An interactive exhibition profiling the memory of Queensland's 2011 floods and those dating back to the 19th century launches at the State Library of Queensland.
A vast collection of contemporary digital media and historical articles from the state library collection have been compiled for the State Library of Queensland's (SLQ) latest exhibition Floodlines.
Split across two exhibition spaces in the SLQ in Brisbane the Floodlines: a living memory exhibition explores the resilience of the Queensland community during and after the 2011 floods, while the Floodlines: 19th century Brisbane exhibition delves into the great floods of Brisbane's past, profiling the city as it was as early as 1887.
Historian and curator of 19th century Brisbane, Helen Gregory says the exhibition provides glimpses into the earliest floods that stand out in Brisbane's collective memory, and attempts to investigate why some are remembered more than others.
"In the corporate memory of Brisbane people, we talk about 'the' 1893 flood," that she says came "at a time of economic depression, when unemployment was high, and businesses were suffering.
"There were four floods in 1893, and none of them were much worst then the one in 1890, and that wasn't a lot worse than the one in 1887.
Ms Gregory says she was interested in exploring the collective experience of the community at the time of the 19th century flooding through the popular media of the day.
"I not only looked at the wonderful range of contemporary photographs, but I also looked at the way painters had treated the subject, both at the time and more recently; what writers, novelists and poets had said about it - and there's quite a rich literature about it, so it obviously made a considerable impression.
She says she was most fascinated to look into the lines of communication at the time of the 19th century flooding compared to the role modern telecommunications and social media has played in the recent 2011 floods.
"One of the most important early warnings [of the 1890's] was from a grazier up in the upper Brisbane valley. He had to send two stockmen to two different post offices to try to get a telegram to Brisbane that a huge flood was coming. Only one of them got through to a post office, the Courier Mail actually printed the telegram, but by then the city was already being flooded.
She says as a historian it raises all sorts of interesting questions about "how many of them subscribed to the newspaper."
Ms Gregory says residents in Queensland should not let "the great forgetting" of the more recent flooding events shape how they recover, remember, reflect or rebuild after the next.
Curators of the Floodlines: a living memory exhibition collaborated with number of organisations to create an interactive showcase of the stories before during and after as told by the community members themselves, local storytellers and the media.
Executive Manager of Learning and Participation with the SLQ Linda Pitt says the most exciting feature of the contemporary exhibition is the interactive flood mapping, which allows users to assess the levels of flooding across Brisbane City and surrounding suburbs using a smart phone device held over another element of the exhibit.
The SLQ have worked closely with a company specialising in the technology - called 'augmented reality mapping' - to develop an interactive reflection of Brisbane City, and the surrounding suburbs before, during and after the flood event. Users can scroll through the timeline to see the suburb at different stages of the flood.
"It takes the existing map and terrain data from the 2010/2011 flooding from Brisbane and the 14 surrounding suburbs to simulate the flooding experience.
"People will be able to bring their personal devices (smart phone, or smart tablet device) - download the free 'floodlines' app from the app store and use that to reflect on the flooding in their suburb.
Ms Pitt says although the focus is on the Brisbane River for the current exhibition, there are plans to take the exhibition to regional Queensland, and further develop the mapping data to include towns affected by the widespread flood event.
Curators from the State Library also collaborated with ABC Open for their 'Wall of Stories' feature of the Floodlines: a living memory exhibition, which featured content created by ABC Open producers for the Aftermath project.
Ms Pitt says it was important to draw on the wealth of knowledge and skill in the community for the exhibition to make it authentic.
The exhibition also features former Premier Anna Bligh's handwritten speech notes from the media briefings she held during the disaster.
Floodlines opens at the State Library of Queensland on Saturday April 7th and will remain open until August 19th 2012.
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