Flood is a Drawcard: Rupert Lee and Coy Merchants
In 1940, Rupert Lee and Coy Merchants became a gathering point for curious onlookers, who watched as motorboats crossed the flooded Palm Creek.
Promoted as “cash and carry,” the store was known for its quality and quantity, with every inch stocked full of merchandise.
Where commerce met curiosity
In the early 20th century, Rupert Lee and Coy Merchants were already well known in Ingham for its impressive stock levels — locals joked that every inch of the building was filled with something useful.
Operating under the modern‑for‑its‑time “cash and carry” model, the store offered quick service, fair prices, and an ever‑changing array of goods that kept customers coming back.
But in 1940, the store became famous for something entirely different.
When the floods came, the town gathered
Palm Creek, which winds through the heart of Ingham, has always been a defining feature of the landscape—beautiful in the dry, unpredictable in the wet.
During the 1940 flood, the creek rose high enough that motorboats were used to cross the swollen waterway, turning an ordinary wet season into a spectacle.
And where did people gather to watch? Right outside Rupert Lee and Coy Merchants.
The store’s vantage point made it the perfect place for locals to stand, chat, and marvel as boats skimmed across what was normally a quiet creek.
For many, it was the first time they had seen motorboats used this way in town—an unusual, almost festive moment in an otherwise challenging season.
A snapshot of Ingham’s resilience
The scene outside Rupert Lee and Coy Merchants in 1940 captures something essential about Hinchinbrook’s character:
- resourcefulness in the face of nature,
- community spirit, and
- the ability to find connection even during hardship.
Today, visitors walking the Hinchinbrook Way Historical Trail can stand where those onlookers once gathered and imagine the hum of conversation, the splash of boat motors, and the lively energy of a town adapting to whatever the season delivered.