Farmers came out to see a torrent of water come bursting down the dry bed of the Billabong Creek on Sunday.
Flowing past the Hume Highway bridge, water spread out over the creek banks onto the flood plain and filled the lagoon.
Donald and Margaret Shaw of Glenelg had to move cattle to high ground near the house. Their youngest son Joachim who is 12 has never seen the Billabong Creek in flood.
Farm dams were overflowing or had burst their banks and the Shaws said they were looking forward to having a normal season with enough green grass to feed the cattle through the winter months.
“Last year we had to send cattle on agistment to Narrabri - it cost $24,000 and that was cheaper than hand feeding them,” Mrs Shaw said.
This area north of Holbrook received up to 169mm between Friday and Sunday with the main deluge arriving Sunday.
Joy Wearn at Yammacoona on the Four Mile Lane said silage hay bales near the Little Billabong Hall were strewn everywhere by the sheer force of water moving down from the upper catchment. Property owners had to cut fences to get their stock out quickly as the volume of water surprised them.
Meanwhile flash flooding on the Hume Highway south of Tarcutta impacted on north bound traffic which was diverted at Holbrook by the Roads and Traffic Authority to Culcairn and the Olympic Highway from 5.30pm to 9pm on Sunday night.
Travellers were also turned back on the Olympic Highway at Uranquinty as steady rain formed sheets of water over the road.
Widespread rain throughout the Eastern Riverina Chronicle readership recorded some of the highest average March rainfalls yet.
March mean averages for the region vary between 40mm and 42.7mm. The highest daily rainfall at the Wagga Wagga Research Centre was 86.4mm recorded on March 24, 1982; and the highest in Albury was 45mm recorded on March 26 1993.
At the Holbrook property Glen Falloch on the Four Mile Lane, farm records show some of the highest monthly totals occurred in March 1989 with 130.8mm; in 1992 with 122mm and in 2001 with 179.6mm. In two days at the weekend it received 155mm.
In the Wantagong area east of Holbrook Margaret Killalea said all dams were full after receiving 160mm. About 30 rams had to be rescued out of the Wantagong Creek due to flash flooding.
Elsewhere Jim Hoy recorded 80mm at Gerogery and 67mm closer to Culcairn. Farms around Walbundrie received 70mm; and John Pumpa reported 136mm at ‘Hylands’ Pleasant Hills. Henty had flash flooding with 110mm, on the Cookardinia side of Henty, Andrew and Jeanette Ross received 83mm and Dianne Male reported 56mm towards the Yerong Creek-Mangoplah area. At Lockhart, Fran Day said the property ‘Woodleigh’ on the Narrandera Road received 50mm and 120mm was recorded at ‘Bullenbong’ towards Wagga Wagga.
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