50 years ago today - raining cats, dogs and shoes

Tuesday August 8 1967. The Campbelltown district had just experienced an astounding 17cm of rain. Heavy winds blew down trees and a number of narrow escapes were reported. Electricity and telephone services had also gone down. Minto residents in Lincoln Street took to placing household items on tables as a precaution. A large bulldozer which had been working the previous day nearby was found completely submerged.

At Glenfield, water inundated Railway Parade and although cars could get through many stalled. Work ceased too on the electrification of the railway line as the deluge prevented both the "wire" train and "work" train from continuing.

Against this watery backdrop, Campbelltown police reported a number of car accidents during the flood but "most thankfully were not serious". An accident that occurred just prior to the storms involved a car crashing into Bunbury-Curran Creek, Macquarie Fields. The occupants were nowhere to be seen but the vehicle had previously been noticed at the scene of a burglary at White’s Shoe Store in Ingleburn. When towed from the creek a large quantity of shoes and boots washed into the water from within. News soon spread and the spot became hugely popular with swimmers, many of whom were soon sporting brand new, if sodden, footwear or as the newspaper put it "booty."

Bunbury Curran creek in flood in 1975. Photographer: A. Gleave.

written by Michael Sullivan
　

Source: Campbelltown Ingleburn News 8 August 1967 p 1,4, 9