Nine people had died across the state as monsoonal rains wreaked havoc in the Gulf country and the north-west but there was no hint of the devastation that would be inflicted on the capital in what would be its worst natural disaster of the century.

The '74 flood would profoundly change Brisbane and leave scars on the thousands affected.

It would usher in the building of the Wivenhoe Dam which the politicians proclaimed would be Brisbane's great protector and flood-proof the city.

Eventually the memories of the calamity slowly receded just as the flood waters had, and Brisbane embraced its river like never before.

Docks and warehouses were replaced by riverside homes and apartments, floating walkways and restaurants.

And then came January, 2011 .... .

But back to 1974.

DO YOU REMEMBER THE 1974 FLOODS? TELL US YOUR STORY IN THE COMMENTS BOX BELOW

As the long-weekend approached, Prince Charles had made an official visit to Brisbane, sports fans were focused on the Commonwealth Games in Christchurch, and Last Tango in Paris and Alvin Purple were showing in city cinemas.

Then on Thursday, January 24, The Courier-Mail reported that Cyclone Wanda was posing a threat 380km north-east of Gladstone to an already water-logged central Queensland coast.

At 9pm that night, Wanda, barely a category one, crossed the coast near Double Island Point, north of Noosa.

There were winds gusts of about 90km/h but no serious damage with the weather bureau warning the main effects would be heavy rain and flooding of coastal streams.

On Friday, January 25, The Courier-Mail carried a secondary front page report on Wanda but the lead story was how health fund fees could rise by up to 40 per cent.

The weather forecast for Brisbane was for heavy rain to ease. Much of the attention was in the north-west where 250 stranded rail travellers were airlifted from Cloncurry, Richmond and Hughenden to Mt Isa.

However there was no real hint of the looming disaster. But later that day, a trough developed from Wanda's remnants and dumped 300mm of rain over Brisbane in 12 hours.

The city was soon faced with a crisis.

Enoggera Creek and Kedron Brook had broken their small banks by Friday afternoon and the first of hundreds of evacuations which continued in all parts of Brisbane during the next four days were under way.

Streets began to flood in Windsor, Wilston, Ashgrove, Enoggera, Herston and Moggill.

On Saturday, January 26, The Courier-Mail's front page picture was of a group of bedraggled children on a makeshift raft being rescued from houses in Northey St, Windsor, by a group of men.

Record flooding was occurring in Enoggera Creek, Moggill Creek and Kedron Brook.

Houses were washed away in Stewart Rd, Ashgrove. Police appealed for boats to assist in rescuing people who were trapped.

Homes were evacuated in Windsor, Kedron, Hawthorne, Sandgate and Brighton.

Weather Bureau director A.J. Shields said: "The rain was so heavy over such a wide area that flooding occurred in almost every watercourse."

Every suburb in Brisbane had some area affected by flooding.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Clem Jones was on his way back from the Commonwealth Games as the crisis worsened.

About 314 mm of rain gave Brisbane its wettest day since 1887.

About 2000 people were also evacuated from river and canal-front homes on the Gold Coast and hundreds were left homeless in Beenleigh as the Logan River broke its banks.

Hundreds of yachts and boats in the Brisbane River were ripped from their moorings and floated unmanned towards the mouth of the river.

Most were sunk by debris, such as trees or telephone poles.

Then on Saturday evening, the Brisbane River broke its banks spilling over at the Esplanade, Yeronga and Twigg Street, Indooroopilly.

Mass evacuations were carried out, mostly in small tinnies piled with people and possessions - and often a crate of beer - laboring under outboard motors.

Kenmore was the next suburb to go under and by early Sunday, New Farm Park and surrounding streets were a lake.

Then came Coronation Drive. It was the first time in living memory that the road had been under water.

On January 27, The Sunday Mail's headline was: "Great floods kill three, damage in millions."

"Brisbane and surrounding areas were in the grip of devastating floods, for the second time in 24 hours.

"In yesterday's flooding, the biggest ever emergency evacuation in Brisbane was mounted with police, civil defence authorities, the army and air force combining to rescue more than 500 flood-bound residents, " it was reported.

"It was Brisbane's Dunkirk. Hundreds of small craft worked the flooded suburban streets carrying householders to high ground and safety."

1974 Floods Gallery

"RAAF Iroquois helicopters flew mercy missions in the metropolitan area.

"They winched people from tree tops near Bundamba and from roof tops at Inala and Blackstone."

One of the flood's first victims was a baby boy - Shane David Patterson, 2, who was swept from his father's hands at Oxley Creek near Inala after their car was washed away.

