In February 1951, low rainfall, grass fires and bushfires throughout approximately six million ha sparked a severe drought in Queensland. Losses occurred in the cropping, farming and dairy industries, with crop and dairy production the lowest since 1926. The dry conditions continued until April 1952 and a further period of dry weather followed in 1953. By early 1954, the drought stretched from the Gulf of Carpentaria to the Darling Downs and west to the South Australian border.
Environment - Drought
Information Sources
Parliament of Australia, Dry paddocks damp policies: Drought Assistance Strategies and their effectiveness, Research Paper 6 1995-1996, website viewed 11 May 2011
Queensland Government Office of Economic and Statistical Research, Queensland Past and Present: 100 years of statistics 1896-1996, Chapter 2, website viewed 11 May 2011
The Advertiser , ‘Highest Priority on Food’, 26 February1952, viewed on Trove website (ID 27086900),17 May 2011
The Mercury, ‘Beef Export May Stop’, 6 May 1952, p 2, viewed on Trove website (ID 27086900), 17 May 2011