Throughout the Gympie district, floodwaters have risen and fallen like a yo-yo for over 130 years of recorded history. With the flood of February 1999 peaking at a whopping 21.95 metres, the residents of Gympie now celebrate over a century of flood evasion.
Three years following the discovery of gold and thus the establishment of the colony in 1867, Gympie was to experience its first inundation.
The flood waters of 1870 reached heights of 21.61 metres leaving debris strewn from opposite ends of the settlement.
The early pioneers of Gympie simply dried themselves off, and continued with their lives.
>>> ** Yet, if the residents of Gympie may had learnt from this experience, Gympie’s main street, Mary St., and its Central Business District may have been resituated, rather than have remained to this day in the heart of a sloping valley which is plagued by regular inundations. ** <<<