Another victim was Robert Adams, 56, who died of a heart attack while being evacuated from Newmarket caravan park.

A middle-aged man's body was found in a flooded motor dealership in Bowen Bridge Road, Windsor.

Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen toured flood-hit areas of Ashgrove, Windsor and Newmarket and warned the damage bill would run into millions.

"Many people are going to suffer loss and hardship but when this is past and they've overcome their problems, Queensland has a better and brighter future ahead of it," the Premier said.

TANKER DRAMA

ONE of the most dramatic events of the floods happened when the 66,703-tonne tanker Robert Miller broke free from its moorings at Kangaroo Point and threatened to jam across the Brisbane River.

There were fears the 237 metre-long vessel, the largest ship built in Queensland at the time, could create a dam-like effect across the river, about 255m wide in that area, and cause even more flooding.

The tanker, built at the Evans Deakin shipyards near the Story Bridge, had been tied bow downstream for a fit-out. With the river flowing up to 14 knots, the flood wrenched the ship from its six mooring lines, swinging it around, before it came to rest 800m downstream.

Just after daylight on January 27, Evans Deakin employees Bill Dransfield, Bob Norris and Fred Cotton climbed aboard to find the ship held by a single broken clench pin about 10cm in diameter. A log also was jammed between the hull and its 20-tonne propeller.

The anchor chain was secured with wire rope, the log pulled free and the engines started.

By noon, the tug Carlock was hitched to the Miller and at 2pm she was considered safe - sort of.

The tug, the anchor and the tanker's engine held her against the current but the drama was not over.

The river had become a raging transport corridor with everything from snakes to entire houses tearing downstream towards Moreton Bay.

In the next few days, the Miller was hit by a ship, two gravel barges, caravans, drums of fuel and explosives, luxury launches, refrigerators, trees and a cow.

Pilot Ian McIlwraith was one of those who stood watch on the Miller, which suffered minor damage.

It was believed if the ship had broken free and jammed across the river opposite Mowbray Park or in the nearby Humbug Reach, the river height would have risen a further 3m and caused even further damage.

In another river drama, a gravel barge smashed against the Centenary Highway bridge at Jindalee, damaging pylons and raising fears the bridge would be carried away.

At one stage it was feared the bridge would collapse with spectators on it.

Police Commission Ray Whitrod ordered dynamite to be used to eventually sink the barge.

WORST NOT OVER

On Monday, January 28, any hopes that the worst was over were dashed. The Courier-Mail reported: "Crisis to last for days - City's flood fighters are weary."

"Brisbane's overworked emergency services were faltering last night as State Government authorities warned that the beleaguered city's flood crisis could last for several more days.

"The Brisbane River has been rising continually in the upper reaches since the flood emergency began three days ago and is expected to rise to more than 6m at the Port Office about noon today."

"The river has not surpassed this level at this point since February 19, 1893."

The weather bureau was predicting more rain and reporting that 639mm had fallen in Brisbane from 9am on Wednesday until 8pm Sunday.

The Brisbane River hit a peak of 6.6m above normal at the Brisbane Port Office, Edward St, at 2.15am. (In January, 2011, the peak was 4.46m).

That morning much of the Brisbane CBD was under water. Elizabeth, Creek, Charlotte and Albert streets were metre-deep channels of fast-flowing brown water.

Prisoners had to be evacuated from the police watchhouse and moved to the Supreme Court building.

Queensland University at St Lucia was cut off - "just an island in a sea of water," The Courier-Mail reported.

On the other side of town, the river again broke its banks, this time at Bulimba.

Most state and private schools, which had been due to open after the Christmas holidays that week, were closed for another week, a bonus for most children not directly affected by the floods.

On Tuesday, January 29, the death toll from the floods across the state stood at eight with two missing while 600 more people had been evacuated from their homes.

On Tuesday, The Courier-Mail's front page headline was : "Rescue disaster as floods hit new top - city almost at standstill."

"The Brisbane River's massive floodwave early today began its surge through the city's already ravaged areas and authorities warned the disaster level would not fall until late this afternoon."

"The rescue operations followed another day of heightening crisis in many suburbs as police and volunteers evacuated 600 more flood victims from their homes."

Prominent among the flood victims was cricketer Greg Chappell, playing for Australia in a Test against New Zealand in Adelaide. It was reported the star batsman was anxious to get home to Brisbane where his $40,000 luxury Kenmore home near Moggill Creek had gone under.

CABINET MINISTER IN RESCUE

One of more dramatic incidents was that of state Cabinet minister Bill Lickiss, the member for Mt Coot-tha, being involved in a rescue.

