Big gumboots to fill in 2019
Town tops Australia for third straight year
PARRAMATTA Park resident Abby McLean may well empty out her golden gumboot but the national award for the most rainfall in a year goes to ... Well, you’ll just have to turn to Page 5 to find out the answer along with some other interesting facts.
BABINDA has beaten archrival Tully for the title of Australia’s wettest town for the third year in a row.
Figures released by the Bureau of Meteorology show Babinda, 60km south of Cairns, recorded annual rainfall of 5383.8mm, more than 1m above Tully’s total of 4367.1mm.
Babinda Quarters guesthouse owner Margaret Nelson said she was not surprised the town snatched the win this year.
“But do you reckon they (Tully) will really give up the (Golden) Gumboot or will there be an argument or a fight or a tug-o-war for it?” she asked.
Ms Nelson said it had been a particularly wet year, with rainfall delivered in short, hard falls rather than extended periods of drizzle. “I have had guests that have been trapped by the Russell River and stuck in town for seven days,” she said.
Ms Nelson said the Golden Gumboot title was some lighthearted fun, but at the same time, the town’s pride was on the line.
Rotary member Ron Hunt was the project manager of the Tully Golden Gumboot build that celebrates the all-time Australian rainfall record of 7898.0mm set in 1959.
He conceded Babinda had won the title for the last few years but said the town would never beat Tully’s 8m record.
“We all tongue-in-cheek have a little joke about it and I keep saying, ‘well look, when you get 8m, come and talk and we will see what we can do’,” he said.
Mr Hunt said at the time the Golden Gumboot was built Tully was the wettest town but in 2002 rain gauges were repositioned to give Babinda the upper hand in the rain stakes.
Southern Cairns was lashed by strong winds and heavy rain yesterday but Cairns City escaped a dousing. Today the Bureau of Meteorology is predicting a 95 per cent chance of rain between 30 to 80mm.