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50th Anniversary of the 1955 Maitland FloodPrint Page Print this page

10-July-2017
10-July-2017

Photographs supplied by Stephen Woods

The plaque commemorates the victims of the 1955 flood disaster.

In February 1955, Maitland and the Hunter Valley experienced its most severe flood. The 1955 Maitland Flood was the first Australian natural disaster to be broadcast by the media on an international scale and is considered Australia’s worst flood. The waters reached 12.5 metres and caused damage of catastrophic proportions.

The volume of flood water was enough to fill 1.5 million Olympic Swimming pools and the cost of damage, in today’s currency, would have been over $2 billion. 7000 buildings and homes were damaged and the flood claimed the lives of 14 people. The 1955 flood was also the first Australian natural disaster to be transmitted world wide via modern media technologies.

Location

Address:Church Street, Maitland Railway Station, Maitland, 2320
State:NSW
Area:AUS
GPS Coordinates:Lat: -32.737778
Long: 151.551944
Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.
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Details

Monument Type:Plaque
Monument Theme:Disaster
Sub-Theme:Flood

Dedication

Actual Monument Dedication Date:Saturday 26th February, 2005
Front Inscription

"Remember, Commemorate and Prepare"

50th anniversary of the 1955 flood

25 February 2005

This memorial plaque is dedicated to the 14 people who lost their lives in the 1955 flood

Peter Blackmore  Mayor
David Evans        General Manager

Source: MA
Monument details supplied by Monument Australia - www.monumentaustralia.org.au