Mr Lickiss had been on an army amphibious vehicle in floodwaters at Bellbowrie.

The vehicle struck a live powerline, and Mr Lickiss and a soldier were knocked overboard by the shock. Mr Lickiss swam back to the vehicle and climbed aboard to be told the soldier was still in the water. He dived back in and rescued him although the soldier later died.

Mr Lickiss was later awarded a gallantry medal.

On Wednesday, January 30, the weather was fine and floodwaters started slowly receding as The Courier-Mail reported Brisbane was faced with severe food shortages and a massive clean-up.

"Supermarkets throughout the city were packed yesterday as housewives went on an unprecedented spree of panic buying.

"Several stores were forced to close their doors to re-stock their shelves and there were reports of women buying several trolley loads of foodstuffs."

It was also reported that residents in Jindalee had armed themselves with shotguns to defend their properties against looters.

By Thursday, the '74 version of the Mud Army involving thousands of council workers, army and emergency personnel and volunteers had begun the clean-up.

"Brisbane was a sombre city yesterday as evacuees faced the full extent of damage to their flood-battered houses.

"Disbelief, hopelessness and defeat were registered in countless faces as they caught their first glimpses of the wreckage that was, only a week ago, a lifetime's work," The Courier-Mail reported.

The paper's front page "Alert on health danger" warned of the threat of disease from tons of raw sewage, chemicals and fuel in south-western suburbs.

Volunteers toiling amid the sludge and filth complained that cuts were becoming septic almost immediately.

As the week from hell drew to a close, The Courier-Mail ran an editorial on its front page of Saturday, February 2: "Queenslanders take a bow. This week in the face of disaster people have responded superbly.

"Many flood victims have been overawed by the way folk - often total strangers - spontaneously arrived to help .... There is no glamour in shovelling mud or scrubbing muck-encrusted walls. It is hard, stinking drudgery.

"There is more than ample evidence of a new community spirit in stricken communities."

But Operation Clean-up was not as organised as the 2011 Mud Army and massive traffic jams marred the effort. "City mop-up choked by car tangles," was The Sunday Mail's splash on February 3.

Volunteers complained about wasting their time travelling to areas where they weren't needed.

Sightseers were also a problem. "At Stuart St, Bulimba, residents complained that a tourist bus operator brought his bus through flood areas. Local people stopped mopping up to throw mud at the bus and its passengers," the paper reported.

As the southeast cleaned up, the floods had claimed 14 lives, ruined about 6700 homes and left 5000 homeless. The cost would be about $200 million.

LESSON NOT LEARNED

In the ensuing years - much as in the wake of the 2011 floods - the issue of whether the impact of the floods could have been lessened was hotly debated.

Many experts proposed that government authorities should buy back flood-prone land and prevent development.

Soon after the '74 floods, Queensland ALP heavyweight and union leader Jack Egerton had called on the State Government to resume all flooded areas as park lands.

"A great many areas which flooded this time, flooded in 1931 and again in 1893.

"But now they've had houses built on them due to the lack of Brisbane City Council authority to stop building on flood plains.

In the wake of the 2011 floods, The Courier-Mail reported that Professor Trevor Grigg, an economist and engineer, said many of the solutions to the 1974 floods were ignored and claimed that contributed to the devastating property losses of the 2011 disaster.

Appointed by the State Government for a report on the then-proposed Wivenhoe Dam in 1977, Prof Grigg advised areas of unacceptable flood risk from Breakfast Creek back to Indooroopilly be reserved for sporting grounds or other projects not at risk from floods.

His report had warned that Wivenhoe was not the cure-all for Brisbane floods.

And he prophetically warned that complacency could kick in as the memory of '74 receded.

The dam would significantly reduce damage, but Prof Grigg advised some land on the flood plain should be quarantined from development if the damage was to be contained.

"This benefit (of Wivenhoe) will only persist into the future if encroachment into hazardous areas of the flood plain can be stopped and if the development of less hazardous areas is restricted to flood tolerant uses," he said in the report.

WIVENHOE THE ANSWER

On October 19, 1985, The Courier-Mail reported on the official opening of the Wivenhoe Dam under a headline "Flood threat past: Sir Joh"

"Premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen said the dam would make a vital contribution towards the prevention of future floods," it was reported.

"Sir Joh was speaking to 700 guests at the official opening of the $460 million dam about 70 km north-west of Brisbane.

"He said he doubted if the 1974 flood could occur again because the dam would absorb an enormous quantity of water before any had to released."

About 350 properties had to purchased and many historic homes removed to make way for the dam.

"But that's what happens with progress," Sir Joh said.

And then came January, 2011.