Presented by Mildura & District Historical Society. Compiled by Judi Hyde for Mildura Rural City Council Service.
100 years ago
CLUB: The Mildura Recreation Club, or the Mildura Musical Dramatic and Recreational Club as it was formally called, was founded largely as the result of the Presbyterian minister of that day the Reverend A.E. Harvey. Its object was to provide amusement without a bar that young men would inevitably gravitate towards. The committee was formed of the Rev. Harvey, Messrs Rogers, Burbery, Smith, Campbell, Bruce and Masters. The first premises of the club was a small building in Langtree Avenue previously owned by a grocer – it was so small the players were obliged to not use cues at the sides only the end of the tables – some exciting tournaments were held there. The new club in Madden Avenue was erected by Mr Beternay (now in Ouyen) and Mr S. Austin installed the billiard tables, the lighting system was fitted by Mr Walter Hunt. The club also had among its first members one of the Australian contingent that served in the Boer War – Mr Gerald Beverly, who on his return was presented with a gold medal by the club. In 1916 an effort was made by the Rev. Robert Williams to amalgamate the club with the YMCA but the suggestion was not entertained by the committee. In 1918, further additions were made to the club for two more billiard tables then, two years later, an ever-increasing membership justified the erection of the concrete building 90 x 37ft, nearing completion at a cost of about 7000 pounds. Mr W. Crocker resigned as president on leaving the district in 1920 and Mr S. Semmens became president over the 630 members.
DAY BY DAY: The ambulance shed near the Carnegie Library which was used for the horses is to be now used as stables at Merbein. The arrival of a 30-camel train at Wentworth laden with bales of wool was a picturesque but not very common sight – they came from Mr Wither’s Woodland station.
Along the coastal areas of NSW “fairy bags or fairy nets” are often found – these are most interesting members of the fungus family. At first they seem to be ordinary “puff balls” but if they are scratched with a stick they seem to resent the treatment and a perfect bag or ball of network will rise up from the ball and stand erect. It is uncanny to see this net rise from the injured puff ball and expand to about four inches long by three inches wide with white bony-looking cords forming the net. After a few hours it will all shrink up and will stiffen out again if placed in water.
The American Jewellers’ Association is offering a reward of a thousand pounds for information leading to the conviction of the Russian Bolsheviks’ smugglers who stole seven million pounds worth of diamonds.
MEN: Members of the Mildura Rifle Club had bad weather in the match of 15 shots at 500 yards. On Wednesday, Captain Hudson was top scorer with 69. On Saturday, A.J. Daly – 74 of a possible 75 – finished with 13 bullseyes, Arthur Godkin eight bullseyes and W. Casey seven bullseyes.
A recent description of an ingenious spraying device gave the designer’s name as “Vernon Smith” it should have read Burnley Smith known as “Burn Smith”. Mr Smith’s offer is that anyone can use his invention as long as no attempt is made to patent it.
In Melbourne, two Simpson brothers were burnt badly when vapour from methylated spirits caught fire – the clothes of both ignited – both died in hospital.
A memorial costing about 550 pounds, consisting of a 6ft figure in marble on a base of grey granite will be erected in honour of the gallant lads of the Wentworth district who fought in the Great War – it will be placed near the Post Office on the corner of Darling and Sandwych Streets.
75 years ago
NURSES: Sister Veronica Clancy, one of the Australian nurses captured after the fall of Singapore, had formerly lived in Mildura. She said they were asked if they had any experience of marriage and if we would work for them and when asked what kind of work they did not reply. “As the tragedy of Banka Island was still very real in our minds and few of us doubted that the Japs would carry out their threats. The nights were hell, lying on the concrete floor hardly daring to breathe, each moment expecting to hear the steps of those loathsome yellow creatures on the gravel path. Each of us would try to appear unafraid as to not alarm the others and every one of us knew we were playing a role very different from the one we felt until daybreak through sheer exhaustion we would fall asleep. We appealed to a German woman in the camp, an ally of the Nipponese, who was permitted a pass down to the town. She went to a Dutch doctor who in turn made an appeal to the local Japanese General. Some days later we received a message to the effect that the General had had replied that we would not be forced to go to the club but those desirous of going could do so. The rations we received were meagre and stale, scarcely efficient to keep body and soul together. Lack of wood was another major problem – we burnt doors and windows and floorboards – later we suffered for this as the Malays would come at night and take anything they could lay their hands on”.
NEWS: Soldier’s preference can now be claimed by Imperial servicemen not previously domiciled in Australia – the Crown made this concession in the High Court during an appeal. All WRANS are to be discharged by the end of next month in accordance with the War Cabinet’s direction of December 1945 that demobilisation of women’s services be completed by no later than September 30, 1946. There appeared to be in Australia today an organisation which Mr Fadden described as “Dr Evatt’s Gestapo” during a debate on supply in the House of Representatives. Confusion over use of the Australian slang term “Rafferty’s Rules” before the War Crime Tribunal today brought to the American Defence Attorney, Mr M. Levin, an apology from Chief Justice Sir W. Webb for his use of the expression. The Prime Minister, Mr Chifley, in the House of Representatives announced that under the trusteeship system of the United Nations, Australia has complete and exclusive power in controlling the administration and legislation in New Guinea. The Italian Treaty is very harsh, we don’t even see a glimmer of hope that was given in Versaille. What worries us most is not the text of the treaty but the spirit, said the Italian Prime Minister Signor Dasperi. Mussolini’s body has been found in a sack in the Pavis monastery near Milan – two monks have been taken into custody and three others detained. RAF Lancaster and Halifax bombers are patrolling the Mediterranean, 200 miles from Palestine, in the search for ships carrying illegal Jewish immigrants. The people of Hiroshima, which was devastated by an atomic bomb dropped by the American forces on August 6, commemorated the event with church services and “peace” gatherings. One of the strangest experiences we had in Germany was when our cars set out for the long drive to take us through the Russian Zone to the “free city” of Berlin as the autobahn is vast wide road that goes through no village or town no cafes or rest rooms not even a public toilet. It was built for one purpose – the supplying of the Western Front.
