As a conduit for the colony’s exports, the river remained boon for the Queensland capital. But it was a fraught relationship. Development of the flood plain accompanied Brisbane’s rise and by the late 1880s a major a collision was imminent as the Brisbane Valley entered an unusually wet cycle. Low lying areas were inundated in 1887 and 1889 followed by a larger flood in 1890. Those who thought they had seen the last of this extreme weather were mistaken. Peaking over 30 feet at the post office gauge, the February 1893 floods eclipsed this by around three metres.
