The town’s long history of flood events is not one that is celebrated by the Rochester Historical Society.
While 2011 was an extreme example of what flood waters can do to the small dairy farming town — being a one-in-100-year flood — the town has survived and thrived after recovering from a 1956 October flood and other events way back in 1919 and 1870, the latter believed to have been the most significant in history.
"Back in the 1800s the flood waters were lapping at the window sills of some houses.
“I was a school boy in 1956 and remember that flood well,” Mr Foster said.
Flood talk is not something that sits comfortably with the long-time Rochester residents, but the society’s small band of volunteers fully understand the significance of recording the town’s history and preserving those records held in trust by the group.
Earlier this week society president, Ms Haines and her “right-hand man”, Mr Foster, were busy preparing for a worst case scenario.
In 2011 the original schoolhouse building — one of three homes to historical items and documents — on the site of the historical society was inundated with flood waters.
Earlier this week it was being prepared for a similar event, having had 75cm of water destroy the floorboards a bit over a decade ago.
Many historic items and records were damaged during the flood event, but thanks to free drying technology many of those were saved, and returned in almost perfect condition.
Two palette-loads of books, photos and papers were transported to Melbourne for the freeze drying repair process.
A pair of faded wooden panels on a fireplace inside the historic building which is home is a stark reminder of flood levels from 2011.
Picnic tables have been moved into the schoolhouse in preparation for the relocation of low-lying historic paperwork and articles, ensuring it does not suffer the same fate as many did during the last flood.
Since the last flood the society has developed a garden bed irrigation display at the front of the building, which has become a makeshift flood retardant.
“The garden beds were not there, neither was the irrigation display. I made the door to fit in the gap and if we think it is necessary we will seal it with silicon,” Mr Foster said.
“Because of the levee banks at the back of the society and the raised land to the south, the water flowed in the front of the building in 2011.”
He did suggest that it would take a major flood to impact on the society’s collection.
The historic Salvation Army hall is located on raised land to the south of the old schoolhouse and wasn’t impacted at all in 2011.
"The old school building was the one that copped it,“ Mr Foster said.
A former farmer, with a strong understanding of catchment water flow, Mr Foster said this time around the flood situation was “very different”.
“Last time the Murray (river) and (lake) Eppalock weren’t full. Eppalock is 111 per cent, there is no example for this situation.
“People are very worried, but much better prepared and better informed,” he said.
