1908 Blown across the Bay

Residents of Brisbane and surrounds enjoyed a public holiday in the years 1901 to 1909, on November 9th for the King's Birthday (during the reign of King Edward VII). Many excursionists took the opportunity to visit the islands in Moreton Bay. The following story details a group of friends out for a sail "on the Bay" over the 1908 King's Birthday weekend, and their unexpected visit to Bribie Island.

Blown across the Bay. Exciting experience at night.

Six hours in a south-east gale.

Cast up on Bribie Island. 
1908 

The crew of the 18-foot sailing boat Osprey are not likely to soon forget their experiences in the south-east gale which raged at the commencement of last week.  The Osprey left Bulimba on Saturday afternoon, November 7, in charge of W. Peters, who had with him Messrs. P. Brunt, G. Rees, and L. Stephens, and a course was set for Wynnum, where that evening Mr. W. Dewick joined the party followed on Sunday morning by Mr. C. Fawcett. The Osprey afterwards set sail for Peel Island, which was reached without incident during the afternoon, and the boat was anchored in the "gutter" on the northern side of the island. As the shades of evening fell a strong south-east wind commenced to blow, increasing in velocity to a strong gale. Having looked to the moorings, and feeling confident that all was safe, the crew remained on board. Rain fell heavily, but being, as they thought, quite secure, the crew paid little attention to the storm. At 8 o'clock, as they were about to retire for the night, the Osprey began to bob about in a most violent manner, and, according to a statement made by Mr. Fawcett, it was suddenly discovered that the anchor rope had given way, and that the craft was adrift.  

To return to Peel Island against such a strong wind was impossible. Cleveland Light was seen on the port quarter, and a light from a boat on Peel Island was visible astern. It was at once decided to try and reach Wynnum, as the wind and sea were increasing in force every minute. The small boat, with a storm jib out, which had knots tied in each corner, simply flew before the wind. The night was very dark, but despite this it was confidently expected with the aid of the lights to make Wynnum safely. Very soon, however, the lights were lost sight of, and the crew lost their bearings. The rain continued, the men being unable to see each other, and compelled to continually call out to ascertain if all were safely on board. Mr. Peters managed the boat with great skill as it dashed across the storm-tossed water in the darkness, every one having to hold on to anything available for fear of being tossed overboard. One or two lights were seen after losing sight of that at Cleveland, but the men were unable to locate their position. One light they thought was Tangaluma, but they were not sure. Two or three times they thought they saw land, but it was only the continual roll of the sea in front of the boat. About 2 o'clock the boat crossed over three rips. This was a very anxious time, as every moment was expected to be their last. 

About 2.30 a.m. land came into view, straight ahead, and Mr. Peters decided to run the boat ashore. This was successfully accomplished without in the least way straining the boat or losing anything overboard, and the crew lost no time in jumping on to the beach to secure the Osprey. Thoroughly exhausted after their six hours’ battle with the elements, the men secured their wet blankets, which they wrapped round themselves, and throwing themselves on the ground slept till daylight.  

When the sun rose it was discovered that the boat had brought up at Skirmish Point, Bribie Island, and the crew then realised what a lucky escape they had had from being blown out to sea.  Soon after sunrise Messrs. Peters and Stephens started out to the Caloundra Canning Company’s works, four and a half miles away, and they returned to the party about 1 p.m. with the information that accommodation had been found.  

Houses at The Devil's Elbow, Bribie.
Photo: Queenslander 8.9.1906

The party were well looked after by the people at the works, who went to no end of trouble to make them comfortable.  The following Wednesday morning the party, who were still dressed in their boating costume, and were without boots, were rowed across Bribie Passage and landed at Toorbul Point, whence they set out to walk to Caboolture, eighteen miles distant. They arrived at Caboolture footsore and weary at 2.30 p.m. Mr. Fawcett said they were without money, and, as they say, applied to the official at the railway station for a pass to enable them to take train to Brisbane, but this was refused, despite the fact that they related their experiences of the previous days. They then made application for assistance to the local sergeant of police, who wired to Brisbane, and that evening a reply was received giving instructions for a pass to be issued to them.

