PEEPS IN THE PAST
December 6-12, 2020
Presented by Mildura and District Historical Society
Compiled by Ann Ziguras and Sue Kelly for the Mildura Rural City Council Library Service.
100 YEARS AGO
TODAY’S SLOGAN: Keep Young: beware of fatty degeneration of the intellect, of atrophy of the muscles of the soul, of the ossification of the motive forces of life. A cleric of old time compares the mind to the body in that what at first was cartilage gradually becomes bone. Fortunately, however, we have control of our mental forces: we can keep young if we have the will to do so.
LOCAL NEWS: Visiting days at the Mildura Public Hospital are Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, and the hours are from two to four pm. Two little girls, Grace Martin, daughter of Mr and Mrs Martin, of Merbein, and Chrissie Hardingham, daughter of Mr and Mrs Clement Hardingham, of Mildura, died at the Mildura district hospital on Sunday afternoon. The cause of death was enteritis and those were the first fatal cases at Mildura this summer. The river steamer Pevensey leaves Echuca on Saturday for Wentworth via ports. The passenger steamer Gem arrives at Mildura at midday. Today’s football matches – Koorlong v Mildura at Koorlong, Merbein v Nichols Point, Mildura Recreation Reserve; Red Cliffs v The Lake at Mildura. Premiers Irymple wound up their celebrations in the wee hours of the morning after players’ medals were distributed. The Mildurian – official magazine of the Mildura High School is now at the close of its eighth year of existence.
JORDAN VALLEY: The shells from the Turkish battles were not the only trouble the Light Horse had to contend with in Palestine. The Turks were fully expected to take up position on the high ground on the far side of the valley and put up a fight. Everything would have been in its favour, from the high ground he could have swept the whole valley with his guns and thus held up his pursuers for a considerable time. However, much to the mystification of the leaders, the Turks passed right through the valley and left it quite safe for the Australians to pitch camp therein. They did so and were not long in realising why the Turks had been so considerate. The valley was alive with scorpions (up to six inches long) spiders (as big as the palm of your hand) and snakes of all varieties and sizes. The bites of any one of these pests meant certain and quick death unless treatment was immediate. The Brigade Field Ambulance lost something like 80 horses the first week they camped in the valley. The horses’ legs would swell and soon the poor animals would die, leaving the vets baffled as to the cause. They soon suspected the snakes and their suspicions were well founded, a number of soldiers died from the bites of these spiders, snakes and scorpions. It was always necessary to examine the saddles and saddle cloths before saddling up. A padre went to the nearby spring one morning and when he did not return within one hour a couple of Aussies rode off to investigate. The padre was dead and his body had already begun to puff up. His horse was in its agonies of death and had to be dispatched. It would have been absolutely necessary to shift camp but for a cold snap of weather coming to the rescue. The reptiles disappeared suddenly and were not seen again before the camp was shifted. Nowhere else in Egypt or Palestine did the Australians come across these creatures as they did in Jordan Valley. (Dante’s Inferno)
75 YEARS AGO
STATE SCHOOL: A handsome obelisk of Harcourt granite has been erected at the State School in memory of former pupils that fought and fell in the war. Over two hundred names appear on the memorial, of whom thirty-four made the supreme sacrifice. Over two hundred names appear on the memorial, of whom thirty-four made the supreme sacrifice.
RAILWAY: The railway extensions at Mildura station yards are progressing rapidly. The goods sheds have been extended forty feet, and will soon be ready for the storage of merchandise. The gang working on the ballast train is still continuing to construct the new roadway.
CAR SERVICE: Instituted only a few weeks ago, the Sunraysia Daily Renmark-Mildura car service is becoming popular. At Renmark end seats have been booked as far ahead as fourteen days, and it is evident that when once the service becomes more widely known the bookings will increase. Business people in the cities are beginning to recognize the value of the service. Mr Tom Joy and efficient mechanical staff give satisfaction and a smooth journey to travellers.
50 YEARS AGO
IRYMPLE: Laying of fountains for the new $1 million Irymple Technical School should be completed by Christmas. Already a team of builders has transformed several acres of vines into the basic shape of the school.
WATER: The water flowed like wine in Pooncarie. Wentworth Shire President (Cr Tom Strother) turned a simple brass tap outside the Telegraph Hotel and the ceremony made the water supply official. Water has been connected to 22 Pooncarie homes already in a scheme that was initiated in 1967. After the ceremony, all adjourned to the Telegraph Hotel for a drink – that establishment has been a part of Pooncarie’s history for a long time.
25 YEARS AGO
CINEMA: The new Cinema Deakin complex in Mildura is to boast two additional auditoriums in a $1.4 million expansion project. The Cinema Deakin has purchased the building and property adjacent to the Deakin Avenue complex, formerly owned by Mildura Masonic Lodges, after extensive negotiations. The expanded establishment will offer a wider choice of films to the public and additional screen sessions. Complex manger-director Mr Chris Mitchell said the Masonic Temple was on a local government heritage listing and would remain in its original state.
BUNGALOW: Mildura’s historic Bungalow estate was passed-in for $260,000 at an auction on Saturday. Auctioneer George Collie said the Bungalow was sold to the present Melbourne-based owners in 1989 for $255,000. Since then, significant renovations had taken place including the century-old house being re-stumped and the restoration of the verandah. The Bungalow, built in 1891, was one of Sunraysia’s most distinguished homes. It has had five owners since it was built and the original grantee was Emma Chaffey, sister to Sunraysia’s irrigation pioneers. The property’s first owner was Conway Gordon and prominent Mildura family the Shillidays owned it for most of its existence. The late Harry Cornell was the last owner before it was sold to a Melbourne businessman in 1989.
PSYCHE BEND: The final stage of the $300,000 Psyche Bend development came to fruition yesterday with the completion of a community shelter. Paving for the inside of the redgum shed, which measures 15 metres square, will be laid this week by 17 New Work Opportunities Program participants. The 17 participants, who will complete their six-month work program this month, have played an integral role in the shed’s construction.
