The 1949 Central Queensland cyclone was an unnamed tropical cyclone that struck the Central Queensland coast in Australia on 2 March 1949.Previous Cyclones: Historical Impacts Along The East Coast, Bureau of Meteorology, Australian Government. Accessed 11 December 2018.
The cyclone impacted the cities of Gladstone and Rockhampton and their surrounding towns and localities.(3 March 1949) Rockhampton battered by 100mph cyclone; Two killed, damage throughout city, The Central Queensland Herald. Retrieved 11 December 2018.(3 March 1949) £150,000 damage at Gladstone, The Central Queensland Herald. Retrieved 11 December 2018.(10 March 1949) Cyclone losses in Country, The Central Queensland Herald. Retrieved 11 December 2018. There were a number of fatalities, and extensive damage was sustained to many homes and businesses and much of the local infrastructure, including the telecommunications, electricity and transport networks.(2 March 1949) Cyclone fury strikes - Gladstone heavily hit, buildings wrecked, others damaged, The Telegraph. Retrieved 11 December 2018.(3 March 1949) Town battered by cyclone: Four killed, many homeless, The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
The Bureau of Meteorology lists the 1949 Central Queensland cyclone as one of the 15 major cyclones to strike the east coast of Queensland between 1890 and 2006.Climatology: Cyclone frequency, Bureau of Meteorology, Australian Government. Accessed 11 December 2018.
Formation On 28 February 1949, reports emerged that a tropical cyclone had developed and was 100 miles east-south-east of Willis Island, moving in a south-south-westerly direction.(28 February 1949) Weather Chart, The Telegraph. Retrieved 11 December 2018. On 1 March 1949, it was reported the cyclone had been maintaining a parabolic south-westerly to southerly track, and was 80 miles east of Cape Capricorn.(1 March 1949) Weather Chart, The Telegraph. Retrieved 11 December 2018. By 2 March 1949, the cyclone had travelled further south to between Bundaberg and Gladstone, where the system deepened and crossed the coast just south of Gladstone.(2 March 1949) Weather Chart, The Telegraph. Retrieved 11 December 2018.(3 March 1949) Weather, The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 11 December 1949.
The cyclone then almost immediately swung north, and travelled back up the coast to Rockhampton before eventually moving west through Capricornia dumping heavy amounts of rain throughout inland areas and ultimately weakening near Tambo.(4 March 1949) Cyclone moves west fast; Gladstone starts to rebuild homes, Rockhampton desolation, The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 11 December 2018.(5 March 1949) The cyclone travelled this way (Cyclone tracking map), The Morning Bulletin. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
The 1949 Central Queensland cyclone was the third to cross the coast in the space of three weeks. It followed the unnamed 1949 Far North Queensland cyclone which caused widespread damage to Cooktown on 10 February 1949.(12 February 1949) Cooktown devastated but no loss of life: only eight residences survive battering by cyclone, Cairns Post. Retrieved 11 December 2018.(13 February 1949) Cooktown suffers great cyclone damage: Many premises in main street blown down, Cairns Post. Retrieved 11 December 2018.(15 February 1949) Graphic pen-picture of ruined Cooktown, Cairns Post. Retrieved 8 December 2018. A weaker cyclone then crossed the coast north of Mackay on 16 February 1949, bringing heavy rain to the city but no significant damage.(17 February 1949) Cyclonic rain floods city, The Daily Mercury. Retrieved 11 December 2018.(17 February 1949) Coast misses bad damage - cyclone rushes out to sea, The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
Impact Gladstone Gladstone was extensively damaged when the cyclone hit.(3 March 1949) Four cyclone victims: Gladstone was almost razed, many homeless, Queensland Times. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
Winds were estimated to have gusted up to 120 miles per hour as the cyclone passed over Gladstone, with the peak estimated to have occurred at around 1p.m.
Sixty homes in Gladstone were unroofed, and dozens of other buildings were damaged. The Roman Catholic Church's convent school and the Presbyterian Church were destroyed, while the Queen's Hotel and the Church of England were unroofed and the Gladstone meatworks badly damaged. School children were taken out of the convent school building two hours before it was demolished.
When the police station was unroofed, a local police sergeant was forced to move his family into the local watchhouse until that too was badly damaged, forcing the family to seek shelter in the court house.
Many marine vessels were destroyed or badly damaged including a local tourist boat Norwest which was washed up onto the banks of Auckland Creek.
