1956 Murray River flood

The flood occurred due to higher than average rainfalls in Western Queensland and heavy rains in the proceeding three months in the Murray-Darling basin.

[2] Flood waters moved down the Murray and Darling rivers for seven months and peaked between 11 and 14 August at Merbein in Victoria[3] and 12.3 metres (40 ft) at Morgan in South Australia.

As a result of the flood, the Menindee Lakes were constructed to store high flows from the Darling River.

[9] Hotels in the main street of Mannum operated their bars from the second floor with boats tying up to the balcony.

Author Philip Pullman used his childhood memories of being taken to see the flood as a basis for his 2017 fantasy novel La Belle Sauvage.