Dad (Eric Badcock) and other family members would often relate and reflect upon some of the extraordinary events that occurred through the acts of nature and how it touched their lives and that of others in Tasmania.
FLOODS
Floods were often year by year events with some floods being larger or having more dramatic effects than others. The biggest floods have always been received in April or October with the one that was most frequently talked about being the April 1929 floods which inundated large areas of both town and country and caused considerable damage and disruption. Longford was almost entirely cut off for quite a period, the Duck Reach power station and suspension bridge washed away, plus many other major and minor bridges, including the historic convict-built bluestone bridge on the Midlands Highway at Perth also destroyed. This Perth bridge completed in 1839 gave way under the weight of debris and several haystacks that the floodwaters carried downstream and left lodged against it. In Launceston, much of Invermay was covered to quite a depth of the water with many people having to be rescued from their homes by boat. The flood effects were added to by the collapse of the Bricies dam at Derby and a King tide occurring at Launceston, with the tide coinciding with the peak of the flood crest.
Dad would recall that it rained continuously almost every day, then clear to a frosty night, with rain commencing again the next day. Life at the time was very miserable for people and stock alike.
Another flood that was often spoken about was that which occurred in 1960, although this was not as widespread or as damaging as that of the 1929 floods. This flood was particularly remembered for the intensity of the rain, with about four inches falling in two hours, and seven inches being received at “The Grange” in 24 hours, which was over a quarter of the annual rainfall. At other areas, this was even higher with parts of the Western Tiers receiving over 10 inches. On the day of this flood I was at school in Launceston doing exams where only around a half-inch of rain had fallen, and when the word was received that the Bracknell bus was leaving early for home due to big floods in the Bishopsbourne/Bracknell area, initially thought they were joking. The bus did leave early and it was quite a long and memorable trip home via Bridgenorth and Rosevale with the road being covered with water in many places and much of the countryside looking like a giant lake.
Grandfather Page (John Thomas Page) would recall a big downpour that once occurred while he was attending the Longford Show and which caused many of the creeks and waterways to flood between Longford and his Upper Liffey home. He had much difficulty in reaching home, at times having to dismount from his bike and walk or carry his bicycle through the floodwaters and in several places having to make detours where the water was too deep to get through.
The biggest torrential downpour that I can remember occurred in February 1999. With an obvious storm brewing, I headed home from the paddock on the tractor at speed, just reaching shelter as the storm broke. Within seconds it was absolutely pouring with the rain swirling in white looking clouds just above the ground. Half an inch of rain fell in just 10 minutes and with the gutters around the house and sheds unable to cope, the water cascaded from the roofs like that over a waterfall.
THUNDER AND LIGHTNING
Thunderstorms occur periodically throughout the year and like floods, some are more severe than others, with most causing little or no damage. However, around the “Stoke” and “Sunny Rises” farms a number of lightning strikes have occurred over the years, particularly around the Maitland bush. With the soil containing a lot of ironstone gravel, family members sometimes speculated that this may have been the reason for the strikes.
While still living at “Sunny Rises” one morning around 5.30am., the family was awoken by a tremendous explosion when lightning struck three green trees in the Maitland bush about a mile away. The power of the bolt stripped the bark from the trees. At the same time, Hec Hadley who was getting chaff from the chaff shed on Ted Brook’s farm took fright and, it is said, dived headfirst into the chaff bin.
Some years later when living at “Stoke” during another storm, the family were sitting around the living room table when a blue spark passed from window to window through the room, just missing the kerosene lamp, followed almost immediately by a shattering, rumbling explosion. All thought the stable with horses had been hit and without delay, all rushed outside expecting the worst. To their relief, the stable and other buildings were still intact and the horses uninjured. When first light broke the next day they discovered that a dry tree in a nearby fence line had been struck and shattered. Pieces of the tree as thick as a man’s arm had been hurled up to a hundred yards in all directions.
When Uncle Jeff (Jeffrey Isaac Badcock) was living and farming at “Sunny Rises” lightning struck a tree in a fence line along the Green Rises Road with the charge then travelling along the wires that were attached to the tree blowing the staples out of the posts and droppers for hundreds of yards as it went.
