The night of June 24, 1852 saw the river Murrumbidgee swell to breaking its banks, flooding the original township of Gundagai (Gun-da-guy).
European settlers had established buildings on the low lying ground, too close to the river.
Wiradjuri (Wee-rad-jury) men came to the rescue of the Europeans - even though they'd tried to warn them against building the town and buildings where they had - Indigenous people were often the saviours of those who'd dismissed/ignored or treated them badly.
Previous floods had seen Wiradjuri people rescue Europeans in the 1840s.
The Wiradjuri men of whose names we know were Yarri (Coonong Denamundinna) Jacky Jacky, Long Jimmy and Tommy Davis.
They rescued an estimated 69 people in bark canoes over three days and nights.
No one knows the exact number of people who lost their lives as the population was often increased with drovers, but with 250 people living in the town, at least 80 - 100 people died, untold livestock losses and only 3 houses left standing after the flood water receded.
And, of course, no one knows how many Indigenous people died.
2017 saw a mark of respect and thanks to the Wiradjuri People with the statue of Yarri and Jacky Jacky and one of the bark canoes used to rescue people.
Sources:
https://indigenousx.com.au/the-heroes-of-gundagai/
https://www.visitgundagai.com.au/discovergundagai/sculpture-the-great-rescue-of-1852
https://csaa.asn.au/2022/08/08/gundagai-yarri-and-jacky-jacky/
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/101627922
https://www.visitgundagai.com.au/discovergundagai/oldgundagai
