Rob Willis remembers 1952 as Forbes prepares for biggest flood in decades

The Willises lived above their Rankin Street shop - about where Forbes Central Butchery is today - when the floodwaters crossed Dowling Street and inundated the lower side of the central business district.

"I remember standing at the front window with the water lapping against the front of the shop," he recalled this week.

He's reflecting on that time, as are others, with predictions that the Lachlan River could reach 10.8m at the Iron Bridge gauge on Friday, a level similar to that which caused the devastating 1952 floods.

Mr Willis has seen numerous floods come and go in the decades since and every one different. A lot has changed both in and around Forbes in the years since.

In 1952 the family was positioned on the high side of the street, with significant water through the businesses across the street and covering the Forbes Olympic pool further down.

"I just remember water, water, water," Mr Willis said, "and people staying with us."

He remembers the helicopter landing in Court Street, and ABC reporters arriving in their suits with their microphones.

"I did my first radio interview, I said I thought it was all pretty good because I didn't have to go to school," he remembers.

Aerial photographs from June 1952 show the extend of the flooding, with only the top of the buildings around the Forbes Olympic pool sticking out of the water.

A photograph found in the Advocate office shows railway workers checking the lines through water at the Forbes Railway Station that same week.

A big thank you to those who contacted the Advocate to confirm the date of this photograph after we shared it, it is indeed 1952 and a Sydney Morning Herald article of the day has another view of the same photograph.

Janelle Blow remembers the photograph well from her family's collection: the man front left is her grandfather Ray Haynes who worked as a fettler on the railway.

She remembers her family sharing stories of the 1952 floods.