The Deluge of 1913 – a river’s force
Did you know . . . Before the floods of 1978 and 1984, Southland’s great flood was the Deluge of 1913?
On March 29, 1913, Gore was inundated by a flooded Mataura River. This flash-flood was probably started by a cloud-burst in the Mataura Gorge.
The river burst its banks and flooded the town to a depth of 1.8m. Half the town suffered water damage and the cost was estimated at £100,000.
The Southland Times reported: at 3.30am on Saturday a man named Dennis Gordon went to the police station, and told Sergeant Burrows that the river had broken through the embankment at Jacobstown, and that a flood was imminent.
‘‘He suggested that he should ring the fire bell, which stands about 50 yards from the police station, and went away to do so.
‘‘No sooner had he left, however, than the bell clanged out its message, and in a few minutes people were hurrying and scurrying in all directions, knowing all too well what the alarm was intended to convey.
‘‘The river at the rear of the police station had then advanced as far as the railway line and could be seen rising rapidly. Horses were procured by the police and others, who galloped or ran through the streets shouting the startling news that a flood was upon the town.
‘‘People were slow to believe that the occurrence could warrant such alarm, and as a result of their tardiness a good deal of valuable time was lost. Rising steadily the water broke over the railway line at 7am and surged over the main street and back across the flats. At last the townspeople realised their danger, and they had either to run for safety or take to their roofs and lofts.
‘‘Within an hour or two the water had risen to a point said to be three feet higher than any previous flood, and ran with terrific force down the streets.
‘‘Numbers of people who had failed to leave the flats when the warning was given were cut off, and, as it was then problematical as to how high the river would rise, their predicament was most serious. Carts were soon out collecting people from various houses and conveying them to the refuges on higher ground. The rescuers, whose names could not he ascertained yesterday, continued their work at great personal risk as long as they were able, and they were instrumental in saving large numbers of the isolated in drays and other vehicles.’’
Following the flood, stopbanks were built upstream and there has been no repeat of the flood damage.
Southland’s first motor exhibition was the Southland Olympia Motor and Cycle Exhibition, which was set up in King’s Hall, Invercargill for three days in May 1924, at a time when motorcar ownership was becoming affordable.
Cars on display included Hudson Super-Six, Essex Six, Rugby, Hupmobile, Overland and Jewett.
‘‘The Olympia – A superb and brilliant display – Magnificently illuminated – Masterfully arranged – Greatest array of motor cars ever seen in Southland. The evolution of transportation and the banishment of isolation. The triumph of scientific effort. The stupendous success of mechanical skill.’’
Adults were charged a shilling and children sixpence.
Much of Southland’s early railway history lies with the wreck of the Cezarewitch, which sank off Big Bay in 1876. With a change in railway gauge, the old broad-gauge rolling stock was sold to Sydney but the fateful voyage was described by The Southland Times as a ‘‘fool’s errand’’ as the ship was known to be leaking at ‘‘an inch an hour’’.
Ironically, when Canterbury sold its broad-gauge locomotives and carriages to the South Australia Government in 1878, the vessel chartered to transport them, the Hyderabad, also came to grief. She was driven ashore on the Levin coast but the cargo was salvaged and continued its journey to Australia. Until recently the remains of the Hyderabad were still visible but the wreck is now buried by advancing sand dunes. Hyderabad is the name of a city in India and another in Pakistan, and a cezarewitch, spelt in various ways, is the son of the Russian tsar.
Southland’s first Girl Guide Company was set up at Southland Girls’ High School in 1922 by the headmistress Anna Drennan, who had been a Guide leader in Scotland. The company was officially registered on May 23, 1923. At first they had no uniform but as the Guide movement became more organised, they got some useful kit including a belt marked in inches for measuring stuff and a wide-brimmed hat, which served as an umbrella in the rain, a sunshade in the summer, a vessel for carrying water to extinguish a fire and a fan with which to revive a fainting patient.