Real Climate Records

The exceptionally heavy downpour of yesterday has produced a flood in the Saltwater River without a parallel since 1871.

So far no loss of life is reported, but there are some families about which a good deal of anxiety is felt. At 3 o’clock yesterday afternoon the water commenced to rise. At 5 o’clock there was some sudden accession to the rushing torrent and the river rose very rapidly. By 10 o’clock it had reached a point 14in. higher than the flood of 1871, and it was still rising rapidly.

At the Maribyrnong-bridge, on the Maribyrnong-road, the river is a raging torrent, swirling round the approaches on both sides, and threatening the whole structure momentarily with destruction.

At 1 o’clock this morning the river at this point was half a mile wide. On the Braybrook side of the river stands an old-time hostelry, known as the Anglers’ Arms, kept by John Alves. The water rose rapidly in the building, and about half-past 11 o’clock Alves and his family were compelled to fly for their lives. At that time the water had reached the level of the bar counter in

the front rooms.

A little above the Anglers’ Arms is a boatshed, kept by a man named Fitzsimmons. It is a two-storey place, and during the afternoon the flood made its way into the lower rooms. About midnight the police coo-ed to Fitzsimmons, and he replied that he was all right, being still in possession of the upper floors of the place.

Just over the bridge from Ascotvale the road takes a sharp turn to the southward and about a quarter of a mile down is another hotel – the Maribyrnong – the licensee of which is James Spong. Below that is a house occupied by James Flynn. His house was completely surrounded by water, but whether or not he has made his escape could not be ascertained this morning.

In front of the Maribyrnong Hotel is a lamp about 8 ft, high. From the Ascotvale side of the river the water could be seen, as the light was cast on it, swirling round the glass – a depth of about 7 ft.

Cattle, sheep, and pigs are being carried down the stream in large numbers. Two or three boats have gone past the bridge, and there is a sensational story that in one of them was a man, his wife, and two children. They coo-ed as they were swept past Alves’s Hotel, but, though they received an answering call, nothing could be done for them.

One boat, which came in close to the bank was intercepted by the police.

The Maribyrnong bridge was built many years ago. Its piles are sunk in the solid rock, so that they will probably stand the strain. The decking may, however, go, and it seemed almost a certainty about midnight that the raised approaches on either side would have disappeared by the morning. Already it was considered quite unsafe to attempt to cross it.

Sergeant M’Allister, who is in charge of the police on the Ascotvale side, informed the police at Footscray and Braybrook, it is presumed that they are doing everything possible for the safety of those in peril.