Creator Irrigation and Water Supply Commission Queensland

Date 1928

Map shows the extent of the river’s penetration into the streets and blocks of the city, including the city centre where the waters were practically lapping at the Town Hall.⁣
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Following a week of rain, including a fall of one hundred centimetres in just 24 hours, the Great Flood of 1893 cost 35 lives and swept away the Victoria Bridge. The flood recurred 3 times in two weeks in what came to be called Black February.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣Brisbane was a booming city of 140,000 citizens at this time. The loss of the Victoria Bridge, cutting the city’s lifeline between north and south, required a ferry service for several years while a replacement bridge was constructed.

This map was published by the Irrigation & Water Supply Commission Queensland in 1928, as part of flood mitigation planning, and ongoing fact of life for the beautiful river city.

Source: State Library of Queensland