Floods on the River Barwon. 91 



above the iron bridge nearly 4J* feet lower; further up the 

 river the differences would gradually become less and less. 

 Had the river been as before 1875 — that is, the Oolac-road 

 causeway in existence, but not the railway embankment — the 

 author calculates the water would have been as shown by 

 the dotted red line, viz. : — In the Victorian Woollen Mills, 

 more than 3 -J*f* feet lower than it actually was, and above 

 the iron bridge If j feet lower, and less further up the river. 



19. Attempts have been made to learn the facts of the 

 flood of 1852, but owing to the uncertainty regarding the 

 levels, this has been a most difficult task. The levels which 

 the engineers appearing on behalf of the railway department 

 in the late trial seem to have accepted, would, without modi- 

 fication, give a result which the author feels compelled to 

 reject. 4 * Owing to the great slope between the extreme points, 

 or even reducing it by nine inches at an intermediate point to 

 agree with other evidence produced at the trial, the quantity 

 of water would be about 150,000 cubic feet per second, which 

 could not in itself, perhaps, be objected to ; but when it is found 

 that for this quantity of water to escape at C.S. No. 1, the 

 level there would be lower than half that quantity of water 

 attained in 1880, it is clear that it must be wrong, unless it 

 can be shown that material alterations have been made in 

 the river below, sufficient to account for this difference. As 

 far as can be ascertained, very little obstruction has been 

 caused at a level that would affect the above results. 



20. After numerous failures to arrive at a satisfactory 

 result, the author has obtained one that may be accepted as 

 fairly within the bounds of probability. Above the iron 

 bridge, a flood level — which the author is informed was 

 taken a few months after the flood occurred (or, nearly 

 29 years ago) — has been adopted in place of the high level 

 (22*80) lately obtained at the Albion Mills by the railway 

 engineers. A little latitude has also been allowed to the 

 other levels, which, considering the number of years since 

 the flood occurred, and the uncertainty of the marks, can 

 scarcely be objected to. On such data the author's calcula- 

 tions make the flood discharge of 1852 to have been about 

 120,000 cubic feet per second. The author is, however, 

 strongly of opinion that this is more than the actual 

 quantity, but as it is not convenient to enquire for further 



* E.L. 23-05— E.L. 18-35 = 4-70 feet, 

 f E.L. 21-90— E.L. 18-30 = 3 60 feet. 



