Deadly tornadoes wiped out parts of Brighton and left three people dead

WHAT started as an ordinary Melbourne summer’s day ended in death and destruction as terrifying tornadoes ripped through Brighton, levelling homes and leaving three dead.

WHAT started out as an ordinary summer’s day in Melbourne ended with three people dead and more than 170 properties damaged or destroyed as three tornadoes swept across Brighton on February 2, 1918.

A thunderstorm in the morning gave way to a sultry day.

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By late afternoon, a storm was gathering again over Port Phillip, described by eyewitnesses as a heavy blue-black cloud that grew more menacing as it approached Brighton.

At 4.45pm, two tornadoes formed on the coast and began tearing through Brighton.

A third twister followed minutes later.

An image from the National Film and Sound Archive’s silent footage of the aftermath of the 1918 brighten tornadoes.

Locals examine the damage. National Film and Sound Archive

One cut southeast from Chatsworth Avenue. Another headed northeast from Brighton Beach. Another headed generally east from Wellington Street.

The paths of the three storms intersected near the corner of Halifax and Loller streets.

The Argus reported the ferocity of the tornadoes in its February 4, 1918 edition.

“The moment it struck the mainland, air became thick with flying tiles, sheets of galvanised iron, branches of trees and large sections of wood,” it said.

“The wonder of it is that more people were not injured.

“Sheets of iron were flying through the air like birds, and there are authenticated cases of heavy beams being carried more than 100 yards before they fell to the earth.

“Every house that was unroofed was also flooded, causing serious damage to carpets, pictures and furniture. The three or four minutes the storm (hurricane) lasted was a period of terror.”

Sydneysider G. McLeod drowned at Brighton Beach. The same fate befell a woman at St Kilda Beach as the northernmost twister formed.

At least 170 buildings were damaged in the twisters. National Film and Sound Archive

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Fourteen-year-old Frank Green of North Melbourne had been at a band picnic at Brighton Beach and was heading back from a walk to the baths with a friend.

The pair was passing a fruit stall as a twister thundered in, tipping the stall on Frank and causing fatal head injuries. His friend was blown along The Esplanade, suffering cuts and bruises.

At least six people were injured as the tornadoes snaked across Brighton before dissipating on open ground east of the town centre.

A local newspaper, the Brighton Southern Cross, reported damage to at least 170 buildings in Brighton.

This Hawthorn Road church was destroyed by the tornadoes. Picture: State Library of Victoria

The church lost most of its roof. National Film and Sound Archive.

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Judging from reported and images of the damage, the Bureau of Meteorology estimated the twisters reached EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, with winds up to 320km/h — easily the strongest tornadoes observed in a large Australian population centre.

The Brighton Beach Baths, the Rotunda tea house and a bandstand were badly damaged, and slate tiles and roofing iron were torn from the nearby railway station and a signal box.

Many trees, powerlines and chimneys were felled across Brighton.

Damage at Brighton mansion Billilla. Source: National Sound and Film Archive

The landmark mansion in Halifax St.

The roof of the Terminus Hotel was ripped off and nearby Grimley’s Hotel was destroyed, along with a church in Hawthorn Road.

One twister cut a swath of damage through Landcox Park before it petered out in the Brighton Cemetery, where it smashed the headstone of poet, jockey and politician Adam Gordon Lindsay, who had lived in Brighton for the final two years of his life.

Windows were blown in, buildings were unroofed and, in some instances, residents were pinned under the wreckage.

One little girl had a narrow escape.

Winnie, the six-year-old daughter of Colonel EA Kendall, who was serving overseas during the Great War, was in her room at the front of her house at the corner of Wellington and Albert streets when a tornado ripped the roof and much of the floor clean away. A maid plucked her to safety.

Cricketers were forced to scramble when the roof collapsed on the stands at a local ground.

Mrs GB Mooney was heard to yell, “It’s the end of the world” as one of the tornadoes descended, the Southern Cross reported. A falling brick chimney smashed through the Mooney family’s weatherboard home, destroying two rooms.

The storm gathered over the bay and struck with ferocity.

People swung into action to help their neighbours in the aftermath of the storm, helping to clear debris and distribute tarpaulins to those whose roofs were damaged.

Several people took out small advertisements in the Southern Cross thanking those who gave them a hand when they needed it most.

Damage across Brighton was estimated at $8.7 million to $13 million in today’s valuations.

@JDwritesalot