150th anniversary of the 1867 Hawkesbury-Nepean Flood

From 23 to 25 June 2017, Infrastructure NSW and NSW State Emergency Service took part in an anniversary program hosted by Hawkesbury City Council to mark 150 years since the historic Hawkesbury-Nepean flood – our worst since European settlement.

The 150th anniversary of the 1867 Hawkesbury-Nepean flood serves as a strong reminder to be prepared for serve flooding and highlights the importance of the work we are doing to manage flood risks in the area.

Infrastructure NSW, together with NSW SES, took this opportunity to talk with local community members to raise awareness about the Resilient Valley, Resilient Communities – Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley Flood Risk Management Strategy. Our team presented at the ‘Flood 1867’ event in Thompson Square and attended a special church service at St Matthews church. We also held a Flood Strategy display; a demonstration of new mixed reality goggles, showing the levels of the 1867 flood in real time; an afternoon tea in the regional museum precinct gardens; and a series of very popular flood walking tours, led by Infrastructure NSW’s flood risk expert Dr Stephen Yeo.

We are looking forward to continuing our work with Hawkesbury City Council and other local councils and community members as we move forward with the Flood Strategy.