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A River with a City Problem:
A History of Brisbane Floods
by Margaret Cook

‘An engrossing account of the complex relationship between a river and the cities that grew up around it.’Nick Earls

A$32.95

(Paperback)

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Overview

When floods devastated South East Queensland in 2011, who was to blame? Despite the inherent risk of living on a floodplain, most residents had pinned their hopes on Wivenhoe Dam to protect them, and when it failed to do so, dam operators were blamed for the scale of the catastrophic events that followed.

A River with a City Problem is a compelling history of floods in the Brisbane River catchment, especially those in 1893, 1974 and 2011. Extensively researched, it highlights the force of nature, the vagaries of politics and the power of community. With many river cities facing urban development challenges, Cook makes a convincing argument for what must change to prevent further tragedy.

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Awards

Reviews

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Nick Earls

‘An engrossing account of the complex relationship between a river and the cities that grew up around it.’

Books+Publishing

‘Cook crafts an illuminating narrative that is hard to put down … This clear-sighted examination of Brisbane’s intractable flood history offers hope that change is still possible.’

Peter Spearritt

‘Margaret Cook establishes, beyond doubt, that Brisbane will flood again and demonstrates that successive state governments have never had the courage to ban development on the floodplain.’

Margaret Cook

Margaret Cook holds a PhD in history from The University of Queensland. She is a member of the Professional Historians Association, has a significant body of work in environmental and social history and heritage conservation, and has worked in cultural tourism and the museum sector. Margaret is a former Deputy Chair of the Queensland Heritage Council and Vice President of the National Trust of Queensland and was inducted into the Ipswich Heritage Hall of Fame in 2015. She is currently a consultant historian and an Honorary Research Fellow at The University of Queensland and La Trobe University. Margaret lives in Ipswich with her husband and two sons.