IN 100 years’ time, historians will turn to the archives of Sunraysia Daily to research the impact of the coronavirus on this community.
That precious resource will tell the stories of a generation who lived through an extraordinary period in the world’s history.
They will read about the economic fallout and what local businesses, residents, farmers and health workers did to survive. They will learn of those who did not.
They will read of border closures, of sporting competitions being cancelled, of people being made by law to wear masks in public.
They will discover how governments managed the crisis and the impacts of their decisions.
And there will be other stories that also capture their eye.
In 100 years’ time, they will learn that 2020 was the year management of Mildura’s public hospital returned to public hands after two decades of private management.
They will read of decisions around water management in the Murray-Darling Basin and time will have told them if this generation got it right.
They will stumble across names in the births, deaths and marriages that had continued to live in this region for generations.
They will also marvel at some of the amazing photographs, which will show how Mildura and its surrounding region looked like in 2020.
What rich history they will uncover.
Newspapers, by their nature, are the journals of record for their communities.
And 2020 will always serve as a reminder of the importance of local news to a community, particularly in times of crisis.
This year marks 100 years since the first Sunraysia Daily was printed on October 16, 1920.
It is a significant milestone in the history of this community.
To mark the occasion, Sunraysia Daily will be taking our readers on a nostalgic journey over the next few months.
Our staff have been digging into our archives to find 100 amazing stories that have helped shaped this region over the past 100 years.
The topics are many and varied from the days when rogues were tarred and feathered and run out of town to the united spirit that helped the region overcome plans to establish a toxic waste dump in our backyard.
We also look back at the tragedies that have taken too many, too early, from our community and left an indelible mark on the region, devastating fires and natural disasters.
But there are also the celebrations of royal visits and other events that put Sunraysia on the world stage, starting this week with the highly controversial Davis Cup tie in Mildura, which would become one of the darkest days for tennis in Australia.
It’s premium content that will be revealed to our readers day after day.
A new “old” story will appear daily on the Sunraysia Daily website and digital newsletter, along with a regular feature in the Saturday printed edition.
And later this year, Sunraysia Daily will produce a special souvenir publication, along with a hard-copy book for our valued readers.
The year 2020 will go down in history as one of our region’s toughest.
But at times like these, it is always good to stop and remember who we are and how we got here. The pages of the Sunraysia Daily over the past 100 years tell a story of a region built on strength, resilience, agility and innovation, of a multicultural community grown out of unity.
My guess is that in 100 years’ time, history will show they were the same characteristics that shone through during one of our darkest hours.
