On Sunday afternoon, March 8, 1908 Beulah was hit by a tornado or a cyclone, as some reports called it. The Horsham Times, of March 13, 1908 had the following report (see here)
Tornado.
In the Mallee. Beulah Devastated. Roofs and Wreckage everywhere.
Torrential Rain. People Swamped from Ruined Houses.
A most disastrous tornado occurred in Beulah on Sunday afternoon, and in a few minutes the town was a total wreck.About 4.40 p.m. a blinding wall of dust came from the west, accompanied by terrific thunder and a heavy down-pour of rain.
The town was right in the track of the storm, and scarcely a house was left intact. Roofs, limbs of trees, signboards, and all suchlike flew about like paper, and wire was twisted and doubled up in a remarkable fashion. The verandahs of the Commercial Bank and Huntsman's were twisted and smashed, and all the windows broken; and the rooms swamped by the drenching rain.
Franklin's stables were blown down, and great difficulty was experienced in getting the horses out. The front wall of King's brick shop fell on the street, and the front verandah was lifted up and lodged against the railway fence.
The skylights at the post office were broken in, and the place deluged with rain. All telegraph poles are down.
May and Millar's foundry is an absolute wreck, and the back wall of Thomas' mill has been battered in by the flying roof of Willoughby's house.
Every fence in the place is down. The roof was blown off Chambers' house, and the inmates were swamped out. Chimneys were blown down in all directions. Messrs. Harvey, Patterson, Nelson, and Stewart's houses were severely damaged.
Crumpled and twisted iron is lying in all directions, and several narrow escapes occurred from flying iron.
The Agricultural Society's buildings, erected recently at a cost of £150, were all blown down, and only three posts are left to mark the place where they stood.
Thomas' saddler's shop was perforated with flying iron and rafters; and Cust's store was badly strained; while Anderson's shop was smashed in. All rooms at the coffee palace are unroofed.
A piece of 4-inch by 3-inch timber went through Blytheman's roof and landed alongside a bed where a lady was reclining.
The Record newspaper office was blown clean into the street, and badly damaged.
Lang and O'Donnell's foundry walls fell in, and the building collapsed. A piece of this building now sticks through the wall of a house 30 yards away.
Mr. McKinnon's house is a heap of debris, and how the inmates escaped is a marvel, as all the furniture lies strewed beneath the debris. Newman's house, next door, is partly demolished.
The McKinnon house at Beulah, after the Tornado.
See below for information on the McKinnons.
State Library of Victoria Image H33437
A gig and trap blown from Smith's factory across the road landed against the railway fence.
The township now presents a pitiful spectacle.
The heavy rain completed the damage by swamping the unroofed houses and driving the inmates out. No idea can be formed of the damage done except by a personal visit.
Giant trees were rooted up like matchwood, and in fact desolation reigns everywhere. During the storm 165 points of rain fell.
Reports from the surrounding district indicate that much damage was done along the track of the storm. Haystacks, houses, and farm buildings were blown down.
The Methodist Church here has been shifted completely, and now has a dangerous tilt. Vacant parts are strewn with debris of all kinds, and residents are searching for property.
The damage at a rough estimate must amount to thousands of pounds.
Many people on Sunday night had to seek shelter with their more fortunate neighbours.
Portions of the show-yard buildings were carried across the creek, over a quarter of a mile, and landed in the town.
There was another interesting report in The Age, March 11, 1908, see here.
Cyclonic Storm at Beulah
The cyclone storm which visited Beulah on Sunday afternoon was preceded by a terrific dust storm. From the west and north west immense clouds of red and black dust came whirling along violently. Vivid flashes of lightning were followed by heavy peals of thunder. When the clouds became visible they wore of a leaden colour and moving rapidly. Then came a great wind storm. Verandahs, roofs, houses, windows and trees were blown down, and sheets of galvanised iron were carried hundreds of yards and twisted into all shapes. The wind was accompanied by very heavy rain, an inch being registered in about half an hour.
The town afterwards presented a wrecked appearance. Messrs. Lang and O'Donnell's foundry and May and Miller's foundry were razed to the ground. The east side of Phillips-street had suffered very much. Many verandahs were ripped to pieces, some of the posts being forced through the windows. Every window facing the west was smashed. The new shed at the show ground was blown to pieces. At the Franklin's hotel the new stables were wrecked. At Thorns' Coffee Palace a number of wooden bedrooms at the rear were unroofed, and the interior flooded. The front of the Beulah " Record " office was torn completely out. At the State school one chimney was blown down, several sheets of iron were off the roof, and all outhouses were levelled to the ground.
The roofs of the Church of England and Presbyterian churches were badly damaged. Many chimneys were blown down. Messrs. M'Kinnon, Newman, Chandler, Willoughby and their families were rendered homeless. Fencing of every description suffered very much. The storm lasted about 30 minutes. The telegraph line was blown down, numbers of the poles being snapped off or torn out of the ground. All telegraphic communication was cut off. The damage done was considerable. There was fortunately only one slight accident. Mr. E. Neuman, a compositor, while seeking shelter, was struck on the head with a branch of a tree. He was rendered unconscious for a few moments.
There was another similar report of the Beulah Tornado in the Hamilton Spectator, March 11 1908, see here.
The McKinnons
The 1909 Electoral Roll lists four McKinnons in Beulah -
James - a horse-breaker
Lachlan Marcus - a labourer
Maggie - home duties
William J. - a labourer
The Newmans, mentioned in the article as neighbours of the McKinnons are most likely Ernest Henry John Neuman and Sarah Ann Neuman; Ernest's occupation is listed as a printer, so he is the compositer mentioned in the second article who was struck on the head, by a tree branch.