EARTHQUAKES
With Tasmania being listed as the second most earthquake-prone area in Australia, we periodically get a bit of a shakeup. Seismic records reveal that earthquakes have regularly occurred throughout the State and offshore although most have been only of moderate-intensity causing little damage. The largest recorded quake occurred at Cape Barron Island in Bass Strait on 13 July 1884 with a reading of 6.4 on the Richter scale. One earthquake that Dad sometimes spoke about occurred in Launceston in the 1890s and which toppled a few chimneys and set several houses alight. At the time of the quake, an evangelistic crusade was being conducted in Launceston with the crusade leader having prayed that God would send an earthquake to shake people up that they might change their sinful ways and return again to God. It is said when the quake came a number of people were left to ponder as to whether it was an act of God or an act of nature.
Dad would recall that over the years the quakes would set the crockery rattling in the dresser and the trees swaying in the paddocks and was often the first indication that an earthquake had occurred. Often a quake would also be accompanied by a roar like that of a fast travelling underground express train.
I recall two particular earthquakes with the first of these happening on the 24 August 1997 in the early hours of the morning while I was watching the final days play of the final cricket test of the Ashes Tour between England and Australia. From out of nowhere came what felt and sounded like a huge gust of wind hitting the western side of the house with the roar and shuddering going on for a number of seconds, then stillness again. Although at the time I thought it a bit unusual it was not until hearing the news next day that I realised that it was an earthquake. Its epicentre was at Lake McKenzie, near Mole Creek to the west, some 60 kilometers away and measured 4.5 on the Richter scale. There were several reports of people being thrown out of their beds and cracks opening up in a number of buildings.
The second and more recent quake was heard around 7.20am on Sunday 16 June 2002, and was centred on Lake Sorell about 100 kilometres south from Bishopsbourne. It measured 4.4 on the Richter scale. The thing that I most remember about the quake was the roar, sounding much like a very powerful truck, the noise suddenly coming and lasting for perhaps 10 seconds before ceasing as quickly as it came.
Grandfather Page would sometimes talk about earthquakes during his times with one of the stories involving a man who was seen heading to a friend’s home along a road, when an earthquake occurred with the ground opening up, swallowing him and then closing again. I am now uncertain as to where he got the story from, but at the time it left a few sobering thoughts in my mind.
LIGHT PHENOMENONS
Aurora Australis, or the Southern Lights as we mostly call them, are visible in Tasmania but are rarely if ever seen in other Australian States. Over the years most people living here have witnessed some very spectacular displays with those in country areas away from the glare of city lights, getting the best views. A really good display can fill half the sky, with a white shimmering light reaching from the southern horizon accompanied by searchlight like beams of pink and bluey white colours reaching from the horizon to high up into the night sky.
Another phenomena, which I’ve only experienced once, was that of light pulses. They looked like blobs of light all travelling in exactly the same direction from south to north at a moderate speed, around waist height and appeared to pass through any obstacles encountered. The occurrence went on for several hours and even though it was mid-afternoon and good daylight, the blobs of lights were very visible.
An unusual happening involving balls of light was encountered one night in 1963 when I was travelling back to Rosebery where I was working at the time. It was about midnight and had been driving for about three hours and had become quite tired and twice had almost run off the road, therefore had decided to pull off for a sleep before going on, with another one and a half hours to drive to reach Rosebery. With a suitable pull off spot at the King River, stopped there and before settling down for a sleep commenced eating an orange. The night was totally dark but as I sat there I caught sight of what looked like two balls of light floating around in the air. They were quite close, to the left and between me and a tree that was no more than 20 yards away. As I watched they floated around much like that of a balloon in the air but were like a ball of white light, then suddenly they just disappeared. By now all tiredness had fled and not being keen on going to sleep there, immediately set out to complete the trip to Rosebery. On later relating the story to several friends I was told that what I had seen was consistent with that of marsh gas and which was known to exist in that area.