Mr. Fawcett said that great praise was due to the way Mr. Peters handled the boat under such trying circumstances, and the crew very much appreciated the kindness extended to them at the Caloundra Canning Company’s works.  He added that before leaving Bribie Island arrangements were made with Mr. Buckley, a well-known fisherman, for the purchase of the Osprey.

REFERENCES

Houses at The Devil's Elbow, Bribie [PHOTO]
The Queenslander, Sat 8 Sep 1906, p. 26. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article25969137

Blown across the Bay.
The Brisbane Courier, Tue 17 Nov 1908, p. 5 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article19549869

Ripping storm 1986

The following article was written by David Thomas, editor of the Bribie Times, in October 1986. David describes a storm that ripped over Bribie and left a trail of damage and debris ...

And it was a beautiful day on Bribie...

Eyewitness Account by David Thomas

Bribie Times, 10 October 1986.

At about 4.00 PM on Monday last, after having enjoyed one of its normal, beautiful Spring days, Bribie Island's peace and quiet was suddenly shattered by "the storm that came from nowhere". In the office of the "Bribie Times", situated right on the waterfront in Welsby Parade, Bongaree, the first warning I had of the approaching storm was an encroaching darkness, and thunder and lightning. Like most Bribie Islanders, I equated nothing more to this than a normal afternoon, Spring storm ... were we to be proved wrong!

DANTE'S INFERNO

When the storn hit at just after 4.00 PM its first act was that of a demented version of Dante's "Inferno". A howling wind signalled the storm's arrival ... a wide that, within seconds, stripped smaller branches, leaves and sand off the beachfront in front of our office. Then came the rain ... driven almost horizontal in the first frenzy of the storm ... interspersed with larger branches that were beginning to be ripped from the living timber of our beautiful, foreshore gums.

FURNITURE FLIES

Across Kangaroo Avenue, the outside furniture from the Passage Milk Bar was bodily picked up and thrown hundreds of yards up the street. A sign, firmly fixed to the wall, was ripped from its fastenings and has not been seen since! The air was now filled with flying detritus and the windows of the office were actually bending under the pressure of the wind. In awe of the power of nature, we watched as this cyclonic blast of wind gradually blew itself out to be replaced by torrential rain.

NOT OVER!

But, it was not over!

About two minutes later the wind that did most of the real damage struck!

This raging, screaming second front, physically ripped limbs, as thick as a man's waist, from the trees. Driving these now lethal weapons at a force sufficient to impale anyone unfortunate (or foolish) enough to be caught outside, we watched in horror as two branches - flying as it thrown by a giant spearsman - arrowed straight through the front windows of the Passage Milk Bar and Muriel Wrigley's Travel office. The vacuum caused by the incredible power of this wind, actually opened the top of a steel Council rubbish bin across the street, and sucked the contents out as if it were a giant vacuum cleaner!

BRIBIE TIMES STAFF

Although our office escaped any damage, Leane Clark had just managed to get back to the office in Jaccy Thomas's car before the storm struck.

Parked in Kangaroo Avenue with its back to the storm, the killer wind drove a tree branch of over 20 feet in length, through the back window of the car and ended up with its stump forced into the dashboard! The wind has physically pushed the car forward about four metres into the back of the car in front - and it had been in gear, with the handbrake on!

After the storm - large tree felled by the storm. 
Bribie Times v2(4) 17.10.1986 p. 6.

ROOFS MISSING

On driving along Welsby Parade to check on other damage the storm had caused, I was greeted with the sight of Mrs Donovan's two homes just past Schrag's Real Estate - one with the roof totally ripped off (it was found in the backyard of a house some distance away) and the other with major damage to the roof and windows at the front.

Power lines were down everywhere and broken tree limbs were hanging off all of the SEQEB lines along the Parade.

But, then I came across the real damage!

CARAVAN PARK

The Council Caravan Park at Bongaree must have been virtually in the "eye" of the storm. Virtually every caravan in the Park received some damage ... annexes were ripped down ... trees had fallen across vans - and how anyone was not killed was a miracle.

In the foreshore park opposite the Caravan Park, the damage was almost unbelievable. Trees that had been there for years were uprooted ... the steel power pole serving the sewerage pump station there had been bent level to ground level at its base plate ... wooden power poles were snapped off at the ground level ... and those trees left standing were virtually stripped of their foliage!

