Carlo comes to the rescue at Koonoomoo

In October 1906, the Murray River flooded and inundated the surrouding countryside including Koonoomoo, a small town which is located south of Toucumwal, north of Yarroweyah (which I have written about here), northeast of Strathmerton and northwest of Cobram. Over 2,000 acres of crops went under water (1). Carlo Catani inspected the flood area and while he was there went to the rescue of Mrs Hart and her three children. I have reproduced three newpaper accounts of his bravery and then we will look at the life of Mrs Hart and the Koonoomoo community.

This is an account of the flood -

Koonoomoo Settlement Submerged - Miles of Country flooded. 

The Murray has broken through the levee bank in several places between here and Tocumwal, and the intervening country is one vast stretch of water. The flood of this country has had the effect of lowering the river by at least three inches at the Cobram bridge, but although the stream is receding, the water is rising inland very rapidly owing to the gaps in the levee being made deeper. Koonoomoo township is under water, and every settler has shifted to higher quarters. 

(Riverine Herald, October 12, 1906, see here)

I have found three accounts (2) of Carlo's heroism and even though they are similar in some aspects I have reproduced them here because this is a tribute blog to Carlo and to paraphrase William Shakespeare, I come to praise Carlo.

Koonoomoo Settlement Submerged - Miles of Country flooded

During Tuesday afternoon an exciting incident happened. Mrs Hart, one of the settlers residing to the north-west of the village, had decided to remain with her three children in her home, thinking that the flood would not reach them, but as the water was rising at the rate of 4 inches per hour her situation was becoming critical. Mr Catani, who visited Koonoomoo during the aflernoon, learned of Mrs Hart's position, and be procured a boat and with assistance set out to rescue her. After going about 50 yards, however, the boat proved so leaky that Mr Catani was prevailed upon not to risk his life. Constable Tennant, who had been busily employed in the neighborhood, happened along, and he readily volunteered to go to Mrs Hart's rescue, in company with Mr Joe O'Connor, the well-known footballer. The pair had a difficult task to reach Mrs Hart's dwelling, but by dint of much baling the cottage was reached and all the inmates taken aboard. The boat was then rowed out between the front gate posts, and shortly afterwards a great quantity of water came aboard through one of the party shifting. The rescuers promptly dropped out into 3ft. 6in. of water and baled the boat dry, and subsequently managed to land Mrs Hart and her children on high ground.

(Cobram Courier October 11, 1906, see here.)

Local residents of Koomoonoo, 1920.

Weekly Times July 19, 1920. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article222554833

Koonoomoo Settlement submerged. Miles of country flooded.

An exciting incident occurred during the swamping of the settlement, which was the work of a few hours, as the water rose at the rate of five inches per hour. Mrs Hart, with her three young children, decided to stay at their dwelling, thinking the flood would not reach them. It did so, however, and Mr Catani, of the Public Works department, procuring the only boat available, made an at attempt to go to their assistance. After going 50 yards the boat leaked so badly that Mr Catani decided to come back.

Constable Tennant, from Cobram, who had been helping the flooded settlers all the morning, came along, and with Mr Joseph O'Connor, got into the boat and proceeded to Mrs Hart's house. They had hard work to steer the boat in a safe course and to keep it bailed out, but eventually they reached the dwelling and put the inmates on board, When returning by a more easy course, Mrs Hart leaned to one side, causing the boat to partly fill, and Constable Tennant and Mr O'Connor had to jump out into four feet of water and bail out the boat. Eventually the party reached high land and were taken care of. 

(Riverine Herald, October 12, 1906, see here)

Damage at Koonoomoo. Mr Catani's adventure. 
During Mr Catani's visit he underwent a thrilling experience. Not far from the levee at Koonoomooo is the homestead of a settler named Hart, who had left some days previoulsy, leaving his wife and three childen at home. During the night the river rose, and when Mr Catani arrived the house was standing in the centre of a surging mass of yellow water. The flood had already invaded the house, and there was every indication that it would rise, and carry away the woman and her children. At imminent risk to himself, Mr Catani entered a boat to rescue them. He appealed to several men for assistance, but they declined to venture out, asserting that they could not swim. Mr Catani then rowed to another part of the bank, and offered a young man a sovereign if he would assist in the work of the rescue. At this moment the police, who had rendered great assistance during the flood, came to the scene, and Mrs Hart and her family were removed to a place of safety.

