WITHIN weeks of delivering a delegation of VIPs to Mildura for the arrival of the city's first train, steamer captain William Miers put his boat and his business up for sale.
That was in the spring of 1903, at the dawn of a new century and in the middle of an intensive industrial revolution, and Captain Miers could see the writing on the wall.
The ability to transport freight by rail meant the age of the paddlewheelers was coming to an end.
This story was shared with Sunraysia Daily this week by Dareton man Hugh Miers, 86, a great-grandson of the riverboat skipper, whose recollections of his own life and tales passed down by his family will appear in the next edition of The Mallee's Living Histories, a book series recording the memories of Sunraysia's most senior citizens.
Mr Miers' story will appear in the fifth print volume of the series, which next month will also become a free online local history resource.
There are some older books he keeps tucked away at the bottom of his wardrobe at Wentworth's Murray House, however, and they are truly historic.
These are Captain Mier's original manifests of goods and passengers, records kept in immaculate handwriting and wrapped in leather binding.
What's inside is often simple, mainly lists of goods and their purchasers, but they include names such as Bowring and Shilliday, which would become synonymous with retailing in the still-new irrigation settlement.
They also record the names and needs of ordinary people who had ordered items such as pots and pans, or tools, or clothing – the everyday life of another time that in a sense was not so different from today, just slower.
Mr Miers isn't sure what will happen to these special volumes when he is gone, other than that they will probably be passed on to his son, Quinton.
It's been suggested to him that they could reside safely forever in the State Library of NSW but he's still considering that option.
What he does know is that he's proud of his special local heritage.
"I do feel quite proud," he said, adding that the interest in his story shown by Living Histories coordinator Vernon Knight had "stirred up a rabbit warren" in his little room, which is filled with books and other historical items.
"I've been looking for stuff I thought I had, or knew I had, and it's very interesting," he said.
Much of the history, however, comes straight from a memory furnished with tales told by his grandmother.
They include her own historic family mishap, in which the 1920 Buick her sister was driving slipped off the front of the old Mildura punt and into the Murray, not only wrecking the car but putting the punt out of action and causing the opening of the city's first bridge three days ahead of schedule in 1927.
She had also told the story of how Captain Miers, who owned seven boats during his career, had been stranded on the Darling in drought so had planted potatoes in the river bed to keep himself and his crew fed.
Hugh Miers' personal history as a Dareton blockie is also detailed in Living Histories.
He sold his block a quarter of a century ago but is glad to know the house and garden have been restored and renovated to such a high level that they are now sometimes used for wedding receptions.
And he's one of few Sunraysia residents who can still remember the military air training over Mildura during World War II.
From that came a lifelong interest in aviation and he has many models of aircraft from that era in his Murray House room.
Living Histories coordinator Mr Knight, who personally recorded Mr Miers' story, said its links to the riverboat era were special.
"I'm not sure you can quantify the significance of this," he said of the document collection kept by the family for 120 years.
"It actually captures the beginnings of White settlement in this district and it's a reminder that there was no access to Mildura prior to this unless you wanted to spend a couple of weeks on a horse.
"This district was dependent on what the paddleboats could do.
"Everything the settlers had here, in their homes and on their properties, was brought here on a paddleboat."
The Living Histories volume that includes Mr Miers' story is now in production.
All of the material in the series will go online next month.