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November 2005 Flood News PDF Print E-mail
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November 2005 Flood News
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Do you remember the Waterfall Gully November 2005 "Event" where an enormous amount of debris was deposited over First Fall, and the environmentally significant Wilsons Bog took on a very different perspective.

Adelaide then, was in the middle of a prolonged dry spell, with changes in the vegetation becoming apparent. Today 18 months on, we hope that we are coming to the end of that remarkably dry period, where the effects of a prolonged dry have been very much in evidence.

Do you remember the amount of debris that came down over First Fall? How many truckloads were taken away to reconstruct the pool that we know at the Waterfall Gully Kiosk? The debris seen here clearly fills the pond above the weir height!

 

Waterfall Gully

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

more ...

 

People who live in Adelaide are familiar with the First Fall at the top of Waterfall Gully. For years it has been a regular place for people to wander and enjoy the season, whatever it was. The nearby Kiosk dispensed Devonshire Tea when Devonshire Tea was hip. It has always had that serene aura. One night in November 2005, after some reasonably heavy rainfall in the Adelaide Hills, all that changed.

 

First Fall

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 In the early hours of the morning so much water poured over the falls, that many houses downstream were flooded, the road was washed out. To me there was a fascination with water and the power of water. Late the following afternoon we approached First Fall for our first image. The noise was deafening, our placid waterfall was a raging torrent. The water was misting back to the observation point below the falls. You can see, even 12 hours past the peak, from the width of the creek above the falls, that there is still a considerable flow.

 

Waterfall Gully

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That afternoon, and a couple of laters trips, we sought to uncover pieces of a puzzle that only got more perplexing as the process evolved. Just what happened that day. What scenario could explain all of the evidence? To others, to stand and watch in amazement of what nature can deliver is sufficient. You and I however will follow this journey.

 Waterfall Gully

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the bottom of First Fall. The debris has filled the pond to above weir height. The rubble was sufficiently solid for people to stroll up to the base of the waterfall. It is certainly something that history has not previous recorded. And while we are on amazing stories, how about Waterfall Gully Road? (Seen here after the water subsided!) The depth of the washaway can be guaged by the person and car un the background. This has to be 5 to 6 feet deep.

 

Waterfall Gully Road

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next .....The Journey to Mt. Lofty. The afternoon on the day!



 
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