Gawler's Weather

Fast Facts

Type of thing

Domestic

Click here to view photos relating to Gawler's Weather.

Gawler's weather, in particular extreme heat, must have been challenging for settlers used to European weather. John Harvey, founder of Salisbury's biography states "In January 1860 we experienced the severest heat since settlement. The thermometer reached 110°F [43.3°C] at 10 o'clock in the fore-noon, (this being in the shade), and at 4 o'clock it was 123°F [50.6°C]." Given Gawler is generally hotter than Salisbury, it would be interesting to know what temperature was reached at Gawler!

Floods have been an ongoing problem - see Gawler in Flood for details and links to excellent photo collections.

When Gawler has extreme weather, we feel that it is important to be able to remember the dates and details. Other reports of extreme weather include:

• 26 November 1882 after a "very hot, dusty day" there were heavy rains, lightening, thunder and extreme winds which did a great deal of damage to numerous buildings, including the following – “On reaching Gawler, the first place attacked was the congregational church, where the leaden ridge capping was uplifted and slates hurled along for some distance.”, the new building of the Albion Mill had "the roof blown across the road, the rafters broken, and the parapet wall destroyed." and the wind "On reaching Mr. L. C. Dawe's residence blew over a chimney, the bricks of which pierced through the roof into a room where four children were just going to bed." Click here to read the full story from the Bunyip (1 Dec 1882).
• 18 January 1924 severe storm winds battered Gawler South shortly after midnight, many houses and buildings suffered extensive damage, including the Church of the Transfiguration which lost part of its roof. Read the full description from the Bunyip (25 Jan 1924) and see the photos published in The Chronicle (26 Jan 1924).
• 12 January 1939 the temperature in Adelaide reached a record breaking 117.7°F (46.1°C), breaking the previous record from 1858 - this 1939 record was not broken until 2019! (when the temperature reached 46.2°C). The day was well remembered by Gawler's Richards family, Don Richards (son of Frederick James Richards) and his future wife Lilias Bradley had been out playing tennis at the Baptist Tennis Courts on Julian Terrace! At the time the Bunyip (13 Jan 1939) reported "The weather, always a matter of conversation, reached stupendous significance this week, when the thermometer registered for six days in succession 100 to 117 deg. [37.8°C-46°C] constituting a record for all time for the State."
• 27 December 2016, at midnight the large cold front created 35mm of rain. The wind, in excess of 100km per hour, created the worse thrashing of the trees surrounding our home in the last 45 years. It was very scary. The electricity failed at 20 minutes past midnight and we did not get electricity back until 3.47pm on Wednesday 28th - over 15 hours without power. Evidently over 300 power lines went down around the State and even on Saturday 31st December, over 1000 residents of the State did not have their power restored. (Reported by BG Thom, 17 Daly Street Gawler East)

References

Gawler weather 17Jan2014 Advertiser newspaper (2)

Gawler weather Jan2014 Advertiser newspaper (1)

Gawler weather Jan2014 Advertiser newspaper (2)

Gawler weather 17Jan2014 Advertiser newspaper (1)

Gawler weather 17Jan2014 Advertiser newspaper (3)

Adelaide and Gawler weather 2014

Memories of Gawler's Weather

Please email information@gawlerhistory.com with any information you have about Gawler's Weather, and we'll add your comments and information to this website.

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