(The Argus October 13, 1906, see full article here)

The township of Koonoomoo was proclaimed on December 18, 1885 (3). We can get some idea of the early history of Koonoomoo from  the history of the school from Vision and Realisation (4).  In September 1886 the community applied to the Education Department for a school, which was knocked back due to insuffucient numbers. In September 1890 the community applied again for a school and provided a list of thirty nine potential students. This time they were successful, a site was selected and the school opened in September 1891 in an old weatherboard house that had been moved to the block. Another site was selected in 1897 and in the December the school building from Dargalong was moved there and classes started in the 'new' building in March 1898, with an enrolment of 51. The building was condemned by the Council Health Officer in 1904, and another disused school, this time from Pine Lodge West, was shifted to the town. The school closed in February 1953 and the students moved to Cobram Consolidated School (5).

There is also a description of Koonoonoo in a letter written by May Davenport to Aunt Connie, the editor of the children's pages in the Weekly Times on June 1, 1901

Dear Aunt Connie,

Koonoomoo is a village settlement about 2 ½ miles from the Murray River. There is a lagoon running through it. On the other side of the lagoon there are some sandhills, on which there are several vineyards. The country on this side of the lagoon is pretty flat, and one time when the river overflowed, there used to be a flood now and then, but now there is an embankment made to keep back the floods. There is a flood gate in the embankment to let sufficient water into the lagoon. It is a pretty sight to see the water rushing through it. There is a lot of wattles on river banks. They look very pretty when, they are out. There are some sandbanks along the river, and we go down on them some times for picnics. Cobram and Yarroweyah are the nearest townships. Cobram is about five miles from here. It is the terminus of the Goulburn Valley railway line. Yarraweyah is about three miles from here. I got two prize books this year. One of them, which I got from the State school, is named Glen Luna and the other, which I got from Sunday school, is named the Wide,Wide World. I think they are both nice books, but I like the Wide, Wide World the best. We have had a nice fall of rain, and the grass is growing nicely. The mice are very bad here this year.

With love to you, I remain, your loving niece, May Davenport.

(Weekly Times June 1, 1901, see here)

This township map of Koonoomoo, shows the lagoon running through the town as mentioned by May in her letter to Aunt Connie.

Public Records Office of Victoria, view a high-res version here.

The State Library of Victoria also has a plan of the Koomoonoo Village Settlement and the township, here.

Koonoomoo was clearly a small town as in the 1906 Electoral Roll there were only twelve people listed with a Koonoomoo address (6) and in 1908 there were 28 (7) including Hugh and  Matilda Hart. The occupations listed were either farmer or labourer for the men and home duties or farmer for the women - no shopkeepers or blacksmiths, so Koonoomoo appears to actually be more of  a locality rather than a town.

It was Matilda Hart and her three children who were rescued from the flood. Matilda Hancock had married Hugh Hart, in 1896; the marriage was registered in Deniliquin (8). They had two children in New South Wales - Isabella, born in 1897 and Myrtle (9) in 1899; the births were registered in Tocumwal. Hugh was born in 1904, and his birth was registered at Strathmerton.  Matilda Hart had a previous escape from calamity in December 1898 when she was struck on the head, as the report below tell us.

A report of Matilda Hart's accident - note the interesting way the bleeding was stopped.

Sydney Evening News, December 7, 1898  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article114042720

In one of the flood reports it said that the Harts had lost 30 acres of crops in the flood (10).  In the 1908 and 1909 Electoral Rolls Hugh's occupation was listed as a farmer and also listed at Koonoomoo was a Patrick Hart. After 1909, Hugh's occupation was listed as a labourer and Patrick was no longer listed, so I wonder if Hugh and Patrick worked the farm together and if Patrick moved on, so they decided to sell the farm and Hugh worked as a labourer. 

Matilda was in the newspapers again in 1916 when the Tungamah Shire Council charged her with failing to register her three dogs.

Report of Matilda Hart's failure to register her dogs with the Tungamah Shire.

Nurmurkah Leader December 15, 1916 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article132754538

On October 1925, Matilda Hart had to attend a hearing in Numurkah to show cause why her licence to lease 70 acres of Crown Land should not be forfeited. I don't know what the outcome was, but it is interesting that the property was in her name and not in Hugh's name. They also have the address of the property as Yarroweyah. It appears that in common with many rural areas there was a blurred line between locality boundaries, in this case that of Koonoomoo and Yarroweyah. This may also explain why there were so few people listed in the Electoral Roll with a Koonoomoo address.

Notice of Matilda Hart's licence to lease Crown Land hearing.