The Bribie Island Bowls Club lost part of its roof and suffered damage to its front awnings.

POLES BENT

At BP South Pacific, the roof had totally disappeared from above Carmel Fry's shop and was lying partly up against the windows of the Cut Price Supermarket - having broken one of their display windows. Carmel's shop was totally flooded from the rain and the large, steel display column in the BP's driveway had bent at about a 30 degree angle! This column was made of rough, six inch steel and was guyed with steel wires!

PLIMSOLLS

The most seaward of Bribie's waterfront buildings, Plimsolls Restaurant, had taken the full brunt of the winds. The outside dining section was totally obliterated ... the roofing had disappeared and the wind had actually broken off part of a solid concrete column which must have weighed well over 200 lbs. and lifted it onto the roof of the restaurant!

ESPLANADE

Along The Esplanade, the roof of the "Bayvue" apartments was found some 300 metres away in the bush behind the Units. A tree, which must have been decades old, had been physically ripped up, leaving a hole large enough to swallow a family-sixed car. And all of this in just over four minutes of actual wind.

THE GOOD NEWS!

Having been comandeered by the Channel Nine News team (who were the first to arrive by helicopter) to drive them around to film the damage, they were absolutely astounded at how quick people had rallied around to help.

By 4.30 PM the Council teams had sprung into action, supported by virtually every contractor on the Island who had equipment that could be used in the "big clean-up".

POLICE BRILLIANT

Sgt. Chris Smith and the Bribie police were immaculate in their immediate call to action ... directing traffic ... assisting bewildered and shocked people to find their bearings again and begin the clean-up. At BP South Pacific, up to his arms in debris, Snr. Const. Terry Hickey was "mucking in" in clearing the road of pieces of roof from the BP service station ... Snr. Const. Peter Deasey came in off holidays to assist in the disaster ... as well as the Police from Caboolture who were here within minutes of the storm.

AMBULANCE

Possibly the best news to come out of the disaster was the fact that only one minor injury occurred. Brian Hughes of The Grange, Brisbane, received a minor cut to his forehead when two trees crushed his caravan in the Bongaree Caravan Park. The last I saw of Brian was him being bundled into a vehicle by Steve Eaton, Manager of the park ... two hours after the storm! Brian had continued to work in helping clean up before bothering to go for treatment!

The Bribie ambulancemen, with fortunately nothing to do in their area of expertise, were using their vehicles to assist the Police in road blocks and traffic direction.

COUNCIL WORKERS

The prompt and efficient action of Caboolture Shire and its workers was superb to see. Within half an hour of the storm hitting, Council workmen were hard at it ... chainsawing trees and loading them on trucks ... cleaning up the broken branches and rubbish that covered all of the foreshore and doing a myriad of other tasks to ensure that Bribie was as quickly back to normal as possible.

The whole population of Bribie owes all of our community services a massive "Thankyou" for the work that was done.

SEQEB

SEQEB workmen slaved through Monday night through to the early hours of Tuesday morning to restore power. For a group of men that this State was declaring "Open War" on last year, to see their dedication in unsnarling the absolute mess that the storm caused to our power grid deserves our strongest commendation.

LUCKIEST ESCAPE

Possibly the luckiest man on Bribie Island was Wally Polakow of Riverview, Ipswich. Wally was camped in a tent in the Caravan Park and, during the storm, was sheltering in his tent with his two young children. Two massive pine trees either side of his tent both snapped off at their bases. One tree, over 60 feet tall, fell diagonally across the top of the tent. Had it not been for this tree "hanging up" in another pine, it would have surely crushed all three in the tent. The other tree fell away from the tent after glancing off another tree!

When I questioned Wally as to the fact whether he had gone to church last Sunday, he said, "No, I didn't ... but you can bet your boots I will be there next Sunday!"

BRIBIE ISLAND SPIRIT

After two hours of running around the site of the damage, a feeling suddenly began to creep over me and the Channel Nine News team - a feeling of admiration for the people of Bribie Island from these hard-bitten newsmen ... and a feeling of immense pride from me, as I watched this wonderful community spring into action to help its fwllow man.

