Remembering the 1955 Hunter Floods

historic photos of the 1955 Hunter Floods, NSW Australia

[@larraineivanturnbull6702]

I was on holiday at Carrowbrook, NE of Singleton , having ridden my 250c cc BSA to there, as a young inexperienced rider. We got word that it was possible to get through Singleton fo get back to Hexham where my mothers house had almost six feet to water through it, The rain in the creek prevented me from getting out for a couple of weeks, as there were a few creek crossings too deep for a cycle. However later I got out and over the Dunolly bridge , there were army trucks carting mud away from the main street and they were crabbing in the slime and battling the camber. I went down off the bridge and slid into the kerb.It was so slushy I struggled to stand up and there were miles of this just to get through the town, so I managed to get back up the slope to the bridge and returned to Carrowbrook fo another few days. The long bridge had been washed away at Mailand just below the Hospital. but they put a temporary road below it. I spent the next six months of weekends repainting the interior of the family home. There a huge amount of work done to clean up everywhere and we have to take our hats off to those folk who did it, much of it unpaid too.

[@cathyallan3045]

I lived in one of these streets, Wolf Street Maitland just behind Maitland hospital . Next to Hampton Court. My mother who was Colleen Scully-Scullthorpe and her family were all stuck in this flood. My mum is now 83.

[@brucewilliams8714]

What a timely reminder of the power of a flood. It is to be hoped that the present floods (March 2021) don't inflict the same damage and concern.

[@onamission1848]

I lived in Rutherford for 4 years and my ex father-in-law lived through the floods. Him a another man were stuck on the long bridge overnight. They were standing on the rails holding onto a light pole. He use to tell me they saw a huge house floating by with people on the roof. As far as I remember he said there were a few deaths. His name was Allan Peak. He later worked on the Maitland Gaol until its closure when he was assistant superintendent.

[@cathyallan3045]

My mother was in this flood she has shared many frightening and sad memories of it.

[@tonsta1703]

one of those houses under water could have been my house, the roof was full of flood mud, originally from downtown Maitland, and relocated into Telarah

[@tauruschikybabe]

my dad was in the RAAF and was part of the clean up...he said it was horrendous.

[@bushranger51]

If you have ever watched the Australian movie "Newsfront" with Bill Hunter, these floods were covered in that, with actual footage shot by the cameramen of the day, of course the closeups were done in studio, but the rest was actual footage. As to the question if any one was killed in these floods, I honestly cannot answer that, But I do remember seeing signs in our local movie theatre taking up a collection for the family one of the camermen of the Maitland flood, so I suppose there was at least one death that I can recall.

[@nowhereman7813]

My dad was on a bender at his mum and dads in Kurri Kurri on leave after coming home from the Korean war and was ordered to join in the rescue and clean up operations

[@darrenrodneysales5973]

My Mother's Family (Lanham) lived on Campbells Hill and my father's family in Louth Park.........often my parents tell me about driving the Cabs out of town before the floodwaters hit.............my mum is now 89, and my father is deceased....The shot at 8.37 shows trains at Maitland Station to this day (2017) NSW Railways still denies that trains were caught up in the 1955 flood

[@wazza33racer]

they blew the dam still under construction using a media black out , that water flooded into maitland in addition to already high waters and the rest is history. I owned an old house in central maitland, the water was 20ft deep.

[@TheBobbyWright]

The Old Home Town Don't Look The Same>>>

[@manyanful]

I was on the last rain through Maitland and we just made it out

[@manyanful]

I meant TRAIN, we had been on holidays in Foster and dad and mum both decided to cut it short by a day, just as well as his mate and family were on the next train and got stuck.

[@StevenGuegens-ex7by]

It's pretty

[@vananhcuocsonguc1808]

old times man

[@StevenGuegens-ex7by]

Would of been one of the most prettiest floods that I have ever seen it's pretty COOL 💯 percent 👍😎

[@Prieze868]

Did anyone die in the 1955 Maitland floods