BHS

BHS Selected Article

The Brighton Cyclone 2nd February 1918

Fay Coates

BRIGHTON DEVASTATED – Cyclone Sweeps Over the Town

£150,000 Worth of Damage – Houses Demolished – Trees Uprooted.

The Methodist Church, Hawthorn Road, the day after the cyclone.

This was the headline on an old Southern Cross newspaper. Fascinated I looked up the cyclone in the “Southern Cross” and “The Argus” newspapers at the State Library on microfiche.

The whole sky became overcast, and the sultry heat of the morning gave place to a strong squall from the north-west, accompanied by driving sheets of rain, which caused the abandonment of many outdoor sports. The wind was strong enough to break large branches off trees, and to uproot the more exposed, but it did no more damage than many previous storms. At about half past four , however, residents of Brighton noticed the heavy blue-black cloud gathering in the south-west and growing more and more menacing. A quarter of an hour later with scarcely a warning sound, a gale of unprecedented violence struck the foreshore… The moment it struck the mainland the air became thick with flying tiles, sheets of galvanized iron, branches of trees, and large sections of wood. The wonder of it is that more people were not injured. Sheets of iron were flying through the air like birds, and there are authenticated cases of heavy beams being carried more than 100 yards before they fell to earth….Every house that was unroofed was also flooded, causing serious damage to carpets, pictures and furniture. The three or four minutes for which the storm (hurricane) lasted was a period of terror…

Argus 04/02/1918

Australia , certainly Victoria , had never before experienced these cyclonic weather conditions. Nine months before the end of the First World War, on Saturday afternoon, 2 nd February 1918, two strong gusts, one from Williamstown and the other from Brighton beach crossed paths and caused tremendous destruction to Brighton. The Williamstown squall hit Brighton near Wellington Street and continued east towards Bentleigh and McKinnon. The Brighton Beach squall continued north east through Landcox Park, stopping abruptly at Brighton Cemetery. The two squalls, travelling at equal speed, crossed paths resulting in the cyclone (or hurricane) centering on the front garden of Billilla.

Amazingly only two deaths occurred. A man drowned at St Kilda and a lad picnicking at Brighton Beach also died.

Young Frank Green, 14, of Chetwynd St, North Melbourne was killed as a result to of the storm. He was with the Sower's Band Picnic at Brighton Beach and left with a friend to go for a swim in the baths. They reached a fruit stall on the return journey at the height of the storm and the stall fell on the boy, Green, severing the top of his head. The other boy, aged 10, was blown along the Esplanade until rescued dazed and bleeding by two sailors, who put him on the train to Balaclava where the police took charge and he was able to testify that the body found was that of his little comrade.

Southern Cross 09/02/1918

There were numerous accounts of overturned boats and cabs, injured people and lucky escapes. Little Winnie, Colonel Kendall's daughter received a lot of sympathy.

The two storey house on the corner of Albert and Wellington Streets was occupied by Colonel E.A.Kendall C.M.G. on active service. His six year old daughter, Winnie, was in her bedroom at the front of the house when the cyclone blew away the walls and most of the flooring, and caused the roof to fall in. Despite the fury of the gale and the danger attending entry into the room the maid, Miss Barbara Phillips of Albury, the only other occupant of the house, went to the little girl's assistance, in response to her screams and courageously extracted her from the debris. The little girl sustained a broken leg and was taken by Mr J. Kilgour in his motor to St Vincent Hospital .

Southern Cross 09/02/1918

Landcox Park , as well as many surrounding trees, was annihilated. The beautiful, mature trees in the front garden of Billilla were battered and some of the surrounding houses demolished. At Brighton Cemetery the hurricane blew over Adam Lindsay Gordon's column.

Billilla, the residence of Mrs Weatherly and family, is one of the finest mansion homes in Brighton with its spacious grounds. On the lawns and terraces three mighty forces clashed and played havoc round the whole of the picket fencing in front and a cypress hedge was laid flat….two giant pines fell, one on top of the other…The front of the portico room was lifted from the house and ornaments from the tower crashed through on the portion of the roof. A burst water pipe added its quota to the utter ruin of the furnishings. When the storm abated this fine property had the appearance of having been subjected to bombardment.

The Southern Cross – p.5.

In spite of the war still raging, people gave generously to the Lord Mayor's Fund to raise money for the Brighton storm victims. The donors list printed in the Southern Cross newspaper on 16 February 1918 indicated that Lionel Weatherley, son of Jeanie and William Weatherly, began the fund with a generous gift of 100 pounds.

The Commonwealth Bureau of Meterology internet site informs us that the 1918 Brighton Cyclone, they called it a hurricane, had wind speeds estimated at 320 km/h (Fujita rating F3), making this possibly the most extreme tornado to hit a major city in Australia. Fortunately the damage was local and the storm soon died away.