The Sun.
London, England, 1810-10-11 00:00:00

NEW SOUTH WILES.

The,Sydney Gazette contains, the. most distresSing
"yccount Of a flood at Hawkesbury, which laid the
whole iif that; extensive and flourishing settlement
under Water,,and swept away,, with undiscriininating
fury, inhabitants, caiile, gran, and vroduce,of every
description. l'he following is no exaggerated stare-
meat of the dreadful visitation

FLOOD AT BAWKSBURT.

. Accounts' were on TuesdAy.lasi received in town
of the Haw kesbury settlement being again fi.oded ;
and in the course. of the following tnose ac-
counts Were unhappily coatirmed. A Mr. Bull,.
of Sydney„who was at the house of M.-John Benn,
down the liver, at the commencement_Of the flood,
us, little or no rain tell it) that (patter until
Saturday evening, the 2gth ult. when a heavy rain
set in; whibh-continued without intermission until
Monday morning: 'That a rise in the water was
perceived between ten and eleven on Sunday night,
and continued for 'some hours to rise;, gradually, but
afterward: with an •astonishing rapidity, until the
whole of the surrounding farms were laid under'
water. About noon, on Tuesday, 'it was at the
highest, and in the course of the afternoon abated
five or six feet ; but-incons,luence of the deluges
of rain that fell. in .the evening and night-of Toes-
daY, the water rose again several feet. On Wed-
nesday it - began again to fall; and .by the noon of
'Thursday had decreased ten feet' from its greatest
height. Among tie principal. sufferers that we'
have heard of down the river, is Mr. Benn ; he Iriv-
ing lost upwards of 300 bead of swine, to() sheep,
about woo 'bushels of wheat threshed, or iu stack,
and a stack of barley, besides a valuable/property
contained in his dwelling-house and barn, among
which were two chests. of tea and a ton of sugor
bur a. few days prior received from Sydney.
From the Green Hills, the following report, con-
;ained in a private letter, dated on Tuesday night,
eleven o'clock, was received in town on Thursday :

" With regret I intortn you of the dreadful.
scene tlfat ar the present moment chills me with ex-
cassive horror. The whole of "this extensive settle-
ment is
,one uninterrupted sheet of water. The
lower range of houses upon the Green [-Ells is im-
mersed; and the river has forrited a junction with
Sowh Creek, across the hips, through Rickerby's-
ground; upon the river side, and those of the Rev.
Mr. Marsden, on the Creek. Yesterday and last
nignt ;Ain a most, dreadful season ! The danger
crea.ed with a rapidity nner before witnes-
sed ; aiid the cries of the nury.t.:rous families who
were ntorc imminently exposed, were rendered,
still :more. agonizing by the impradicability of af-
jolding them immediate whet. . In one alarming
instance, a young "man, ~settler, his '‘Ofe,. and
three children, were seated on a , ladder -lain
across the fork of a tree, in which situation they
contrived to sustain an equilibriuin tor nearly three ".
hours, the man a great part of the time clinging
by his hands at the end of the ladder_;, but at last
yielding to fatigue, he forsook his hold, and all were
in consequence precipitated into the deluge. The -
women and children were picked up ; but the fate,
of the unfortunate man is doubtful. A settler at-
Co-rnwallis passed the hills this. morning on the top -'
Of a .small wheat sack ;, his rate is unknown ; but
it is much hoped he may have been preserved by
s.gne of the boats etnplo!, ed in this humane work.,
" In another and truly tiaelaitcholy instance; eight

p4rsons are suppoSed to have perished in one. sPot.•
names
_of those ,supposed unfortunates have,
been - Mentioned ; but . from this I must refrain,
ip)ping the account may be erroneous, or at least
exaggerated;' at present- al is uncertainly and
dreiad, all terrov and astoi4ishinent. Some lives
are.lost, many have been saved by the- exertions of
the More enterptizing,_ directed by our -Magistyates,
who by their example encouraged the toil of resew
ing whole families from tha very verge of fate:
And I cannot . omit to mention. the aive and hide-
/litigable. exertions .of Messrs. Thompson and Big-
&ois, to whom, under,the direction of Divine Pro-

vidence,-many are inkhted for
,their,l'ives.
fatigUes were equal to their. dangers, which sere
inbreased by the „extreme Oarknes, of the;nig,ht ;
during Which•their boa'!s were repeatedly st.ve; and
it Was with ditliculty they could with their crews
preserve their lives. ,Many others who volunteered
their exertions, ate-also untitled !o every praise. At
the order of Mr. Bell, the church wa, apprOpriated
to the reception of the sufferers brought to the hills,
and such as were destitute were victualled from the
.store,' and every measure. that humanity could
vise wai adopted to ii.lleviate as Much as possible the
misery of their condition.

it is considere,l that the perpendicular rise of
the river could natt be much less than 86feet from
the general letel; and to have exceeded that of
March, 1806, by six or eight feet of perpendicular
height; arid unfortunately happens at,a‘time of the
year. which -totally deStroys the prospeCts of the
settler, and the dependence of the colOny upon this
:settlement for the next year, as' the sou n wheat
will, in all probability, perish iiithe :grourkd in most
of the lower.situations."'

.
At the tairtn'of Mr. S. Terry., nine persons, viz.
Cooley, of Toongabbee ; Mnnsey, of Hawkesbury ;
Hodges, servant to a gentleman of Sydney ; Ma.;
hoined, an ASiattc,' his wife and two children,. and
two black men, had endeaidured tosecur4 them-
.selves on the top•of the born., wl.ich fell in abuui
five on Monday eveni6g ; but as there was no o:her
resource left, they ttnitinued upon the roof ,for
about e o hours after, •whon the wife of MahomLd
fell through the thatch with one of her children in
her arms, and was no wore s:en. Cooley endea-
vouring to save the other child, «lrch chatg to
Mahomed, the father, slipped off ',with the.infatn,
and. in like manner disappeared; ,as did Mousey
also. Mahorned and the t..vo black. -men sa ed
themselves' in' trees, and Hodges ab d.rt
in the dark, at length got into the stream, by Which
he was carried between five and six Miles -before arty
impediment opposed his rapid course ; when hap-
pily
he found safety among the branches of a tree;
from whence. he was at ler.gth taken by a boat, and
conveyed to a place of safety.
The loss of stock •has been very ,severe, as well
as grain.; no possible estimale can. tie funned at
present. - - •
_ _

As soon as the melancholy irvelligence was re-
ceived, his Honour Lieutenant Go,ernor Foyeanx
left town, accompanied by J. Finucane; Esq. Se-
cretary to his Honour the -Lh-..utehaht4Govertior,
with intention to proceed to Hawkesbury direti ;
but was obli6ed to return, as the roads were im-
passable. •

The banks of George's - river were unfortunately
inundated at the same time ; and a great quantity
Of stock and other ,property lost. In Major John-
ston's stock-yard 490 sheep were drowned ; Mr.
WC:annul lost 300, and- several' houses were left
in ruins.