A pictorial look at the 1999 Gympie floods

Take a walk down memory land with this pictorial tribute to the 1999 floods in Gympie

1999 FLOOD Gympie residents near Kidd Bridge on the evening of Monday the 8, as the Mary River steadily rose, few realised what was about to happen over the next 24 hours. Picture: Renee Albrecht

THE Mary River is the beating heart of the Gympie region, originating in the Conondale Range and following a winding course, mainly north, for 305km before emptying into the Great Sandy Strait, the narrow stretch of ocean between Fraser Island and the mainland.

1999 FLOOD KAndanga bowls club junior bowler Matthew Warne and the club's Australian representive Jenny Harragon stan in the middle of a huge hole in the Kandanga Club's green caused by the Fedruary flood, despite the set back , the small Mary Valley club played bowls the following week. Picture: Renee Albrecht

The river is navigable to Maryborough, 37km from its mouth.

Every now and then, the Mary breaches her vertical banks and sends her muddy floodwaters into the Gympie CBD and many properties that line her throughout the region.

February floods have been common through history, though plenty of floods have also occurred in almost every other month of the year.

1999 FLOOD: The Mary Valley Heritage Railway's rail motor provided a vital link between Gympie and Monkland during the February flood, ferring workers back and forth across the high level Deep Creek rail bridge. Picture: Renee Albrecht

In February, 1999, the region received 478mm of rain and the Mary reached 21.95m.