© 2018 Greg & Sylvia RAY

1955

Read more about the article Radio operators in the 1955 flood
An army DUKW with flood refugees in Maitland during the 1955 flood crisis.

Radio operators in the 1955 flood

During the years I worked at The Newcastle Herald, I received many items of correspondence that I wasn't able to use. Often this material was very interesting, but if I had no immediate use for it (given that the newspaper was both selective and demanding about content and timing) it generally went into desk-top trays before migrating into filing cabinets. When I left the paper in 2015 brought home some boxes of this material which otherwise would have been disposed of. From time to time I dip into these old files - now in my home…

Continue ReadingRadio operators in the 1955 flood
Read more about the article Trucks, DUKWs and surfboats were heroes of the flood at Maitland in 1955
DUKW crew rescuing flood victims in 1955.

Trucks, DUKWs and surfboats were heroes of the flood at Maitland in 1955

Trucks WHEN senior officers at Williamtown RAAF base called for volunteers to take the base construction crew’s big, high-level trucks to help in Maitland on the afternoon of Thursday, February 24, 1955, Corporal Jim Carney, a 24-year-old air force accountant who had served in Korea, put his hand up. He had been planning a visit to the Newcastle Show with his fiancée, Elaine Frear, who was turning 21 next day. “At 10am they asked for volunteers for a few hours,” Jim recalled. “I ended up being there three days. I had a lot of explaining to…

Continue ReadingTrucks, DUKWs and surfboats were heroes of the flood at Maitland in 1955
Read more about the article The great flood of 1955: Part 2
Aerial view of central Maitland during the 1955 flood.

The great flood of 1955: Part 2

This is part two of an account of the 1955 flood, as it affected the Hunter Region, particularly Maitland. For Part 1, see link below. ******************************************************************************************************************** The chaos of Friday and the terrifying night that followed gave way to a slightly more organised situation on Saturday as rescue operations moved into high gear and more volunteers descended on the drowned city of Maitland. But the confusion was still immense and nobody had any real idea of the death toll, which was assumed to be at least 20. People were frantically trying to contact missing family members.…

Continue ReadingThe great flood of 1955: Part 2
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