went. H e soon lost all self-control, and shouted lustily for help, but none could succour, and he was propelled with m u c h rapidity towards the "Falls," over which, if he went, nothing could hardly save him. A s he approached where he would have to m a k e his final somersault, he got entangled in some of the ti-tree then growing from the bank streamwards, and here he held on until a couple of Aboriginals w h o were standing by, were prevailed upon by some European, and a douceur of two or three figs of tobacco, to rescue him, which was done without risk or difficulty. T h e second escape was very singular. A bushman named Glenworth used to m a k e a living in a generally useful way on the Yarra, near Toorak. O n Christmas morning the gunyah in which he hutted was carried away, and he was in it. It was broken up before it reached the river current, into which he was shot head foremost. H e was a good swimmer, sober, and resolved tofighthard for life, but the impetuosity of the waters showed the inability of his attempting to m a k e either bank. H e therefore applied all his strength and skill to keep on the surface in mid-stream, hopeful that something in the way of a chance of escape might turn up, and the chapter of accidents did not disappoint him, for, in a minute or so, he sawfloatingd o w n the river what subsequently turned out to be a " cock," i.e., a small stack of kangaroo grass, cut and saved for provender. It was securely roped and sailed along trimly in the middle ofthe stream. A s it glided alongside, GlenwOrth grasped one of the fastenings, and, after being towed for a quarter of a mile, with the superhuman strength that comes to a drowning m a n , he managed to drag himself aboard, and, mounted on his hay raft, voyaged without any further mishap to Melbourne until he was nearing the " Falls," where he had little hope of going over them with unbroken bones. His craft was still taut and kept well together; and as he dashed along there were persons on the northern bank, willing enough to help, but able to do nothing more than shout a few words of encouragement, though they believed he was hastening to his doom. H e knew well where the "Falls" were, and as he approached them Glenworth firmed himself in his seat, shut his eyes, and clung to a rope like the grim Death he in all probability fancied was about to clutch him. T h e little hay-rick took to the " Falls" kindly, and got over without m u c h disarrangement, but in the hitch forward it was compelled to make, its temporary skipper was shot off his perch, falling, luckily, beyond the stones, and in deep water. After sinking, he rose to the surface, and, stunned by the shock he had received, would inevitably have perished but for two brothers (Henry and William Kellett), w h o jumped into the dingy of the lighter " L u c y " then warped close by, struck out for the drowning m a n and saved him. It was several days before the flood subsided. Before this occurrence it was the intention of the Government to extend the township over the river, but this deterred them from doing so, for the whole of the proposed extension lay for more than a week buried feet deep in water. N o land at South Yarra proper was sold by auction for several years after. Strange is it to record that just one week before, Melbourne bore witness to the power of another destroying element—a gunpowder explosion blowing up a house with its inmates in Market Street—a contrast one would be disposed to regard as an illustration of the marvellous physical forces against which, at times, in this world the power of m a n is unavailing.
Flood No. 2 — in 1842.
There was a great fall of rain on the 25th and 26th July, and on the 27th the Yarra swelled into a large flood. T h e river rose to a height previously u n k n o w n ; the South side was completely under water, and a new road in course of formation from Melbourne to Sandridge was non est. T h e brickmaker clearance of 1839 was repealed, but this time with more inconvenience and loss of property for there were more people settled there. Several gardens planted along the Yarra bank were totally ruined, and the flood breaking over the break-water, or "Falls," is described by a gushing newspaper scribe of the period to be " an humble imitation of the Falls of Niagara." It was modesty of him to put in the adjective T h e wharf and low streets were, in places, several feet deep in the inundation, and the scattered township resembled a group of small islands^ T h e pound, which was near the bank of the river, about half-way between Swanston and Russell Streets, was so suddenly overwhelmed that there was m u c h difficulty in saving about forty head of cattle there; and after procuring the enlargement of his prisoners, the keeper found dry quarters
