Merinda flood article, Rockhampton Morning Bulletin, 3 March, 1946, page 1.
William Powell was appointed as Constable on 23 April 1935, he was 25 years old. He was stationed in many regional areas for most of his career, highlights included Rockhampton, Barcaldine, Stonehenge, Tannymorel and Maryborough. Inspector Powell retired out from Bundaberg in 1969.
This interview took place on 21 November 2005 between retired Assistant Commissioner Greg Early and retired Inspector William Powell. In this excerpt William talks about a memorable incident while stationed at Merinda, on the outskirts of Bowen in 1946.
Transcription
“We had a pup, an Alsatian, half grown dog, chained underneath the house and it started to yap. I went out to look at it and it was standing in water so I let it off the chain, took it up inside with me. And I went and looked at the back steps. And I’ve never seen water rise like it, it was over about the first two back steps, and in only minutes it was over the next one. I watched it for a couple of – and it was only just minutes. So I went and I said to Mum, ‘Come on, jump up’ I said ‘The water’s rising too fast, we’ll get out.’ She never queried it, she just pulled on whatever you know was there, grabbed half a dozen nappies for the baby, and the baby and away we went. We walked all night until we ended up at the school. But at midnight you could hear the police station cracking up and going.
In the morning you couldn’t see anything – there was no electricity. The next morning there’s not a thing. There’s no water. But anyway, we had no clothes. There was one house stump left for the Police Station house, and it was about forty-five degrees; it was the only thing left. So we had no money, we had no bank books; we had nothing – and the schoolteacher and his wife they took us in. Now don’t ask me, I don’t how we lived.
I used to walk up and down the creek each day – the creek was completely receded. One day I’m walking along the creek bank and here’s my wallet on top of a great load of wash, you know. And there’s some pine boards out of the house, they’re there lying about. And of course the wash was this. And I got a pine board and I slid it out under the wash and let it float up and got the wallet and I drew it in carefully. And it had forty or fifty pounds in it; it was a lot of money in those days.”… Continue reading