PEEPS IN THE PAST
June 20-26, 2021
Presented by Mildura and District Historical Society.
Compiled by Ann Ziguras for the Mildura Rural City Council Library Service.
TODAY’S SLOGAN: Stick it out! The man that wants to kick a dog every time he is dealt a losing hand has not learned the fine points of the game. It is possible to spend an hour with your banker, and yet smile at the children in the street. The two finest qualities of human nature in combination are gentleness and courage — “Kindness in another’s trouble, courage in your own,” as Gordon sings.
100 YEARS AGO
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: Amundsen has arrived at Nome, Alaska, en route for Vancouver. Amundsen said that he would continue his efforts to reach the pole by drifting with the ice-floes. He spent a quiet winter on board the ship with one native and three white companions.
LOCAL EVENTS: For the Mildura District Hospital a children’s concert was held with the sweetest of small boys and girls (from six months upwards) and it was most interesting to listen to a good program of recitations from Betty and Joan Crozier, Nancy Hudson, Doris Perry, K. Bowring and Mabel Paton. The little performers will be able to hand in about £5/5/- to the Hospital. On Sunday next the MiIdura Band will give, on the Wentworth Oval, a demonstration at quick-step marching, to be followed by a band recital. There will be a collection in aid of the band funds.
FOOTBALL: North Red Cliffs Football Club has withdrawn from the competition, and a meeting of the league will be held during this week to deal with the matter. A new draw of games will be necessary. The defeat of Mildura by Red Cliffs on Saturday by nine points after one of the most exciting games of the season was one of the surprises of the year. Before Saturday the Mildura team had not been beaten, having vanquished Merbein, Red Cliffs, Irymple and North Cliffs in their triumphant progress. The Red Cliffs ground simmered with excitement and the whole humanity of Red Cliffs seemed to be making for the oval. The feverish interest of the spectators had communicated itself to the contestants. Reg Sutterby, who again appeared at the head of the Red Cliffs team, soared over everybody, the back line was impenetrable, and the forward line tricky and fast.
75 YEARS AGO
MASSACRE: Reports from survivors evacuated by the NEI Army at Batavia indicate that 177 Dutch men, 92 women and 97 children had been massacred by Indonesians at Tangerang between June 3 and 15, while an additional 59 men, 40 women and 70 children were missing. It was claimed that many more Dutch men, women and children were still being held by Indonesia in disease-infested camps in east and middle Java.
CONNECTIONS: Gordon Connelly, of Cardross, who was a POW in a German prison camp south of Vienna for four years, has received a postcard from Salzburg (Germany) from one of the former camp guards. The postcard, which is written in German, says: “Dear Gordon, permit me to send my best greetings from my home. I hope that you also arrived in your homeland safely and I greet you. Your onetime guard, Alexander Egger.” A direct descendant of the original Fletcher Christian, one of the mutineers of the Bounty, Mr A. Christian, with Mrs Christian, has been spending a short holiday in Sunraysia as a guest at the Grand Hotel.
SAILING SHIP: The world’s largest sailing ship, the four-masted barque Moshulu, is expected to resume its wheat run to Australia this summer. The Moshulu is at present lying at Narvik, where she was stripped by the Germans. She will undergo a thorough overhaul.
NEW POULTRY BREEDS: As soon as a regular air transport service is inaugurated between America and Australia, Mr F. Cook, stud poultry farmer, of Liverpool (NSW) intends to import hundreds of eggs from top American stud farms to improve his existing stock and breed a bird equally useful as a breeder or a table bird. He has already received a £200 consignment of fertile eggs from America, including two breeds new to Australia – White Rocks and New Hampshires. Each was cellophane wrapped to prevent evaporation.
