Journal article
Damming the ‘Flood Evil’ on the Brisbane River
History Australia, Vol.13(4), pp.540-556
2016
Abstract
When early in 1893 two severe floods devastated Brisbane, Australia, its citizens demanded flood prevention. This article explores the responses to these floods as engineers sought measures to control the river with technology. I argue that local factors of drought, economics and politics delayed a decision for 40 years. It was not until the 1930s Depression, when the State sought unemployment relief projects and the expanding urban settlement demanded water supply that the benefits finally outweighed the cost of dam construction. In 1935 the government finally sanctioned building Somerset Dam, the first Australian dam to combine water supply and flood mitigation.
Details
- Title
- Damming the ‘Flood Evil’ on the Brisbane River
- Authors
- Margaret Helen Cook (Author) - University of Queensland
- Publication details
- History Australia, Vol.13(4), pp.540-556
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis Australasia
- Date published
- 2016
- DOI
- 10.1080/14490854.2016.1231161
- ISSN
- 1449-0854
- Organisation Unit
- School of Social Sciences - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Law and Society; Sustainability Research Cluster
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99450829402621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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