Lot 74
Produced by the Australian silversmiths 'Hardy Bros' the reverse reads, "In grateful remembrance of his exertions during the Great Flood of March 1875"
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Provenance:
- The story of âNoahâs Ark and the Floodâ is one of the more evocative narratives in the âBook of Genesis.â The story goes that a vengeful God, after warning the righteous Noah to build a huge Ark to save his close family and a breeding pair of each of the worldâs creatures, unleashed 40 days and 40 nights of continual rain that flooded the Earth and swept away its depravity. Despite the cocked brow of the scientific community, Bible scholars still scour the earth for the final resting place of the Ark where a new chapter of life supposedly began. Why not Australia one might ask with its strangely evolved fauna (think the duck-billed platypus), its sparse dry landscape much like the âHoly landâ and a vengeful climate that periodically unleashes the wrath of fire, flood and famine in biblical proportions? In 1875 it was the turn of a âGreat Floodâ to wash away the farming community of the Paterson District west of Newcastle. It was the biggest recorded up until that time and âthe Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiserâ labelled it a âfearful floodâ following on from a month of showery weather that culminated in a week of torrential rain which fell in âperfect sheets of water.â After âforty daysâ of rain vulnerable buildings were destroyed along with livestock and the districtâs crops of maize and tobacco. The paper reported âthat large quantities of property of every description have been noticed to have been swept down by the fearful torrent of waterâ including a âcontinuous stream of pumpkins.â Able-bodied locals toiled day and night to rescue people stranded by the rising waters and the âAdvertiserâ reported that âthroughout Sunday Night and all day on Monday, Senior Constable James Wells, and Constable William Mayo, of our police force, who, with Messrs Thomas Lindsay, Boyle, White and Frederick Wilson formed the boatâs crew, were mostly actively engaged in rendering assistance in removing flooded-out residents from dwellings to places of safety.â Wells himself lost his footing on one occasion and was nearly swept away to his death before he was able to desperately grasp a branch and be pulled to safety. Amazingly, the only reported casualty of âthe Floodâ was the local member of the Legislative Council, William Munnings Arnold who tragically drowned while trying to save a boatload of pumpkins, which were probably fished from the fast-flowing waters. It seems that sometimes you just have to let them go. In December 1875 Sergeant Wells and five other principal members of the boatâs crew were presented with bravery medals for their heroics during âthe Flood.â The hand-engraved silver discs were crafted by the famous silversmiths Hardy Brothers of Hunter Street, Sydney. This month Smalls Auctions offers the medal presented in gratitude to âSergeant James Wellsâ by âthe residents of the Paterson District.â Dimensions:
- Diameter 42mm Exhibited:
- 392 Literature:
- Collectibles Medium:
- Coins, Monies & Stamps Circa:
- Medals & Medallions
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