FOGS
Fogs in the winter and spring months occur regularly in this area with some being quite dense and on occasions can last all day. In the 1960s I ran into a real “peasouper” while travelling in the West Launceston area and for nearly a kilometer could see only a couple of metres in front of the car. I continued to travel at a very slow speed only keeping on the correct side of the road by following the trolley bus wires still visible above.
While working in Rosebery a story did the rounds of the town about a local couple, Jim and Edna Saunders, who one night were travelling down Mt. Arrowsmith on the Lyle Highway heading towards Queenstown. The road was narrow and icy with a thick fog present. On the side was a steep drop with the incline being such that the tops of tall trees could be seen near the road. There were few guards to prevent a vehicle from crashing over the edge. The inevitable happened with the car slipping on the ice and careering over the bank and doing several rolls before they came to a stop wedged in a tree. As the car rolled they were knocked into semi unconsciousness. Edna on coming to saw the swirling fog and fearing the worst, called out to her husband, “Jim, Jim! Wake up, we’re in Heaven.”
RAINBOWS
Some very spectacular rainbows have been seen over the years but for me the most outstanding was that seen while flying from Flinders Island to Launceston early one Monday morning. I had gone to Flinders Island to take the service at the Whitemark Uniting Church congregation with Trevor Marshall from Hagley flying our party there, which also included Norm Prewer from Whitemore and Barry French of Hagley. We had intended to return home on the same day but due to rough weather had stayed overnight. We were flying at around 3,500 feet over the sea when, for a few seconds, the shadow of the plane became silhouetted against a white cloud and fully encircled by a rainbow. It was a beautiful and memorable sight.
WIND
With Tasmania being located in the “Roaring Forties” we have no shortage of wind, with the majority being received from the northwest direction and on occasions are quite strong causing damage to buildings, gardens, growing crops on the farm, uprooting trees and bringing danger to shipping and fishermen along the coast and inland waters. The proof of the strength and the direction of the wind is no more evident than on King and Flinders Islands in Bass Strait, where many trees have been so subjected to continuous strong winds, that the trunks have grown horizontally to the ground and are permanently fixed in that position.
Wind however can be received from all points of the compass with that coming from the south usually being quite cold and when blowing off the nearby mountains when snow covered, are very bitter and chilling.
Grandfather Page in his diaries regularly mentions huge wind storms in the Liffey, the wind being funnelled through the valley between the mountains and known as the Gulf. In big storms dozens of trees would be brought down or limbs broken off with cattle sheltering beneath being periodically killed. On one such occasion Aunt Nellie Page (Uncle Bert’s wife) and two of their children were travelling along the road in the area in a horse and cart when a tree came crashing down. They jumped to safety but the horse was killed.
When cattle are grazing in windy weather they almost always do so with their tails to the wind.
Over the warmer summer months when there is usually less wind, thermals are created and swamp hawks and occasionally eagles are seen soaring on the upward drafts.
Whirlwinds are often a feature in summer months, particularly when dry conditions are prevailing and can strike with force, lifting dust and grass and even tins high into the air.
FROST AND ICE
The most common frost in the Bishopsbourne area and surrounding regions is due to radiation effects, although freeze type frosts caused by masses of cold air flowing in from the Antarctic regions occasionally occur.
Frosts can occur any time of the year and are known even in the middle of summer. When I was growing tomatoes at Dad’s place in the late 1960s, two years in a row on the 22 January frosts struck singeing a number of the plants. Over the years a number of canning pea crops growing on the flats along the Liffey River have been ruined by quite heavy frosts during the months of December and January. However most frosts occur over the late autumn, winter and early spring months.
One frost that is particularly remembered for its severity and damage occurred on Saturday, 17 June 1972. Dad in his diary noted, “Very sharp frost” with a further mention “18 degrees F was recorded in Launceston last night, the lowest temperature ever recorded there”. For those people not familiar with the former Fahrenheit measurements, this is 14 degrees below freezing. As minimum temperatures at Bishopsbourne are mostly lower than at Launceston, it is likely that temperatures here were lower still. Pipes were generally frozen with some bursting, inside pot plants cut and the heads of some cars, trucks and tractors cracked including those under cover in sheds.
