'A River with a City Problem, not a City with a River Problem': Brisbane and its Flood-Prone River. (1st November 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Cook, Margaret Helen
• Is Part Of: Environment and history. Volume 24:Number 4(2018:Nov.)
• Page Start: 469
• Page End: 496
• Publication Date: 2018-11-01
• Subjects: Flood -- Brisbane River -- Queensland -- settlement; Human ecology -- History -- Periodicals; Nature -- Effect of human beings on -- Periodicals; Human beings -- Effect of environment on -- Periodicals; 304.209
• DOI: 10.3197/096734018X15137949592034
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0967-3407

Abstract

Abstract : This article explores the relationship between the Brisbane River and its river-plain dwelling citizens between 1824 and 1900 through four distinctive narratives. The first is praise for the river for its economic and utilitarian potential until severe flooding in 1893 prompts a second response of incredulity, followed by a third viewpoint demanding engineering solutions to tame nature to prevent future floods. A fourth subordinate voice appeared as an undercurrent to the demands to control nature, reflecting a burgeoning realisation that human action had created the flood hazard. Settlers had created a problem for both the river and the city. I argue that despite the accumulation of flood experience and climatic knowledge, prospective actions have evolved little since the initial British settlement in 1824.