Victoria Government Gazette October 10, 1917.  http://gazette.slv.vic.gov.au/images/1917/V/general/168.pdf

Hugh died at the age  of 78 on June 5, 1932 at the Mooroopna Hospital. Matilda was still listed at Koonoomoo in the 1936 Electoral Roll. She died in Carlton on August 11, 1948. Her death certificate said her usual place of residence was Deniliquin. She was 83 years of age (11). 

Death notice of Matilda (nee Hancock) Hart.

The Age August 12, 1948 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article206892880

Matilda and Hugh's three children survived to adulthood - Isabella died in 1973, aged 76. She had married Charles Henry Schultz in 1914. He died in 1931 and she then married Arthur Tredrea in 1935. Myrtle married Edwin Sitters in Tocumwal in 1923 and she died in 1968 at the age of 68. Hugh died in 1969 aged 64 (12). As you can see by Matilda's death notice, she had a step-daughter. Hugh's death notice said he had been married twice, but no children from either marriage were listed on his certificate for some unknown reason.

Did the Harts regale their families with stories of the flood and the daring rescue for the rest of their lives - saying to their children or grandchildren - Did I ever tell you about the time we were rescued by Mr Catani?

I could only find one historic photo of Koonoomoo on-line. 

It is from 1939 and titled Boys with rabbits near Koonoomoo. This would be not much different from how Koonoomoo looked when Isabella, Myrtle and Hugh Hart were growing up in the area.

State Library of New South Wales Image IE1713999

Acknowledgment

I found out about Carlo's daring rescue at Koonoomoo from my research colleague, Isaac Hermann. Isaac also supplied the information about Mrs Hart's dog registration issues and her Crown Land licence hearing.

Footnotes

(1) The Age, October 11, 1906, see here. 

(2) There is actually one other report in The Age, October 11, 1906, see here. 

(3) Proclamation of the town was in the Victoria Government Gazette of December 24, 1885 http://gazette.slv.vic.gov.au/images/1885/V/general/124.pdf

(4) Blake, L. J (editor) Vision and Realisation: a centenary history of State Education in Victoria,  (Education Department of Victoria, 1973)

(5) Blake, op. cit.. v. 3, p. 835.

(6) The 1906 Electoral Roll list the following with a Koonoomoo address - James Boland, Mary Boland, John Brown, Emily Hiles, Joseph Hiles, Thomas Lambert, Annie O'Connor, Johanna O'Connor, William O'Connor, Arnold Schultz, Christina Schultz and William Schultz.

(7) The 1908 Electoral Roll list the following with a Koonoomoo address -  Margaret Blowes, Annie Clouson, George Davenport, Elizabeth DeAble, Hugh Hart, Matilda Hart, Patrick Hart, Emily Hiles, Ester Hiles, Maud Hiles, Elizabeth Holmes, Catherine Hutson, Robert Hutson, Thomas Lambert, May Lynch, Maud Mansell, Annie O'Connor, Johanna O'Connor, William O'Connor, Walter Prayle, Edward Rowe, Ethel Rowe, Catherine Ryan, Mary Ryan, Matthew Ryan, Robert Teitz, Charles Thomas, William George Thomas, William James Thomas.

(8) Index to the New South Wales Births Deaths and Marriages. Matilda's death certificate lists her father as William Thomas Hancock and her mother's surname as Carmichael and says she was born in Collingwood. As she died in 1948 and her age was listed as 83 then that makes her birth year around 1865. In the Victorian Index to Births, Deaths and Marriages there is a Matilda Hancock born in 1869 in Collingwood to William Thomas Hancock and Mary Henderson.  I assume this is our Matilda, but I cannot account for the discrepencies in the year of birth and the mother's surname. According to Hugh's death certificate his full name was Hugh William Fisher Hart and being 78 in 1932, it means he was born around 1854. His parents are not listed and his place of birth is listed as Woodstock, a town north of Melbourne on the intesection of the Broadford Road and Donnybrook Road. The only birth of a Hugh William Fisher Hart in Victoria was in 1864, to John Fisher Hart and Sarah Ann Wall. The birth was registered in Kyneton, that's ten years after the date suggested by the death certiticate. I don't have an answer for this. 

(8) The Index to the New South Wales Births Deaths and Marriages list Myrtle as Bertha. This may be a transcription error or she changed her name.

(10) The Age, October 11, 1906, see here. 

(11) Death date of Hugh and Matilda comes from their death certificates.

(12) Information on Isabella, Myrtle and Hugh comes from the Victorian Indexes to the Births, Deaths and Marriages.