Eric Thomas, then a primary school boy, living on Ballarto Road recalls the following about this extraordinary flood.
"December 1, 1934. A wet season with heavy rain through October to November and into December led to excessive flooding throughout the KooWeeRup Swamp due to a king tide in Western Port Bay.
Water was over six feet deep in Koo-Wee-Rup town and all low lying areas were covered for a considerable time. Drainage works had been done for many years through the large Swamp with minimal results.
At the time the Water Commission was working on a new drain to take the waters from Clyde Creek on a direct course to the Bay. They had come from the Bay to within about 20 feet of connecting with Clyde Creek when the flood came so the waters continued along the Creek down to add to the Swamp. The new drain came up through the Thomas farm to connect with the Creek just south of the Ballarto Road bridge.
The Creek flowed within a few chain of our house and a large portion of our farm was inundated. Our truck was registered as an "Area Carrier" vehicle and was put into service clearing drowned stock from the area to a disposal point."
Learning from History
Oldtimers' stories like these have real value for land developers who want to avoid or mininize flooding on their properties. Even I can recall water covering areas of the Cranbourne and Berwick districts that are now housing estates. Do you have similar recollections?
Do you have any snippets of information about Clyde floods?
- Have you been researching your ancestors who once lived in Clyde? The blog Clyde Victoria - Family History Tools is designed for you.
- Clyde History website: https://www.earlyhistory4clydevic.com
- Editor - clydehistory@gmail.com
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