Peeps In The Past
December 25 to 31, 2022
100 YEARS AGO
NEWS ITEMS: New Year in Mildura will see the Swimming Club Carnival at Lake Hawthorn, pictures at the Wonderland Theatre and the New Year’s Day picnic with the Salvation Army Band seeing the New Year in.
The Merbein Church of Christ minister, Mr R. Randell, is to leave to take up special studies with a view to taking up work ultimately on one of the church’s mission fields in India.
The Mildura City Council will in the future use concrete instead of earthenware drains.
Anyone venturing out at night in Red Cliffs should be aware of the crawling death – snakes.
A party of picnickers at White Cliffs saw a huge gum tree over 40ft high that had been felled by a storm across another gum and formed a graft with two gums – a three in one tree.
WINDOWS: Your shop window is an arresting voice telling your story to passer-bys.
It may roar stridently like a picture-show spruiker or it may plead sweetly and seductively like a bazaar siren.
In either case it is a well-lighted window in a busy thoroughfare with an attractively displayed stock.
It will sell goods to those that see your windows. It would be helpful if you had your windows all over town and the district – Sunraysia Daily knows how you can achieve that.
LADIES: At a recent wedding, the Bridal motifs were her mother’s Prayer Book and a bandeau of forget-me-nots in place of the more conventional bouquet of flowers.
A spray of Orange Blossom and a wide swathe of tulle added a pretty touch to the bride’s footwear and for the something blue which bridal superstition decrees she must wear was the narrow bandeau of forget-me knots holding her veil.
The chill blasts of Winter may have hit Paris but the latest Paris craze there is for invisible stockings.
Jewelled gowns and costumes introduced to London that may easily cost a thousand pounds in Paris dictates the fashion now as an ostentatious display of wealth.
75 YEARS AGO
OVERSEAS: Seven sunspots which were forecast to appear in the Adelaide area for two minutes after midnight on Christmas day by Ahmar Singh, 114 years old Indian when he was in Adelaide earlier this month were visible on Thursday in four different groups with a total of 7 or 8, the South Australian Government Astronomer, Mr G. Dadwell.
Mr Singh also prophesied the appearance of “Comet 1917n” a fortnight before it appeared.
General A. Percival, 1942 British commander at Singapore, explained the collapse of that “Fortress”- as meteorological experts misled him.
An Arab machine-gunned a Jewish bus taking nurses to the Hadassah Hospital on the Mount Scorpus Road, wounding 14.
Reinforced Greek Government troops are fighting to clear the dug-in guerrillas from snow-clad heights north of Konitza.
A force of 2000 guerrillas launched the attack on Konitza.
More than 4000 British soldiers armed with rifles and Sten guns thronged Bethlehem, the birth-place of the Prince of Peace, to attend Christmas Mass in St Catherine’s Church or to visit the Sacred Grotto, the traditional site of Nativity.
ITEMS: Christmas passed quietly in Sunraysia.
There were few outward signs of rejoicing but hundreds of families celebrated in the traditional way.
Two Christmas babies were born – a son at Olinda to Mrs A. Murphy of Orange Ave and Helen Margaret to Mrs P. McKenzie, of Billabong at Windulva Private Hospital.
Despite the unpleasant weather, over 1000 people gathered on the Rowing Club lawns on Christmas Eve for Carols by Candlelight.
The children’s Christmas treat for the children of Merbein on Christmas Eve was an astounding success – there were free rides in the Spirit of Fun train.
A shower at 5pm delayed the procession. The Fire Brigade captain, Mr J. Braidie acted as marshal and Mrs D. Walters adjudicated.
NEWS: Thirty-five people were waiting on the doorstep to buy nylons when a Langtree Ave store opened at 9am of a total of 180 pairs of English nylons offered only about a dozen pairs in odd sizes were left by 6pm of the two styles and two shades all nylon with cotton tops stockings.
Exodus from Mildura of holiday-makers has been compensated during the present holiday period by 400 visitors.
Only in the 20th game of a gruelling third set were Mesdames James and Albert able to gain the advantage in Mildura’s Lawn tennis Club’s women’s doubles from Misses Shirley and Joy Stockdale.
50 YEARS AGO
GIFTS: Thinking of giving the kid a bike for Christmas? That’s nice. You’ll be placing him or her in a very special category of road users.
