The 1956 Murray River flood involved the rising of waters in the Murray River and flooding of many towns in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. The flood was and still is considered the biggest flood in the recorded history of the Murray and described as "the greatest catastrophe in South Australia's history",[1] although few lives were lost.
The flood occurred due to higher than average rainfalls in Western Queensland and heavy rains in the proceeding three months in the Murray-Darling basin.[2] Flood waters moved down the Murray and Darling rivers for seven months and peaked between 11 and 14 August at Merbein in Victoria[3] and 12.3 metres (40 ft) at Morgan in South Australia.[2] Inflow into South Australia peaked at 341 gigalitres per day, the highest on record;[4] the next highest on record is 220 gigalitres per day in 1931.[5]
From upstream to downstream, flooding occurred in the towns of Wentworth in New South Wales; Colignan, Iraak, Mildura, Nangiloc, and Red Cliffs in Victoria; and many South Australia towns including Renmark, Mannum and Murray Bridge.[6] Some areas were flooded up to 100 kilometres (62 mi) from the natural flow of the river.
As a result of the flood, the Menindee Lakes were constructed to store high flows from the Darling River.[2]
^"The greatest River Murray flood eclipses 1956 levels" (Press release). University of South Australia. 13 September 2002. Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
^ abc"Past droughts and floods". State Library of South Australia. Archived from the original on 30 August 2007. Retrieved 15 September 2007.
^"1956 Murray River Floods". Discover Murray Mallee. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
^"River Murray flow raised again with risk of biggest flood since 1956". InDaily. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
^River Murray floods: FAQs, Department of Environment and Water, Government of South Australia, 2022
^Shields, B. P. (March 2004). Renmark's Railway Flood Operations 1931 and 1956. Australian Railway History. pp. 88–91.
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