1916 Flood MemorialPrint Page 
On the night of 28 December 1916 when cyclonic waters rushed through the town sweeping houses away, forcing people to clamber up trees to escape the torrent, and drowning at least 65 people. This memorial is found at the town entrance and the height marked is indicative of the water depth of this event. The monument is in the shape of a tree trunk because trees played an important role in saving some lives from the sudden floodwaters.
Location
| Address: | Drummond & Capricorn Streets, Clermont, 4721 |
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| State: | QLD |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -22.8175 Long: 147.639167 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Monument |
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| Monument Theme: | Disaster |
| Sub-Theme: | Flood |
| Actual Event Start Date: | 29-December-1916 |
| Actual Event End Date: | 29-December-1916 |
| Designer: | George Bird |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Saturday 26th January, 1980 |
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Clermont Flood - December, 1916
From 1860 to 28th, December, 1916, Drummond Street was the main street of Clermont, and this replica of a tree marks the corner of Drummond and Capricorn Streets.
On Thursday morning, 29th. December, 1916, a wall of water from Wolfgang Creek on top of Sandy Creek, which was already overflowing its banks, began sweeping houses & shops downstream. The maximum height was approximately that shown by the mark above, and by the time the water had subsided next morning, some sixty people had perished and Clermont had been destroyed in one of the biggest calamaties in Australia up to this time.
The tree was chosen to mark this event because numerous residents were rescued from trees after the water had receded on Friday morning.
The remains of the town were shifted to higher ground where Clermont now stands, and this plaque and the opposite one commemorate the names of those lost in this disastrous flood.
Known victims of Clermont Flood, 1916
[ Names ]
Following the settlement of the Peak Downs District in the 1850`s and the establishment of the townships of Clermont and Copperfield in the 1860`s, traffic arrived and departed via Rockhampton and St. Lawrence, Clermont / Copperfield being the western terminus of the Peak Downs Road.
1916 Flood Memorial
