Cyclone Leonta hit Townsville on 9 March 1903. Very destructive winds caused significant damage to a number of buildings. The grammar school was largely destroyed and one of the General Hospital's main wards collapsed.
The cyclone caused 14 deaths. Nine people died in the hospital. Two people were found dead in destroyed houses, and another at Stanton Hill. There were two deaths in Charters Towers when Leonta moved further inland.
The damage in 1903 was estimated at approximately £250,000.
Callaghan J 2011, Case study: Cyclone Leonta, March 1903, Green Cross Australia: Harden Up Queensland. At: http://hardenup.org/umbraco/customContent/media/638_Townsville_Cyclone_Leonta_1903.pdf (PDF 284KB).
Green Cross Australia, Cyclone Leonta 1903-03-09. At: http://hardenup.org/be-aware/weather-events/events/1900-1909/cyclone-leonta-1903-03-09.aspx.
Townsville Daily Bulletin 1927, 'Leonta cyclone: 24th anniversary today: A review of the disaster,' Townsville Daily Bulletin via Trove, 9 March 1927. At: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/60732364.
Townsville Grammar School 2014, '111 years since Cyclone Leonta destroyed Grammar,' 10 March 2014. At: https://web.archive.org/web/20160305091425/http://www.tgs.qld.edu.au/news_main.php?newsid=345.
