IF you've ever kissed a complete stranger under the T&G clock, you probably date to a time when there was no Langtree Mall and no air-conditioned shopping centre out on the edge of town, and the art deco tower was the undisputed centre of the city.

Before there was a palm-planted roundabout at Eighth and Langtree, that's where Mildura people would gather to party in the new year, with beers a...