STANTHORPE-BASED Robert MacMaurice has an eye for detail and research skills to match and he has agreed to share the fuits of his labour with Southern Free Times readers with occassional contributions.
This, his fourth piece, is on summer frost in the Southern Downs.
I’VE heard talk over the years of frosts occurring in summer in the Southern Downs district but have never experienced it myself.
It sounds like such a contradiction!
Recently, I decided to find out exactly when there have been such occurrences. I’ve come up with a list of 11 recorded observations of frosts in summer for the area.
In compiling this list I have been strict in noting only frosts that have occurred between 1 December, and 28 or 29 February.
It was tempting to add in observations for late spring and early autumn events, but I’m only noting those dates that strictly occur in summer.
My sources have been from various newspapers and particularly, but not exclusively from the website trove.nla.gov.au.
The dates that I have found are: 13 December 1883, 10 February 1904, January 1920, 6 December 1929, 17 December 1929, 25 December 1932, 2 December 1934, 11 January 1934, 3 February 1935, 27 February 1938 and 13 December 1938.
You will have noted that I haven’t got a precise date for 1920.
This is because my source, The Rockhampton Morning Bulletin of Thursday 13 January 1921, page 9, in a review of the weather of 1920, states: “In January an odd record was reported from Wallangarra, namely “frost in low lying parts,” a hitherto unrecorded event for mid-summer.”
I have searched for other records, but only have this reference and so take it at face value.
The observation of 25 December 1932 is also notable, because it has been mentioned to me by a number of older residents of Stanthorpe, that it has snowed in Stanthorpe on Christmas Day.
I have always been surprised by that, and have never been able to find a historic report of such an occasion.
This report in The Queensland Times of Thursday 29 December 1932, page 8 appears reliable.
I can imagine now, that waking up to a frosty Christmas morning may have converted to a story of snow in the retellings and misunderstandings of communications in subsequent years.
What is perhaps remarkable about this list is the emphasis of dates around the 1930s and little beyond.
It made me wonder if perhaps some instances were not being recorded.
I’ve dismissed this notion, though, because what is obvious, in my reading, is that throughout all the years since habitation of this town in 1872, frosts are noted in detail throughout all of the years and there is also an emphasis on trying to predict such occurrences for the benefit of the farmers.
When summer frosts are reported it is always with a tone of surprise. In winter the tone changes to dread!
I also wondered if such observations might not have been made in the early years, but again the winter months at any time of history are full of frost reports.
These summer occurrences of frost are seemingly very rare. Why haven’t we had such events since the 1930s?
There may be more dates to add to this list.
I can only note the ones I have been able to find in the weather observations of various newspapers from the time of first settlement in the region.
I’d welcome hearing, through the pages of The Southern Free Times, of recorded observations that others may be aware of.
