ABSTRACT
At 8pm on 15 November 1881, a thunderstorm broke over central Melbourne, in the Australasian colony of Victoria. Heavy rain fell for nearly an hour, and the city was soon flooded. The south ends of Elizabeth Street and Swanston Street were worst affected. The Argus reported, “in both these streets the water was flowing in one broad stream extending from shop door on one side to shop door on the other.”1