ITEMS: The Premier Mr Cain, made inquiring into a foliage known as Kudzu, which has been planted in Alabama, US, as a corrective in erosion, and has been acclaimed as a miracle. The plant which is of Japanese origin is not only a crop for gouged-out land, but they say it will cover a cornfield in one year after the corn has been cut, preventing erosion, store more nitrogen and in the first hard frost, lay down a carpet of rich leaf litter equal to that in a forest.
The Soap-for-Britain Appeal being conducted by the Mildura sub-branch of the Australian Legion of Ex-Service Men and Women will end at the weekend. So far the response has been good but an all-out effort is being made this week, donation may be left in the collection boxes at Bowrings, Shillidays and Nash’s.
The main events of the golfing season – the District Championship played over 36 holes and the Wimmera Shield which will be contested by teams of eight players nominated by district clubs will be held at Riverside. In addition, there will also be handicap events in the morning and afternoon and a 36-hole aggregate to be played in divisions of 1-11 and 12-27. The Club Championship will take place on Sunday August 15 – this will be an all-day affair of 36 holes in addition to the championship scratch events in four different categories and handicap events. An exhibition of some 70 works in oil and water colour by Mr John Grant will be on display in Shillidays Bros’ Gallery.
50 years ago
EDUCATION: When school chaplains first entered Victorian Secondary schools their chief function was to conduct all the Christian Education classes normally taught by the voluntary instructors and it showed that opportunities for students rose as the chaplains became better known to the students. there are now 30 chaplains working in secondary schools and they give a considerable amount of time to counselling activity in addition to teaching in a class setting. Every country now realises that its greatest resource is its youth and tremendous strides are being taken to ensure that the best instructional methods and physical plans are available to the young people. So often we hear about the high cost of education, but can we really measure the cost when we don’t see the result of the product for about 30 years.
TREE: The NSW Forestry Commission believes it has found stumps of two gum trees felled by Captain Sturt when he plied the Murray and Darling Rivers near Wentworth in 1830. The two stumps, both about 30 inches in diameter were found inside the trunk of a red gum that had overgrown them – the tree was felled about two miles from Wentworth and the stumps are on display in the Wentworth Museum. The overgrowing tree would be 141 years old.
TEETH: A woman who was severely hurt when struck by a frozen chicken and knocked unconscious when it was thrown by another employee. She sustained a badly dislocated jaw, was operated on by a doctor and dental surgeon and now has a metal mouthpiece wired to her teeth – she was awarded $12,000 by the Supreme Court jury.
25 years ago
PEOPLE: In the Greek region of Calamanta, the “Cross of Promise” was built by vineyard workers to ensure employers, who had been good to them, would receive a bountiful harvest. On a Red Cliffs block, 32 years ago, the same gesture was made by three Greek men working for the Tieman family – they are L. Tzounos, P. Shanas and A. Karabatsos.
The obituary of a well-known Merbein identity who wrote it himself was read out by his very close friend Mr B. Bennett. He was involved in Scouts for 55 years, hosted many Rotary students, assisted in St Andrew’s extensions – painted the mural inside the church, involved in Gideons, Birthrigth and Probus. He wrote: “I have tried over the years to pay my rent for my time on earth by trying to serve others.”
As violence appears on our television screens and in movies we watch, Shakespeare and Roger McGough’s The Lesson has been banned by the Education Minister for English students.
Neil Noyce and Ted Lawton are shown going through mountains of material available for the 1956 flood memorial festivities to be held in late August.
ITEMS: Mildura Post Office will lease a building at 48 Madden Avenue as a temporary private 3500 mailing box facility for customers after the fire which destroyed the Deakin Avenue premises next to Movie Busters. The arson squad has ruled out foul play.
Mildura would be a prime location for a brothel because of its itinerant population during harvest, according to Prostitution Control Board deputy registrar, Gary Stocks.
A load of margarine lay strewn over the Sturt Highway near Euston after a semi-trailer veered off the highway and tore the trailer in half due to the weight of the crates of margarine tubs.
Mildura poker machine players are losing $36,000 a day on the 230 poker machines at six venues in Sunraysia.
LAUGHTER: Asthma may be relieved by a good dose of Monty Python said Dr D. Garlick from the school of physiology and pharmacology at the Uni of NSW as he said a pilot study of 10 people were shown three minutes of a nature video then three minutes of a Monty Python episode then three minutes of nature again and those who laughed at Monty Python showed a marked increase in deep respiration compared to the nature episodes. Asthmatics often become tense and being able to inspire or expire with as relaxed muscles was a great benefit, laughter does help.