A number of trees were also killed or severely damaged. At “The Grange” a young eucalyptus tree some 15 feet high had its trunk split open and eventually died back to just above ground level before again sprouting into life and now is quite a large and healthy tree.
Another frost that had lasting memories struck in the 1960s. It was a very cold black frost and turned the sealed highways into treacherous, slippery thoroughfares with the ice being deceptively invisible. As I travelled at slow speed with left hand side wheels on the gravel, in the next four or five miles from Carrick towards Launceston I counted about a dozen cars and one truck crashed off the road, with half of these within 200 yards of each other at Beam’s Hollow.
HAIL STORMS
Both Dad and Grandfather Page make mention of hail storms in their diaries.
While we were living at Latrobe a very severe hail storm occurred there and was accompanied by a mini cyclone with winds so strong that I thought the Bank windows were going to blow in and with the nearby poplar trees being bent almost horizontal. Hail the size of golf balls piled up against buildings to a depth of about a foot. Several miles out of town at Sassafras the hail was larger still and did a lot of damage, smashing windows and denting cars caught in the open.
FIRE
In our family, as we grew up there was always great respect for fire. Until 1953 we had no electricity at our home at “The Grange” therefore when cooking it was always at the open fire or using the wood fuel stove. Care was always taken to keep flammable items away from the fireplace in case a lighted log or coals should roll from the fire or sparks spit out across the floor. Lighting at night was by kerosene lamps or lighted candles when moving about the house. Ongoing to bed we mostly had the use of a candle, but because of the danger of fire, these were extinguished immediately after bedtime stories and prayers.
There was always concern about fires around the farm and care was taken when burning rubbish particularly over the dry summer months.
When the steam engines came at chaff cutting time or thrashing grain, they were mostly positioned on the downwind side of the stack as a precaution against sparks being carried to the stack and setting it alight. Even so a supply of water was mostly kept nearby to attend fires should they commence.
Grass haystacks were sometimes a worry, particularly should the grass be baled and stacked when slightly green and damp as they would heat up and on occasions catch alight. In the early 1950s, Dad had built quite a large stack in the old orchard paddock which began to heat, much to his concern. To keep a check on the internal stack temperature, he would regularly insert a metal crowbar into the stack and after a time withdraw it and test the temperature. For a time the bar temperature was too hot to hold with bare hands. The farm cats though liked the warmth and regularly made their way to sleep in the bales.
When the stack was finally dismantled through feeding out some of the straw in the centre of the stack had turned to charcoal and therefore had probably been close to igniting.
Soon after the purchase of the Bishopsbourne paddocks, around February 1957, the barn in the township one Sunday afternoon went up in flames. On receiving a phone call advising of the fire we hurried to the site in Curtis’ yard but by then the wooden structure was well alight. Stored in the former stable area was a number of grass hay bales and in the chaff shed area some tons of fertilizer that Dad and I had carted there from the Bishopsbourne railway station several weeks earlier. By the time the Longford fire brigade arrived the building had already burned down with their main task being to make the fire safe, which they did by pouring a lot of water from Dad’s nearby dam onto the burning bales. They continued to smoulder for a week before being fully burnt. We retrieved most of the fertilizer as the top bags burst open during the fire with the falling fertilizer protecting most of the bags underneath. The cause of the fire was generally believed to have been arson. It is said that a hotel had previously stood on the site but this too had been burnt down sometime before 1900.
Some thirteen years later the local shop and post office opposite the above barn also caught alight, this occurring shortly after lunch on Saturday, 7 February 1970. The operators and residents of the shop premises were our cousins, Alan and Margaret Smith, but were away when the fire commenced. On the day I was at Dad’s place working in my tomato patch and on noticing the black smoke pouring from the building, grabbed some buckets and raced the mile to the premises. A good number of people were already there including the players from the cricket match that had been underway at the Bishopsbourne Recreation Ground.
