Eye of the storm at Horsham

Headline from 'The Argus' newspaper 22.11.1897

The 1897 storm followed a week of moist, oppressive heat, that day the storm was preceded by a hot north wind and dust, then a huge fall in the barometer and an 'ominous appearance in the heavens'. The wind increased in velocity and force, heavy rain fell simultaneously and the atmosphere was charged with dust. For Horsham, the storm hit at 5:20pm with 5 minutes of activity, then about 10 minutes lull, then a second blow.  Murky darkness struggled with a fierce unnatural light.
The Horsham Times said there was scarcely a shop or house that had not been damaged; a wrecked coal shed at the gas works; demolished grandstands at the showgrounds & racecourse; the Union mill in Wilson St wrecked apart from the machinery room & smoke stack; Gillies' Wimmera mill suffered £500 loss; all the White Hart Hotel's balcony & railings and part of the roof were torn away; Delaney's coach works in Firebrace St wrecked; the butter factory was blown a few feet out of plumb, a stained glass window and altar crucifix at the Catholic Church were smashed and an oil painting torn to tatters; the Town Hall also had broken windows; a timber beam hurled through the roof of the Mechanics Institute and onto the stage; £150 damage to the botanical gardens, and £200 to headstones & monuments in the cemetery.

George Abbott's 'Horsham Pottery' was destroyed in the storm

Peoples’ stories – John Murray a railway clerk & telegraph operator was concussed and badly bruised when he fell while chasing 2 railway trucks blown along the tracks by the wind; Dr Ritchie, his groom, horse & buggy were thrown into the gutter, righted by another gust, and blown back into the gutter again; a student at Longerenong College was blown into a barb-wire fence partially stunning him; James Glenister was hit on the side of his head by bricks falling from a chimney; A lady & girl driving across the Common were blown out of their buggy and over a high fence; Mrs Fincham of the National Bank had a huge window (frame & glass) precipitated upon her.

St John's Lutheran Church in Darlot St was rebuilt after being destroyed in the November 1897 cyclone (it had only been built 9 years previous & wasn't fully paid for). The half-hour storm brought damaging hail, 200km per hour winds and 17mm of rain, causing extensive damage across Horsham.