Australian Town and Country Journal at KellyGang 19/11/1870 (2)
The goods had been lifted a few feet above the ground floor. The oocupunts looked wretched. They were either working or employing others to work for them at the public walls, which required constant attention and building up at intervals. The earth for the walls had to be dug out of the footpaths; and as one passed along he met with several holes, like so many graves which had been opened to provide material for the walls. Everything was in a state of uncertainty, for a deph of eighteen foot all over his floor; the goods in the shop and the mattresses in the bed rooms wore only a foot clear.
The hotel was two-storied, and the effects seem to have moved up stairs. Further on, commencing at the opposite corner, there were four buildings, from Dr Crossen's to the town-hall inclusive, with nearly four feet of water in them. The flood was level with the window-sills of the town-hall, and lifting up the window we could see the furniture, elevated on forms, just clear. At the next corner were Mr Towle's (the mayor's) shop and house, quite untenantable.
After those came the Church of England and parsonage, the former only kept dry by a puddle-wall on the lower side. The Rev Mr M'Causland was to be seen on Thursday afternoon working with a spade, with his trousers tucked up to his knees. Contiguous to it was a small cottage (Mrs Callaghan's) pointed as one of the while the back water might be resisted in front, there was danger at any moment of the railway line at the back being overcome, and the Murray sweeping down upon the shops from the rear. Beyond these eleven shops there was Mr Mayne's general store, and the Town Hall Hotel, both too far in to get help from puddled walls. Mr Mayne had the water standing to oldest buildings in Echuca, which had never been flooded before, now with the water up to the window sills. In all there were eight buildings on the left side flooded.
On the right between the street and the Campaspe, there were to be counted some sixteen of seventeen small houses, standing deep in the water, with no dry land near. Hare-street stands eight inches above the surrounding land, and yet the water was deep enough upon it to float our flat bottomed boat. On the east side there were twelve buildings only kept dry by means of the puddle walls round about them, The building at one end of the row was the Cumberland Hotel, at the other end a store, next door but one to which is the Riverine Herald office The Roman Catholic Church and the common school were standing in water.
On the west side there were two small houses flooded, and six others only kept dry by puddle walls. In some cases the water stood two feet above the ground which was on the inner side of the wall. There was one long wall on the road running alongside the railway line, opposite the upper end of the wharf. It served to prevent the Murray overflow which got under the line from crossing completely over the street, and diverted it down a side street loading to High-street. This wall was keeping several shops and public-houses dry. One or two buildings between the middle part of Hare-street and the river were in difficulties.
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