Today, 60 years ago, the Hunter Valley suffered its worst recorded flood when days of torrential rain saw the Hunter River peak at 14.57m (47’ 7’’) on Thursday, February 24. 

The flood peak remained steady for 36 hours wreaking havoc on Singleton and surrounding districts and downstream in Maitland.

For residents, young and old who lived through the flood, it was a time of great fear and uncertainty but also a time where the kindness of strangers came to the fore.

Many stories have been recorded from the flood victims; some heartbreaking, some amazing and some very funny – showing that true Australian spirit to laugh in the face of adversity.

There were also stories of great escapes; people riding mattresses down the river to safety, escapes through the ceiling onto the roof to wait for a much-hoped for rescue.

A cake tin filled with a recently baked cake bobbing for days in the flood water, only to open once the water receded to provide a much-needed change in the owner’s diet after days relying on tinned food or bananas.

The provision of bananas sometimes dropped from the air was one story told over and over again – for at least one flood victim eating a banana years later reminded him of the flood.

Another memory never lost of the flood victims was the sound of the roaring waters as they swallowed the district and the smell of the flood once it receded and, of course, the mud.

Mud glorious mud it was the lasting sign of what had swept through the town creeping into every corner of the inundated homes, businesses and public buildings.

According to Great Floods of Singleton, complied by the Singleton Historical Society & Museum (2001), electricity was off in the town centre itself for three days, water for six days and sewerage took 14 days to be restored.

“Communications were completely out but one local resident kept his radio transmission functioning as long as possible,” said the late Clive Bourke, OBE, the mayor of Singleton in 1955.

“Rail and road communications were not restored for some days. 

“In fact, the railway line from Singleton to Whittingham was not restored for nearly two months.”

Out of the flood came the establishment of the State Emergency Service (SES) to provide citizens with assistance in time of natural disaster. 

Also, the landscape of the town and the flow of the Hunter River were  drastically changed in response to the flood and the realisation that although building a town close to water supplies may have been a good idea 100 years earlier, it now posed a serious risk to residents.

In 1963, a 2.2-kilometre earthen and 

concrete levee was constructed to protect the town centre. 

On the Hunter River, first Glenbawn and then Glennies Creek dams were constructed to provide flood mitigation to the entire valley.

These measures have to date ensured Singleton has not been flooded again although the June 2007 flood that reached 14.30m was a close call for the town.