiloc, Red Cliffs, Renmark, Wentworth and many others.
The flood occurred due to higher than average rainfalls in Western Queensland and heavy rains in the proceeding three months in Murray catchment areas, peaking at 12.3 metres at Morgan, South Australia. Some areas were flooded up to 100 km from the natural flow of the river.
The flood was and still is considered the biggest flood in the recorded history of the River Murray and described as "the greatest catastrophe in South Australia’s history".
As a result of the flood, the Menindee Lakes were constructed to store high flows from the Darling River.
Famous quotes containing the words murray, river and/or flood:
“Ye Highlands and ye Lawlands.
Oh! where hae ye been?
They hae slain the Earl of Murray,
And hae laid him on the green.”
—Unknown. The Bonny Earl of Murray (l. 1–4)
“There are knives that glitter like altars
In a dark church
Where they bring the cripple and the imbecile
To be healed.
There’s a woden block where bones are broken,
Scraped clean—a river dried to its bed”
—Charles Simic (b. 1938)
“Myths, as compared with folk tales, are usually in a special category of seriousness: they are believed to have “really happened,” or to have some exceptional significance in explaining certain features of life, such as ritual. Again, whereas folk tales simply interchange motifs and develop variants, myths show an odd tendency to stick together and build up bigger structures. We have creation myths, fall and flood myths, metamorphose and dying-god myths.”
—Northrop Frye (1912–1991)