Presented by Mildura & District Historical Society
Compiled by Judi Hyde for Mildura Rural City Council Service
100 years ago
TOWER: At the meeting of the Mildura Library Committee, the architect’s report included a recommendation that the clock tower now being erected should be made 6ft higher – it was decided to reject the recommendation of extending the tower by 6ft – the tower will therefore be 74ft high. Mr Anderson suggested the clerk of works should stay until the completion was adopted. As the clock for the tower has been imported from England and is now in Melbourne, the council recommended the council should forward 260 pounds in part payment. The woodwork that formerly crowned the tower has now disappeared and the scaffolding is ready for the brick layers to proceed.
ITEMS: The Mildura Police Station at last is having electric light turned on. The building hitherto only had a smoky oil lamp provided for the officer in charge – the electricians were also connecting to the cells the electric light system. With the presentation of a machine gun as a war trophy to the West Merbein State School, representatives of the West Merbein Soldiers’ Association and of the RSA, supported by a number of ladies, are organising a sports’ gathering for the children. The presentation is to be made by Cr Thompson who will be a trustee with Mr A. Heare.
EVENT: A strange episode took place as the two horses who were pulling a hearse suddenly bolted from the cemetery. Much pluck was given to the assistant who was at the horses’ head at the time, he grabbed the reins and was dragged off his feet for about 100 yards and very narrowly escaped being badly injured. The horses galloped off to the railings and he narrowly missed being crushed. His courage saved him.
75 years ago
LOCAL ITEM: Through the death of his horse, Mr A.L. Thompson, of Melbourne, who is camped on the Mildura-Merbein river road five miles from Mildura has become stranded with his wife, who is not well, and two young sons. Mr Thompson desires another horse to tow his wagon as they were heading north to Queensland as their ultimate goal when their horse died. He desires people to know he is not seeking a gift and is prepared to work for the equivalent value of a draught or other horse. Some gifts of money has already come in and today Mr Cecil Carter of Karrawinna has said he would gift him a horse so he can continue his trip earlier.
NEWS: The Lord Mayor’s camp for Mallee children will provide a holiday for 4000 children this year between the ages of nine and 12. It is described as the best-ever as this year’s camp will be at Portsea where barracks have been secured as accommodation. Batches of eight camps for 12 days, the first night at Camp Pell, a former Army camp and then the children will be taken to Portsea on a destroyer. At the camp the children will be X-rayed and medically examined. Outlining a fine achievement in every sense of public life since the early days of Mildura, the Mayor Cr A. Jenkins paid a glowing tribute to Mr E.T. Henderson, OBE. JP at a social tendered to Mr and Mrs Henderson at the Town Hall.
ITEMS: Four men appeared in the South Melbourne Court relating to possessing and manufacturing of 70,000 cigarette papers on which duty had not been paid. Wing-Commander A.G. (Tiger) Wearne, DFC. DSO, one of a small band of Empire airmen who won decorations in dangerous operational flights despite his loss of one leg, is to be offered a peacetime commission with the RAAF. When both engines of an RAAF Dakota failed on a test flight, the plane crashed into the sea about a mile from land near Darwin – a Catalina circled over and sighted two men in a dinghy and three clinging to its sides – they were eventually rescued by a launch. The RAAF has flown 4,250,000 miles without a fatal accident. Flying a Gloster Meteor, Group-Captain Donaldson, RAF, has established a new world airspeed record of 616 m.p.h. at Tangmere. A Trans-Continental reliability trial over 6,000 miles is proposed for 1947 has aroused quite a simmer of curiosity in motoring circles and revived pleasant memories of the annual Alpine Motor Car Contests. Petrol rationing will no longer be warranted in Australia as large reserves have been created.
50 years ago
ARTS: Australia’s top pop group Daddy Cool will be a feature at the pop festival – they will be bought to Mildura by a special chartered flight. Two local projectionists hope to get permission to show children’s films at Mildura Arts Centre on Saturday afternoons. Mr Mike Saunders and Mr Des Tobin have written to the Melbourne branch of the Australia-wide firm which specialises in hiring out prints of 16 millimetre films – a charge of 30 or 40 cents to children to cover the costs of hiring the film is proposed.
HAIR: Going grey? Lucky you, you couldn’t become more fashionable. For hundreds of years, a head of pure white has meant more than mere old age. These ‘silver threads among the gold’ have traditionally been regarded as a sign of wisdom, maturity, dignity and gentleness. For those who prefer to keep it dark or want to retain their natural colour a diet with plenty of vitamin B, iron and iodine, also a quart of yoghurt, a tablespoon of brewer’s yeast after each meal and half a cup of wheatgerm for breakfast and a spoonful of black treacle is recommended by Gaylord Hauser. Hairdressing is a family business for Frank and Teresa Luizzi. Frank learnt the trade in Italy and when an apprenticeship in Mildura came up, he jumped at the chance. Here he met Teressa who worked at another hair salon and later they started their own Hilde Luizzi’s Beauty Salon.
NEWS: Red Cliffs Gold Jubilee Ball committee has arrangements well under way. It will be held in the Red Cliffs RSL Hall with 480 tickets available. There will be two bands, led by Geoff Evans and Tom Gooch, playing for continuous dancing – decorations are in the hands of Mrs Marie Mason and Mr Bernie Lancaster. The switch to T-Trellis is unusual in Sunraysia but it is designed for the Chinese Gooseberry with soft hairy skin and a flavour like fruit salad. Railway enthusiasts will use the Robinvale line for probably the last time on Saturday as later this year the turntables at Robinvale and Quambatook will be removed. The railway which crosses the Robinvale bridge was never operated by the Victorian Railways but trains were run when required by the Railways Construction Branch.
25 years ago
STORE: The Mildura Historical Society hosted many former employees of Maples/Washington’s department store for one of their very interesting meetings. The building was erected in 1910 by Mr Washington, a second floor was added in 1929 and Maples took over in 1938, sadly it was destroyed by fire. On the night, Noel Pugsley who worked in the store for nearly 40 years, Harold Collicoat, Jim Lee, Gloria Pullen and many others brought in memorabilia from when they worked there. Jack Holt wrote a letter of his time as manager but was unable to attend. Also attending the night was Mrs E. Opray, daughter of Mr J.W. Washington, and his granddaughter Mrs J Hayward.
PEOPLE: The Mildura Embroiders’ guild displayed a superb exhibition of their work. Atlanta Olympic bronze medalist basketball, Rachael Sporn, wiped away tears in an emotional homecoming to Murrayville. Miss Lily Allen reached 100 years, she is connected to the Hamilton wine-making family. Her father left Wales as a shipwright in 1830 on the Ferret bound for Australia. It was chartered by a gang of rogues who staged a wreck off Gibraltar, forcing him to make alterations to the vessel and change its name, sail to South America and sell the cargo to a high bidder than where it was destined for. They eventually made it to Port Phillip and – giving evidence against the rogues – the crew was allowed to stay here.
RED CLIFFS: The opening night of Diggerland in 1921 was attended by 400 persons under a starry night and an excellent program. Some 40 years after the town of Red Cliffs was established, the greatest billiard player the world has ever seen chose it as a venue for billiard league team competitions between locals and clubs from Melbourne. Walter Lindrum opened a billiard parlor in Red Cliffs in 1938 in Ilex St, it was built by Trooper J. McGrath, one of the many Diggers returning from WW1.
