The rain and wind caused considerable damage, particularly in Bowral, with many sheds unroofed and houses flooded. Trees were uprooted, falling across roads and fences and damaging electricity and telephone lines. Sheep were marooned on the Bong Bong River's southern bank.

Around 8:30am on the Tuesday, a school bus from Moss Vale, while crossing Bong Bong Bridge (built in 1916), was carried off the bitumen by a strong current on the Bowral side and became stranded in the water, leaning at a dangerous angle. Tragedy loomed for the trapped passengers, one of whom was 15-year-old schoolgirl Narelle Bowern, nee Hodge, of Moss Vale. Her reminiscence of that day, which occurred exactly 60 years ago, follows here.

"It was not unusual for the Bong Bong River to flood, it happened most winters. Water would stretch for as far as one could see across the paddocks. But this time was different. Robertson had 740 points (188 mm) of rain the day before, sending a 10-feet flood of water down the river," she said.

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"In those days there were two buses from Moss Vale to Bowral in the morning and returning in the afternoon, taking children and a few adults to and from Bowral's schools and businesses. The first bus at 8.25am crossed the river without incident. Five minutes later, the second bus with 35 children (I was one of these) and 10 young business women on board, drove through the flooded road on the Moss Vale side of the bridge, but on the Bowral side - although the water was not very deep - the current was stronger and the bus was forced into a ditch at the side of the road, and there it stayed, tilted at an angle, the driver unable to open the door and the floodwaters rising. I was 14 years old at the time; the following is as I clearly remember it.

"The driver told us to move to the higher side of the bus. Everyone was quiet and well-behaved. Suzanne Badgery decided that, since we obviously weren't going to get to school on time, she was going to have her lunch there and then, and proceeded to open her sandwiches and eat them.

"My mother told me that Mr Everett Hindmarsh was working up on the hill at Wongabri and saw what happened. He telephoned both the Moss Vale and Bowral police, but both of them told him to phone the other station. In desperation, he phoned the Bowral ambulance station which contacted the NRMA and, after some time, four ambulances and two tow trucks arrived, with a rescue squad including Ambulance Superintendent Napper, Kevin George of Gregory Motors (the NRMA Service Station) and Detective Sergeant Woodman.

"They strung a rope from the flood post to the bus, and then from the bus to a post on the bridge. We climbed out the rear exit window and were carried, one by one, across to the middle section of the bridge. I remember saying to Mr Napper 'It's all right, I can walk across', but he said firmly "I will carry you", and it was probably a good thing he did, as the water was up to his waist and flowing strongly. At that stage, the bus was in over four feet of water. Once we reached the bridge, we were able to walk through the shallower stretch of water on the Moss Vale side of the bridge.

"Apparently, the front wheel was close to going down the steep embankment. If this had happened, it could have been serious. The last person out of the bus was the driver. He must have been in shock because he simply sat on a rock by the side of the road and did not speak to anyone. I don't remember how we all got home. I think another bus dropped us off at our homes.

"When I got home, my tunic was wet through so Mum hung it up beside the fire. I had the rest of the day off school. Later that morning, Wendy Whatman (Gorham) came to my house and said she had left her gloves in the bus, and did I want to see if they were still there. We walked down to the river. The bus was by then parked by the (Moss Vale) side of the road. Muddy water weed was draped over the floor and seats. The water had reached to about 6 feet. Wendy found her gloves under the seat - and a frog as well."

The present-day Bong Bong Bridge opened in 1975.