Blenheim Submerged 1923

12/05/2009 Steve Austin

Blenheim was Submerged on 7 May 1923:
The Greatest Flood since 1868

Steve Austin

The centre of town during this period presented a remarkable appearance, the water extending deeply right across the streets from building to building and giving the impression of Venetian splendor which was very striking, though in the absence of gondolas, one had either to wade, waist deep and more, in swirling flood or charter a cart to get from point to point. Motor-car transit was entirely out of the question and it was noticeable that all the cars which the town boasts were quickly withdrawn to higher levels.

The Marlborough Express, Wednesday 9 May 1923

On Monday 7 May 1923, the flood in Blenheim was at its worst. It peaked at around 5 p.m. and the whole of the business area was covered in about 4 feet of water. The area from the Opawa Bridge to Dr Noble-Adams's house in Maxwell Road was flooded. The centre of town to Springlands, as well Farnham, Islington, Riverlands, and Fairhall were all under water.

The alarm went out on Monday morning that flooding was likely. Most preparations were ineffective. Thousands of pounds worth of shop stock was destroyed, shop safes were flooded; shop windows were smashed by debris. Grain, and store houses, faced major losses. Twenty tons of sugar was reported to have "melted away". Timber yards, and firewood merchants, found their stock was carried away, and dispersed by the swirling muddy water.

It was a ludicrous sight to all but those who were personally concerned, to see worthy business men of the town casting dignity to the winds and buckling to with broom and bucket ... (The Marlborough Express, Wednesday 9 May 1923).

 

 


The worst affected residents were those in the Grove Road area including Auckland Street and Waterlea. The water was reported to have been up to four feet deep in some homes that night. They could not light their fires or prepare meals. Trapped in their houses, not knowing whether the flooding was going to become worse, they had to spend many hours in the darkness, perched on furniture though many were able to escape to safety.

The Walker family, who lived in Auckland Street, was rescued on Tuesday following morning after spending the night huddled on top of a chest of drawers. During the night, their friends feared the worst, and kept trying to contact them on the telephone. As the water was waist deep, the telephone remained unanswered.

The Pask family of Hutcheson Street spent the night sleeping on tables. Mrs Hill, of St Andrews Street, who lived alone, was trapped for 20 hours with water up to her knees as she was unable to summon any help. In a house close by, Miss Whitworth spent about 20 hours perched on a table while her sister found safety on the sideboard. Mr and Mrs Fane, of St Andrews Street, found safety with their sick child by going through a trap door in their ceiling, and spending the night under the roofing iron. Many refugees spent the night in the homes of the lucky ones who were less affected. More than 50 people spent the night in the upstairs of Mr Millsom's house in Nelson Street west.

In the days after the worst of the flooding, two fatalities made the newspaper reports. Mr Ernest Edward Robinson, of Lower Wairau, and a youth, of a round 16, named Jack Gledhill, were lost. After ensuring the safety of his wife, Mr Robinson had returned to the farm. The search party that set out in a boat on Tuesday, found his upturned cart near his house, and the horse in a state of distress.

The cart had strayed from the road into fences covered with water, and not visible in the dark. Once the cart was upturned the flood's victims were forced to swim for their lives. It seems that with a rapid rise in the flood levels they had decided to leave the house immediately. Tragically they would have survived if they had stayed to drink the cup of tea, left prepared on the kitchen table at the farm house. The water was found not to have reached the tops of the tables, and only came up to the keyboard of the piano.

About Steve

Steve joined the Museum in 2006 to lead the Museum into its next phase of development. Steve graduated in Art History, Music and History. He has a first class honors degree in History.

 

After lecturing at Christchurch College of Education for ten years, Steve worked in Wellington at the City Gallery before moving to The Dowse, and later the Nelson Provincial Museum.

 

Steve is currently working on two books. The first is on early Chinese settlers in New Zealand. His other project is on New Zealand photographer Thelma Kent, who was active in the 1930s.