"Good on yer, Bribie" ... and today, it's a beautiful day on Bribie!

REFERENCE

And it was a beautiful day on Bribie... Eyewitness Account by David Thomas.  Bribie Times v.2(3) Oct 10, 1986 pages 1-3.

1954 Bribie Island cyclone

 1954 Bribie Island Cyclone

by Paul Clark and Christine Lloyd (nee Clark)

written in 2006

Our 1954 holiday was most unforgettable. We went to Bribie Island camping. After about a week, a cyclone was coming down the coast. We tried to get off the island, but the wind and the seas were already rising, and the barge to the mainland had stopped its run before we got to its terminus. Waves on the Pumicestone Passage were already high, and we saw a yacht dragging its anchor as it was being blown down the channel. We went back to the ocean side of the island, and camped behind a bougainvillea bush for the first night. When it got too windy, we moved into one of the concrete gun emplacements left from the war.

At the height of the cyclone, we could not go outside, and we could hear and feel the waves pounding on the other side of the fort. Cyclones were not rated in those days, but I have read since that it would have been a category three today. After it was over, we went out to look at the devastation. When the wind died down, we went for a walk along what was left of the dunes. In the area where people walked to the beach, there were lost coins each sitting on top of a cone of sand. They had compacted the sand enough to stop the wind blowing it away.

We could not leave because the road on the mainland was covered with trees which had blown down. An electricity line crew was on the island, and they used their gear to clear the road and restore power. The beach was cut back about 100 metres, and the lifesavers' surf boat, which had been hauled to the top of the dunes, was gone. Some houses on high stumps were leaning at crazy angles.

Chris' memories from this time: I remember huge trees crashing around our tent on the first night. I was grateful that Dad was an Army man and knew how to pitch a tent wisely. Some tents were ripped to shreds. I was also aware that we were running out of food and money. We could not leave the island as the car ferry was not operating. Dad checked this on an old "wireless" with very poor reception.

We collected many eugarie bivalve shells (called pipi in NSW) that came in with the tide and were trying to bury themselves quickly in the sand. We had to dig them out with our feet and Mum cooked them to make soup. I was not fond of the taste but beggars can't be choosers. I also remember the vile smell of the underground fort which had been used as a toilet. In those days public toilets were very scarce. 

I have checked the internet and found out that this cyclone was called the GOLD COAST CYCLONE by the Queensland Bureau of Meteorology and occurred from 17 February to 19 February 1954. Clement Wragge named cyclones in the late nineteenth century but this lapsed with his retirement in 1902. Names were reintroduced by BOM in 1963.

We went for walks along the beach and found an old car upside down on the beach. It had apparently floated on its tyres from the mainland. The sand from the dunes had formed a sand bar out to sea and some fishermen were out on this fishing towards the Pacific Ocean. Fishermen on the beach were catching fish in the trough, so the ones on the bar simply turned around and fished back towards the shore. As the bar was under water, it looked strange. We saw swans out at sea, and sharks cruising off the beach.

When we went over to the channel side of the island, there was a mess. Trees had fallen across boats, and the sea had risen into the houses in a storm surge. 

Cyclone damage to roof of building on Bongaree Jetty,
February 1954
Photo: Barbara Henderson - BH99_034

While we were driving back along Toorbul Point on the mainland, we stopped to look at some flowers in the bush. We could hear a low droning noise when we got to the flowers, and suddenly we were attacked by a huge cloud of mosquitoes. We had to race back to the car and drive with the windows open to blow them out of the car. We later heard that this cyclone had wrecked the Redcliffe Jetty and houses along the coast as the storm surge lifted surf into the houses.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This article is reproduced with permission. Thank you to Christine Lloyd (nee Clark) and the Ipswich Genealogical Society Inc.

Bribie Island Cyclone by Paul Clark and Christine Lloyd (nee Clark). Bremer Echoes: the journal of the Ipswich Genealogical Society Inc., v.24(1) March 2006, p. 14-15.

Photo - Cyclone damage to Bongaree Jetty, February 1954 - Thank you to Barbara Henderson. BH99_034