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Flood MonumentPrint Page Print this page

Flood Monument : 12-February-2011
Flood Monument : 12-February-2011

Photographs supplied by Glen Yeomans

The stone commemorates those from the Army, Council, citizens and volunteers who assisted the the raising of the levee bank during the floods of 1990.

The 1990 Great Floods were the worst that most of the affected areas had ever experienced (in the Nyngan region, rainfall was the highest on record). At their peak, flood waters covered over 1 million square kilometres of Queensland and New South Wales, and also affected South-east Victoria in a concurrent but separate extreme event. Well over 2,000 buildings were inundated and large crop losses occurred with an estimated 1 million livestock dead.

In the extensive flooding which afflicted western New South Wales for much of the autumn and winter of 1990, the small towns of Nyngan (population 2500) and Warren (2000) became major focal points of flood response action. Nyngan achieved instant fame late in April when its levee banks proved not to be high enough to hold out the worst flood ever recorded in the Bogan river valley; the town became the first in Australia to be evacuated, virtually in its entirety, by helicopter. Just over three months later Warren made news by virtue of its co-ordinated and ultimately successful effort, backed by defence force assistance, to rebuild and raise its levees against the flood waters of the Macquarie River. 

 

Location

Address:Oxley Highway , Oxley Park , Warren, 2824
State:NSW
Area:AUS
GPS Coordinates:Lat: -31.697194
Long: 147.839917
Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.
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Details

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

Dedication

Actual Monument Dedication Date:Sunday 28th October, 1990
Front Inscription

This stone is dedicated to the combined efforts of the Royal Australian Army 1st Brigade, Warren Shire Council staff, the people of Warren and volunteers who during the August 1990 floods of the Lower Macquarie River Valley raised the height of the town levee by a minimum of 500mm for a distance of 9,500m in 4 days using 15,000 cubic metres of earth fill and 70,000 sand bags.

1st Field Squadron Royal Australian Army Engineers : Major Frank Riley
6 / 12 Medium Regiment Royal Australian Army Artillery : Major Geoff Jones
Shire President : Cr. Rex WIlson
Shire Clerk : Mr. D. Trezise
Shire Engineer / SES Local Controller : Mr. David Uphill

28th October 1990

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