Flooding in Goulburn

Historical study of flooding and water management.

Goulburn is located near the confluence of the Wollondilly River and Mulwaree Ponds in the southern highlands of New South Wales. The two streams cause flooding of residential areas in North Goulburn and East Goulburn respectively.

The Wollondilly River rises in the Great Dividing Range east of Crookwell and drains the south-western section of the Hawkesbury River Basin. The catchment is situated in hilly country with steep slopes on both sides of the river and has an area of 720 km2 above Goulburn. The floodplain is typically well defined and relatively narrow through Goulburn.

Mulwaree Ponds (also known as the Mulwaree River or Mulwaree Creek) is one of the largest and southernmost tributaries of the Wollondilly. It rises in the Great Dividing Range just south of Tarago and flows northward to Goulburn. The catchment covers an area of 750 km2 and is bounded to the west by steep slopes and to the east by undulating country.

There are two minor dams on the Wollondilly catchment upstream of Goulburn which are used for the Goulburn water supply. They are Sooley Dam on Sooley Creek, a minor tributary of the Wollondilly, and Pejar Dam on the Wollondilly 70 km upstream of Goulburn. They have capacities of 4520 megalitres and 9000 megalitres respectively and are normally kept as full as possible … The storages are considered to have no mitigating effect on Wollondilly floods at Goulburn due to their relatively small capacity and their distance upstream.

Wollondilly River levels were continuously recorded at Marsden Weir by the Commission between 1962 and 1977. Levels have also been observed and marked during major floods since 1870 at Marsden Bridge, 200m downstream of the weir. The highest floods recorded at the bridge have been in November 1870, 1900, 1952, October 1959, November 1961, and in August 1974, with the highest reading being 1961 when a peak gauge height of 3.24 metres was reached. There are no gauges on the Mulwaree Ponds.

Source: Goulburn Flood Study Report by the Water Resources Commission of New South Wales (1986).

Images:

1. View north, corner Auburn & Goldsmith Sts, Goulburn c.1950 (source unknown).

2. Eastgrove and Mulwaree Ponds 1959 (Goulburn Flood Study Report).

3. Bungonia Street Bridge 1974 (Goulburn Flood Study Report).

4. Eastgrove 1977 (John A Yeadon).

Has your family been affected by any of Goulburn’s past floods? Please share your memories.

Crookwell and the Olympic Games

Crookwell Olympian “Missed Out”

John McCormack, of Crookwell, who went to Tokyo with the Australian hockey team, did not get a game because of a knee injury.

John left Tokyo at 9 o’clock on Friday night. After a 40-minute stayover in Manila, he reached Sydney at 7.30am on Saturday, and he was shearing on his parents’ property Red Hills, Wheeo, when the ‘Post’ telephoned him this morning.

He received the knee injury when playing with Australia against Pakistan before he left for Tokyo. “The injury became swollen whilst I was away, but it responded well to treatment. I thought I would have been fit enough for the last couple of games, but the manager, Charles Morley, of Victoria, thought otherwise” he said. “I considered he was pretty tough.”

John said that the brilliant West Australian forward, D Martin, was another who went to Tokyo and did not get a game. He said he was perfectly fit, and feelings ran high in the team because of Martin’s non-selection. Martin was a New Zealand star last year. He said the Australians, who finished third to win bronze medals, played magnificently. He paid tribute to the Japanese, who turned out hockey fields “as good as any bowling green in this country”.

He said he would continue to play local hockey, “but my representative games are over” he said. “I’m getting too old and just can’t put my time into the training.”

Source: Goulburn Evening Post, Monday 26 October 1964, p.1.

Do you know any Crookwell Olympians? Please share your memories (and photos if possible).

The Woolbrokers

The first wool sale in 1930 was conducted by RD Grays & Sons when they offered a catalogue of 100 bales to auction. During the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Goulburn was given official recognition as a Wool Appraisement Centre, and during that season some 15,000 bales were handled.

As wool production increased storage spaces became acute, and in 1941 the firm of Ray Bladwell and Co disposed of their business as a going concern to the Farmers & Graziers Company. All staff were retained under the management of Mr Ray Bladwell. A modern store of 3 floors was erected on land acquired on the corner of Sloane and Verner Streets by Farmers & Graziers Company. There were 7½ acres of floor space available in this store and a total area of 13½ acres within Goulburn itself.

By 1946 42,000 bales were handled during that season and in the 1956/57 season, 71,600 bales were handled and disposed of.

In 1960 the only wool selling broker Farmers & Graziers Company, was joined by three other Pastoral Companies – Winchcombe Carson Ltd, Elder Smith & Co Ltd, and Goldsbrough Mort Co Ltd. During the 1969/70 season Goulburn’s combined wool selling brokers between them handled and sold 182,000 bales.

Source: “Technology in the Goulburn district” ed J Sprouster (undated).
Images: RD Grays & Sons wool bales (1946); Farmers & Graziers building prior demolition (1995); Goldsbrough Mort & Coy. Ltd (c.1960).


Has your family been involved in wool brokering in the Southern Tablelands? Please share your memories.

St Michael's Catholic Church, Bungonia

Located on a hill at Bungonia is St Michael’s Catholic church. Building began in 1839, but as to the present church being the same building, history is unsure. Bishop Polding visited Bungonia in 1840, and placed much emphasis on the building of a church in his sermon. The church was finally opened by Bishop Polding in 1847.

St Michael’s is probably the oldest standing Catholic Church in mainland Australia. Construction comprises of cement rendered random rubble sandstone, limestone and quartzite, with buttresses of rendered sandstone. Recent renovations and repainting have recaptured the country elegance of the church.

Source: “Sketchbook of Goulburn’s Catholic Heritage” by Ss Peter & Paul’s Centenary Committee (1987).
Image: “St Michael’s Catholic Church” by Michael Earle. An entry in STRL’s Heritage In Focus Photographic Competition 2001.


Has your family had a past connection with St Michael’s Bungonia? Please share your memories.

Yass and the Sport of Kings

Yass has, after Goulburn, the longest history of horse racing – since 1836. A pleasant old fashioned little town on the Hume Highway about halfway between Goulburn and Gundagai in rich limestone country it is more famous to-day for its fine wool than for its horses. But it is excellent horse breeding soil and from the early 1820s was well known for its studs.

To-day the studs are round about but there are not so many of the landed class interested in the racing side. The town has its original racetrack but the only race meeting is the annual Picnics held in March. It is an ideal Picnic set-up. Plenty of trees and quite good appointments in bush style. It has been featured in expensive publications as typical of the scene of Australian bush racing at its best.

Records are scanty but Yass racing was very strong up till the beginning of the new century. In 1841 when the pastoralists were boiling down instead of shearing their sheep in the big drought a two day meeting was held for good prizes.

Even the Hurdle race carried fifty guineas and the Yass Purse (three times around the course) was worth 100 sovereigns. The Hurdle was won by Jupiter beating Phenomenon and the Purse by Watts’ Skeleton. This was not the same Skeleton who was stolen by bushrangers in the sixties and when recovered was renamed, aptly, Skeleton. When restored to condition he won many races.

Mr Watts was the most successful owner, followed by Messrs Keighran and Broughton. Winners were – Broughton’s Tinker and Trump Card, McAlister’s Pelham and Samson, Grovenor’s Mayfly, Gorman’s Sydney and Johnson’s Skylark.

Source: “Kings For A Day” by John Bartley, p.183-4 (1988).


The Southern Tablelands Regional Library has no photos in its collection of horse racing in Yass. Can you help with an image that we could add to this posting?

Has your family been involved with ‘the Sport of Kings’ in Yass? Please share your memories.