the small village of Gnndagai, and out of a population of 

 250, 89 persons were drowned. Similar flood rains occurred 

 in August 1909 over the Murrumbidgee and Murray valleys, 1 

 resulting in floods of similar character to those in 1852. 



In June 1853, 14} inches of rain were registered at 

 Sydney, 2} inches in July, and 7 inches in August. The June 

 rains thoroughly saturated the County of Cumberland and 

 extended far into the interior, resulting in floods in the 

 Hawkesbury and Nepean Rivers, and also in the Murrum- 

 bidgee River. The latter rose to 39 feet 6 inches at 

 Gundagai on 3rd July, 1853, being the highest ever experi- 

 enced before, or since, that time. 1 It remains to be seen 

 whether that flood will be repeated this year. 



Before leaving the subject of Lake George, I should like 

 to place on record some information which has been kindly 

 supplied by Mr. Robert S. Archer concerning a somewhat 

 similar, but much smaller lake, in Queensland, namely, 

 Lake Gracemere, near Rockhampton, which was reported 

 to be dry in 1858 after a very serious drought. Mr. Archer 

 says:— 



"I know that the 'Mere' was dry in the end of 1855 when the 

 place was first stocked. In 1864 there was a high flood, the 

 highest known, the house being surrounded by water. 1877 was 

 ■ v,J, y d*7 year, also 1883, 1884 and 1885. At the end of the 

 latter year the 'Mere' was very low, and all the fish died. In 

 1890 we had a good flood, also in 1894 and 1896, the latter being 

 the highest I have seen here. 1900, 1901 and ^ 1902 were three 

 very dry years, and in September 1902 the 'Mere' was dry, except 

 for. two small pools, perhaps an acre in extent, with only a few 

 inches of water, in whi.-li even the eels died. On 27th September 

 1902 a heavy thunderstorm put three or four feet of water into it, 

 although it was not filled until January 1903. Since then we 

 have had no heavy floods or severe droughts." 



The rainfall was, however, below the average each year 

 up to 1908, when I am informed the lake was agai n dry - 



1 Commonwealth Bureau of Meteorology. Bulletin No. 3, Nov. 1909. 



