Thursday, February 27, 2014

Insider’s view of Maitland in 1955 flood

From the Maitland Mercury report:
 
By
At flood time in 1955, I was the senior technical officer at the Maitland Communication Centre, also known as the Maitland Test Room, situated on the ground and first floors at the rear of Maitland Post Office.
At the time this centre was the largest, most important country communication centre in NSW, staffed  by about 20 expert technical personnel and 25 telephonists...
As the flood waters rose, the operation of this vital equipment was threatened.
In an effort to block the advance of the rising water, the main doorway into the power room close to the Bourke Steet entrance was blocked off with wooden 3 inch  by 3 inch  cross arm poles measuring about 4 feet long and sealed with liquid Marfak.
 
Full article available at Maitland Mercury, Feb. 22, 2014.