Initially, the fire was mostly burning amongst the shingles under the iron roof. The Bishopsbourne fire engine was already at the scene with Max Taylor taking a hose up into the roof area but due to lack of water could not put the fire out. Meanwhile, efforts were made to get as much out of the house and shop as possible and I still have vivid memories of people frantically throwing grocery items and shop fittings out the doors and windows while others with the same sort of speed and effort were getting the furniture out. Very few of their possessions were lost in the fire and once out of the building were carried across the road to the grass verge in front of the Anglican Church.
The roof eventually fell in but with the plaster falling on the floors, they were saved as well as all the windows and doors, apart from a window near the northeast corner where the fire started. The timber-built kitchen and storeroom which adjoined the brick eastern wall, as well as a timber constructed sleep out attached to the western wall, were saved in the fire.
Dad and Keith Badcock later purchased the land and building remains and rebuilt it as a residence. The post office and shop were taken over by Shirley and Kevin Hayes and operated from their residence, located several hundred yards away heading towards Longford.
Over the years a number of other fires occurred throughout the district, including a fire at Beecroft’s home near the school and which damaged several bedrooms. The fire is stated as starting through their children setting curtains alight in a bedroom. The goods shed at the Bishopsbourne railway station also burnt down and when I came along soon after the water in the tank at the end of the shed was still boiling. Another fire started along Maitland Road opposite the home then occupied by Bruce Exton and his family, when strong winds blew the roof off Arch Atkinson’s barn and which fell on the power lines.
Fires along the railway line were fairly common particularly when steam trains were operating. One particular fire that caused a considerable amount of damage occurred on Wednesday, 27 January 1982 when a train caught alight near “Woodstock” some three or four miles from Longford. Dad in his dairy notes on that day –
“We got a call to go fire fighting. A train came along with two trucks loaded with logs on fire and set fires from opposite “Woodstock” gate to the Longford station. We took the Bishopsbourne fire unit and used two loads of water. Came home and got called back again, Viv and Wayne Spencer taking the unit that time. Keith and I also went to fire in Spring Banks bush. There were many people about and a number of fire units”.
It is stated the fire resulted from a wheel bearing overheating causing the logs to catch fire. The engine driver on noticing the fire considered his best hope of saving the train was to reach Longford but in so doing set fires all the way, and with the grass being long and dry soon developed into a very large and fierce fire, not only destroying hundreds of acres of pasture but also several grain crops.
But possibly the most talked-about fires were the 1967 fires in Southern Tasmania, which burnt out huge areas, destroying around thirteen hundred homes and killing scores of people. The fires occurred on Tuesday, 7 February and have become known as “Black Tuesday”. Dad in his diary noted –
“Great Fire around Hobart. Temperature 103 degrees (Fahrenheit). Wind gusts up to 74 mph”.
People who were there still talk about the fires and their ferocity, telling of trees bursting into flames a quarter of a mile ahead of the approaching fire front, of houses, particularly of those of brick veneer construction, exploding outwards, of fires on the wind changing, retracing the direction from whence they came, but still burning on what appeared to be nothing but yet with unbelievable intensity. The speed of the travelling fire is also still spoken about with a sense of awe, at times moving at around 70 mph.
On the day of the fire, I was working at the E.S. & A. Bank at our 144 Charles Street, Launceston Branch, and on phoning the Esanda office in Hobart to refer a hirer purchase contract for approval, was greeted by a very excited female staff member who advised that Hobart was burning and the smoke so thick that buildings across the street were no longer visible. Almost all the staff had already left for home.
I went to Hobart a few weeks after the fire and the devastation was mind-boggling. Numerous homes were lying as piles of burnt rubble and thousands of acres burnt out. The majestic and picturesque Mt. Wellington looked like some huge blackened cake, with the trees looking like burnt match sticks sticking up like porcupine spines. However, on visiting Hobart several years later, the mountain was greatly transformed with young and lush growing trees again covering its surface.
How true is the saying, “fire is a good servant but a bad master”.
Written by Ivan Badcock