A group that, under law and in most cases requires a driving licence, compulsory training or test of road rules; no vehicle registration or certification of road-worthiness; no protective clothing or equipment.
You might be comforted in the knowledge that cyclist casualty rate is going down.
Only 820 deaths and injuries as against 1100 in 1965 but the portion of 5 to 18-year-old casualties is rising.
At least one Santa in his red suit, ended up in jail in Philadelphia, USA, charged with drunken erratic driving shortly after midnight.
CHRISTMAS TIME: Victoria’s road toll of 14 made a “mockery of Christmas” said the Police Traffic Head, Superintendent Hugh Hookey.
“This is so alien to the whole concept of Christmas – happiness and goodwill to others,” he said.
Christmas Eve was far from restful for Mildura Urban Water Trust commissioners and employees.
The trust’s 6000 consumers in Mildura, Irymple and parts of Merbein were threatened with a “dry” Christmas when a valve blew on the main pump at the 7th St pumping station about 9pm.
Men worked through the night to dry three electronic motors that shorted when flood water reached them.
The geriatric ward at Mildura base Hospital was brightened over Christmas by a display built by one of the ward’s nursing aides.
Mrs Austra Asmanis erected her display of a Summer and Winter Christmas and husband John helped her with some of the features.
NEWS: Tourists are spending $100,000 a day in Mildura over the Christmas period.
By the time the holidays are over more than $2.5 million will have been spent here – an average of $10 a day for each tourist.
Mildura people who complained of feeling sticky were justified – the humidity was 59 per cent – described as very high for Sunraysia.
A section of the Red Cliffs-Morkalla Road extending for about 2.5 miles at Thurla will be sealed soon to give a fully sealed road through the entire Millewa.
25 YEARS AGO:
PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Former Officer in-charge of the Mildura Policing Square, Sergeant Ian Hopley is on secondment to the Royal Papua New Guinea Development project, based in Port Moresby travelling to the tropical haven of Alotau in Milne Bay and Popondetta in Oro Province, both sites of extensive Australian Military action in World War II.
Despite the drought the mountains looked green and lush, small bush material villages and airstrips resembling band-aids on the sides of mountains and war relics are clearly visible.
The Milne Bay Islands are made up of 160 named islands, 500 cays and atolls scattered over 250,000 square kilometres of ocean, some with mountains peaks up to 250,000ft.
The large battles, violent aeroplane dog-fights crippled the Japanese fleet.
The area then became a huge naval base.
Before the war, Samarai during the colonial era was the provincial headquarters of PNG, said to be the prettiest in the Pacific and pre-dates Port Moresby.
The town was destroyed in anticipation of the Japanese invasion which never came.
It was later built resembling an Australian country town, tree-lined avenues of Queenslander-style houses, long verandahs using a lot of corrugated iron, now falling into disrepair.
PEOPLE: Santa wore green at the Sunraysia Irish and Friends Assoc Christmas gathering.
A good crowd attended for the Irish Stew meal, music and singing by Ken Harris, Michael Oates, Francis Byrne, Gregor Allen, Scott Henshilwood and Des Curran.
Recreating images of yesteryear, the Red Cliffs Players posed in front of the Old Mildura Homestead.
Monty, the Carpet python, lost his sight in one eye and had a mouth operation is now shown making a good recovery thanks to a motorists quick thinking and wildlife carers.
Police are amazed at the number of drivers who still have not got the message about drink driving.
Some people are still so drunk they had to be helped out of their cars.
Operation Coffee break, a godsend for drivers, is again being conducted by the SES.
About 1000 volunteers will give away coffee and Kit Kats to encourage drivers to stop and take a break to avoid fatigue.
Don’t throw away Christmas cards, Birthday and Valentine cards – put them in Planet Ark recycling bins at Coles or Body Shops to be re-used as folders, cardboard boxes.
Over 100 million have been collected and reused in five years- more than 10,000 trees worth of cards.
SCHOOL: The final classes at Meringur Primary School were held as a formal closing ceremony attended by about 300 people.
The school first opened its doors on September 12, 1927 with Eileen Benner appointed as teacher for the 8 children.
It was one of 11 schools looking after the education of children living on farms between Yarrara and Morkalla West till 1945.
They rode horses or bicycles to school.
Students from Nangiloc-Colignan and District Primary School were excited first prize winners in the Wear Your Footy Colours Day held for the Bone Marrow Donor Institute. The $500 prize will go towards swimming aids.