50 YEARS AGO
ASPIRIN ADDICTS: People in Sunraysia are known to be addicted to analgesics – the name given to aspirin-type products. Mildura chemists say they know of specific instances of people taking unnecessary numbers of the headache powders. Four members of the Australian Pharmacy Guild held a meeting with Mildura chemists on Monday night to discuss drug abuse in the community. The meeting was the first of a series to be held throughout Victoria to find out from chemists if they knew of any instances of drug abuse. Mr Bruce Robinson, marketing co-ordinator for the guild, said the addiction to aspirins was an area problem. The chemists endeavoured to restrict sales of analgesics to known addicts but this was virtually impossible as a person can go to any supermarket or milk-bar for the aspirins. Some medical bodies believe one of the side effects of overdoses of analgesics is kidney trouble. “Addiction to analgesics is more widespread than hard drugs will ever be,” Mr Robinson said.
EDUCATION: Irymple Technical School has received a further loan of $20,000 from the Bank of New South Wales to help finance the development of its agricultural project. The project, a 27-acre farm at Irymple, consists of 11 acres of wine grapes, three of citrus, 10 of sultanas and three of other crops. The farm is being used for the first time this year as a teaching aid for Form IV agriculture students. A further seven acres of irrigated pastures and cereal crops are to be added soon. The Principal (Mr F. Lyons) said the total cost of the project was $66,000. He said the finance for the farm had been raised by the school’s advisory council. Mr Lyons said the farm eventually would cater for all agricultural subjects.
BALLET FEAST: Ballet enthusiasts can look forward to an entertaining program at this year’s Wintersun Festival. Miss Lynne Golding, teacher for the Mildura and District Ballet Guild, has done the choreography and directed a dance drama The Legend of the Willow Pattern a jazz Pas de Deux Man and Woman, and Capriccio Italien, a colourful story set in Italy. A dancer from the Australian Ballet Company will take the male lead. Miss Golding began her dancing career in Australia and was prima ballerina for Australian National Ballet. She continued a successful career abroad as prima ballerina, choreographer and artistic director for the Venezuela National Ballet and was later the faculty head of ballet arts at Carnegie Hall in New York.
25 YEARS AGO
EVENTS: Months of planning, training and waiting came to fruition when the Mildura Senior College debutante ball was held. Twenty debutantes and their partners took part in the special occasion at the Chaffey Secondary College hall. Sunraysia’s representative at the Atlanta Olympics, Deserie Wakefield, revealed that she had overcome a slump in form which required changes to her shooting technique. Deserie was named on Tuesday as one of two women Olympic double trap shotgun shooters to compete at the games. The phone did not stop ringing at the Wakefield home in Mildura and Deserie had a beaming smile of both relief and triumph to have made the 16-member Australian shooting team. She heard the news first on the radio and was still coming to grips with the team selection, which she described as a thrill and a great honour to represent her country. Deserie is in her 26th year of competitive shooting, having won her first national championship in 1974.
PUMP HILL: It was the opening of the first stage of the Merbein Pump Hill Rehabilitation Project. About seven hectares of land will be reclaimed during the course of the rehabilitation, which will provide Merbein with a scenic riverine recreation area with potential to attract tourists. A range of activities are to be held in July as part of the Mungo National Park Winter Discovery Program. The theme of the program is the interpretation of biodiversity and includes walks and tours to show what national parks are about what is being done to manage for nature conservation and recreation. Before travelling to Mungo, visitors are urged to contact the Buronga NPWS office to check on road conditions. Visitors should also carry plenty of fuel as none is available close to the park. Activities include slide nights, shearing displays park management tours, Mungo foreshore walks, kids’ programs, and historical movie nights.
TODD KELLY: Mildura’s car racing sensation Todd Kelly continued his great form at Sydney’s Oran Park recently when he was awarded Race of the Series. Todd took out the prestigious award in the final round of the Formula Ford Championships, when he finished second after starting 22nd on the grid. Todd passed the most vehicles out of any competitor and believes the performance was due in part to the condition of his car. Todd finished 12th in the championship overall out of 40 competitors. At 16, he is easily the youngest driver in the competition and had to overcome some sly tactics from the more experienced drivers. Todd has two more non-championship races to compete in this season, the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000. Next year Todd will also be tackling Year 12, but he is confident of succeeding in both areas. “There is a bit of strain involved with all of the travelling, but the support from my family and sponsors is fantastic,” Todd said.
