PEEPS INTO THE PAST 24 – 30 January 2021. Presented by Mildura and District Historical Society.
Compiled by Judi Hyde and Sue Kelly for the Mildura Rural City Council Library Service.
100 years ago
LIGHTS: Mildura Rural City Council asks for vigilance. On the motion of Cr Dove a special meeting of the Mildura Borough Council that the attention of the Sergeant of Police should be drawn to the fact that a more stringent supervision of the council regulations regarding lights on horse drawn vehicles was necessary. They also asked that the officer in charge of the police should furnish a constable for point duty to regulate traffic in the busy portion of Mildura during Saturday. Resolutions to this effort will be forwarded to Sergeant Liiars immediately. (25.1.1921)
NEWS: The Admiralty announced that the officers and 51 men were lost in KV – the lost submarine. It is officially surmised it struck a submerged obstacle created during war time or a fault at the bottom. It is stated the wreckage is of submarine KV. An inquiry is being held on the Queen Elizabeth. The relatives of KV are besieging the Admiralty for definite news. Owing to the delay in tracing some names, a full casualty list is not yet published. Unemployment continues its downward curve after increasing to nearly 500,000 at the beginning of the year. On December 29 a quantity of iron used for making dipping tanks was consigned from Melbourne to the Irymple Packing Co and, until now, has not arrived at the shed. Full particulars were supplied to the Victorian Railway Commission including the truck number and the weight bill but so far no trace has been found of the missing truck. As the iron is needed urgently, the commissioners have notified the manager of the shed that a special reward is to be made for the truck. There is a probability of a phone line from Mildura to link up to Renmark via Wentworth and Lake Victoria. Enquiries are being made with a view whether there would be sufficient business on the line to warrant its construction. The line from Renmark to Lake Victoria has already been approved. (25.1.1921)
ITEMS: The SS Maggie will run a trip from Mildura to the Merbein racecourse on January 31 at 10am. Return fares 5/-, cool drinks and ice cream. An eyewitness complains that a number of young men go swimming in the river without any covering whatsoever, even in front of women and children at Red Cliffs in particular. Quite a number of men came in a buggy from the survey camp at the cliffs and were naked in front of at least half a dozen women and not satisfied with that they must run along the riverbank using the most horrible language possible and singing it out as loud as ever they could. (29.1.1921)
75 years ago
LOCK ISLAND: Since it opened to the public recently after having been closed for more than four years, Lock Island has gained a high place in the list of popular district swimming and picnic resorts. During the weekend, many residents and tourists visited the island, and a number of picnics were held. Fishing from the weir and lower banks proved popular with enthusiasts and some catches were reported.
PS MARION: The task of thoroughly overhauling the PS Marion is proceeding smoothly. The steamer, which has been on the slips on the NSW side of the river, opposite the Mildura sawmills, for a week, will be there for about another three weeks. A number of old planks have to be replaced and general repairs carried out.
DEMOLITION: Workmen engaged in demolishing what is believed to be one of the oldest houses in Mildura. The house, a brick building with an iron roof, is located in Langtree Avenue, between Ninth and Tenth streets. In the early days of Mildura, Mr F.H. Edwards, then registrar of births, marriages and deaths, had his office there. The corrugated iron shed next to the house, which has already been demolished, was a drill hall at one time in the city’s history. It had also been at different times an undertaker’s workshop, gymnasium and paint shop. Both buildings and sites have been sold and, it is understood, modern business premises will be erected there when conditions permit.
50 years ago
DARLING RIVER: The flooded Darling River at Pooncarie is washing away banks, bringing out scores of snakes and threatening to maroon stock grazing in low-lying areas. Flood warnings were sent to the NSW Bureau of Meteorology in Sydney when the river level reached 18ft – the highest in almost a decade. The river level this week was just over 19ft and still rising. The Darling is running at an estimated four knots.
DARETON: A site reserved neat the Dareton Co-operative for the past 10 years will be used to build a modern high school. The school will be built on an area of 20 acres with a recreation ground to be built behind the school.
25 years ago
EL STEAD HOUSE: Work on the historic El Stead House, circa 1892, is progressing steadily with only eight weeks restoration work remaining. The house, located at MADEC, is being returned to its former glory following $242,000 from Mildura CES as part of the Federal Government’s Landcare and Environment Action Plan (LEAP). On completion of the restoration works, El Stead House will stand as a beautiful example of early construction in Mildura and the general public will be invited to visit the historic building once work has finished. (25.01.1996)
AUSTRALIA DAY: Mildura Rural City Council has announced the winners of the three major Australia Day award categories. The 1996 Australia Day Citizen of the Year was won by Mrs Wilma Smart, of Merbein, the Australia Day Young Citizen of the Year was taken out by Erin Hoyle, of Red Cliffs, while the Murrayville Ambulance Auxiliary won the 1996 Australia Day Community Event of the Year. Mrs Smart was nominated by the Mildura-Millewa Country Women’s Association for her work as a pianist with the auxiliary along with the Wentworth Country Women’s Association, Mildura CWA, Mildura Eisteddfod, Mildura Chorale, Merbein West Primary School, Red Cliffs Musical Society, Mildura Senior Citizens and the Move Dance Theatre. Red Cliffs resident Hoyle was nominated by the Red Cliffs Tidy Town Committee, which she has been a representative of for the past three years. Erin is vice-president of the committee and in that time the township has won numerous awards. The Murrayville ambulance Auxiliary has, for more than 35 years, provided a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week emergency medical support to Murrayville and district. (26.01.1996)