Gladstone's communication and electricity network was badly damaged in the cyclone.(3 March 1949) Night of Terror in Cyclone - Four deaths; big loss in Rockhampton, Gladstone, The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
There was substantial crop losses in the surrounding area including pawpaw crops in the Yarwun-Targinnie district and peanut crops in the Mount Larcom district.(9 March 1949) Pawpaw loss said to be £100,000, The Morning Bulletin. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
Due to the cyclone, a passenger train carrying 350 passengers was held at Raglan, between Gladstone and Rockhampton, for 26 hours. During the stopover, groups of passengers had to regularly walk to the local store and hotel to for food supplies. As floodwaters in Raglan Creek rose nearby, the passengers and crew assisted the hotelkeeper at Raglan to move furniture to higher ground.(6 March 1949) Flood victims eat out town, The Sun. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
During the extensive clean up, the Gladstone mayor criticised the condition of 30 tons of roofing iron which had been sent to Gladstone for cyclone repairs, describing the iron as "rusted and useless" as it had been exposed to the elements on inadequately-covered railway wagons.(8 March 1949) Roofing useless, The Telegraph. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
Rockhampton The city of Rockhampton and adjacent coastal areas were extensively damaged when the cyclone made an unexpected northern turn back up the coast, once it had crossed near Gladstone.(4 March 1949) Rockhampton battered by 100mph cyclone - two killed, damage throughout city, The Morning Bulletin. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
The estimated peak of the cyclone in Rockhampton was estimated to have been at 7p.m. when winds of up to 100 miles per hour were recorded, and the barometric pressure reached 28.56 inches of mercury (967 hectopascals) - the lowest to ever have been recorded in Rockhampton.
Many homes, businesses and landmarks in Rockhampton suffered substantial damage.
Extensive damage was reported at the Rockhampton railway station where approximately 100 sheet of iron was dislodged above the railway platforms. After being severed during the cyclone, the rail link between Rockhampton and Yeppoon was closed until repairs could be made to the damaged tracks.(12 March 1949) Yeppoon rail link restored, The Morning Bulletin. Retrieved 11 December 2018. Other parts of the local railway network to have been damaged during the cyclone included the line to Ridgelands, the line from Baralaba to Theodore, and the line from Rannes to Thangool.
There was an estimated £20,000 done to the Wintergarden Theatre while the picture theatre at Koongal was also extensively damaged.(4 March 1949) City Theatre Hard Hit, The Morning Bulletin. Retrieved 11 December 2018.(21 March 1949) Volunteers re-erecting Koongal picture theatre, The Morning Bulletin. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
The Rockhampton Botanic Gardens sustained damage.(5 March 1949) Damage at Botanic Gardens, The Morning Bulletin. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
Damage to the electricity network was extensive with flying iron and trees cutting down main power lines.(4 March 1949) Repair men at work, The Morning Bulletin. Retrieved 11 December 2018. Power supply began being progressively restored the day following the cyclone, with priority given to hospitals, water treatment plants and other essential services. With widespread power outages, volunteers were called for to manually operate an iron lung for a 16-year-old patient at Rockhampton General Hospital until power was restored.(4 March 1949) "Pumpers" saved life of iron lung inmate, The Telegraph. Retrieved 11 December 2018. The lack of auxiliary power at the hospital and the necessity of requiring volunteers to manually operate the machine prompted a public debate in the local press.(10 March 1949) Correspondence: The Iron Lung, The Morning Bulletin. Retrieved 11 December 2018.(11 March 1949) Correspondence: The Iron Lung, The Morning Bulletin. Retrieved 11 December 2018.(24 March 1949) The Iron Lung, The Morning Bulletin. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
Communities along the Capricorn Coast, including Yeppoon and Emu Park, also sustained extensive damage during the cyclone.(4 March 1949) Seaside towns took heavy blows, The Morning Bulletin. Retrieved 11 December 2018.(5 March 1949) Yeppoon battered for 22 hours, The Morning Bulletin. Retrieved 11 December 2018. Dead cattle began washing up on the beaches along Zilzie and Emu Park after the cyclone. Mass burials of the beasts took place at the end of each beach.(5 March 1949) Cattle among casualties, The Morning Bulletin. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
Damage was also sustained at Port Alma and the Rockhampton Harbour.(16 March 1949) Cyclone died 1900 damage to local ports, The Morning Bulletin. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
The mining town of Mount Morgan, south-west of Rockhampton, experienced strong winds and heavy rain, but the damage to the town was minimal compared to Rockhampton although some roofs were blown off buildings and some verandas were damaged, including at the Avoca Hotel and Allen's Hotel at Tipperary Point.(4 March 1949) Night of terror at Mt Morgan, The Morning Bulletin. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
Many crops in the area were lost, including a substantial citrus crop from Byfield.(10 March 1949) Byfield loses citrus crop in cyclone, The Central Queensland Herald. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
Kalapa also felt the effects of the cyclone as it moved inland.(7 March 1949) Kalapa's cyclone experience, The Morning Bulletin. Retrieved 11 December 2018. Further west, strong winds and heavy rain were recorded at Emerald and throughout the Central Highlands but no substantial damage was reported.(4 March 1949) Heavy wind at Emerald, The Morning Bulletin. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
The publication of Rockhampton's daily newspaper was abandoned during the cyclone, and therefore there was no edition of The Morning Bulletin issued on 3 March 1949.(3 March 1949) Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton, Qld: 1878-1954) Issue Missing: 1949-03-03, National Library of Australia. Retrieved 11 December 2018. The Rockhampton Newspaper Co Pty Ltd issued an apology in the following day's edition, explaining that the decision not to publish had been owing to "unsurmountable difficulties".(4 March 1949) No "Bulletin" Yesterday, The Morning Bulletin. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
Local radio station 4RK remained on air during the cyclone but staff were forced to cover transmitting equipment with tents and had to tear up linoleum from the floor so it could be used to cover the generator when water began pouring through the roof.(7 April 1952) New equipment at 4RK, The Morning Bulletin. Retrieved 11 December 2018.