Creator Poul C. Poulson (1857-1925)

Date 1893

Following a week of rain, including a fall of one metre in 24 hours, the Great Flood of 1893 cost 35 lives and swept away the Victoria Bridge. Poulson's photos capture the event with a surreal immediacy. The scene looks picturesquely venetian with Brisbane's beautiful 19th century architecture, boats penetrating the city's flooded streets, people crowded onto balconies and or wading between city blocks clinging to ropes. There were 3 more floods in February of 1893.

Source: State Library of Queensland