December 12-18 2021
Presented by Mildura & District Historical Society
Compiled by Judi Hyde for Mildura Rural City Council Service
100 YEARS AGO:
1921McKAY – The work of Nathaniel Breakey McKay, the Chaffey’s Lieutenant in the establishment of Mildura, a pioneer journalist who so ably seconded the efforts of the Chaffey Bros at the foundation of the settlement – fighting their battles and those of the little wooden office on the Murray bank- the first home of the Cultivator.
When the history is written, no man shall stand higher in the estimation of patriotic Australians than N.B McKay.
It was his pen that visualised the future of this garden of Australia and his assistance to the Chaffeys’ during doubt and despair, Mildura, the result of great ideas fashioned in the brains of two foreseeing greats who knew what water could do.
From wilderness to a garden of perpetual promise, wealth and prosperity.
While the Chaffeys scooped out their channels and rolled down the dense overburden of Mallee scrub McKay advised the world to prepare for a miracle of progress in the virgin land.
It took him 12 years to move the politicians’ but it did not deter the lion-hearted man – quite the reverse. (13.12.1921)
BOWRINGS- To make the choice of toys for the children as simple as possible, Messrs Bowring have opened a special toy bazaar in 8th St.
Children are already finding their way to this paradise and are to be seen with longing eyes upon the delights with which it is filled, evidently hoping Father Christmas will gather his stock at Bowrings.
Featured are the ever-popular Dolls tea sets, kitchen ranges and utensils, dolls’ and dolls’ clothes, minature models of lawn mowers and carpet sweepers.
Mechanical toys, tricycles, rocking horses, cricket materials, the latest in books, celluloid dolls and kweepies and iron toys capable of weathering any amount of rough handling. (12.12.1921)
NEWS – Mr P. Stewart has received communication from the Post-Master General’s Dept that a trunkline from Mildura to Red Cliffs is approved.
Miss Denise Gelly and Mr Frank Hudson were driving into Merbein township when a horse ridden by Mr Lindsay shied and backed colliding with the sulky.
The hind legs of Mr Lindsay’s horse became entangled in the wheel of the sulky which was overturned and its passengers thrown clear, luckily only bruised and shaken.
It is proposed to erect a wire netting fence along the outside boundaries of the Red Cliffs to prevent what happened in Mildura when rabbits entered the vineyards and in one night had swept the whole area.
Mr A. Bruce, due to his health, has sold his 21 acre horticultural property in Merbein to Mr James Thomas for 6,206 pounds.
The fine brick church that has been built for the Catholic community in Mildura will be blessed by the Bishop of Ballarat. (12/15.12.1921)
75 YEARS AGO:
1946 CHRISTMAS – Three huge boxes of toys are to be distributed to children at the Sunraysia Daily. These toys include mechanical planes and cars, cap pistols, humming tops, bucket and spade sets, skipping ropes, trumpets, toy brooms, colored books.
Judging by the demand for crepe paper and tit-tats for fancy costumes for the Christmas procession at Red Cliffs – the children will have their doubts of the existence of Santa squashed on the day.
Mr J.Ramsay, with the CWA and Fathers’ Association have already put drinks into cold storage and there will be thousands of bags of lollies and many icecreams.
A letter to the Mildura Development League reads:
It was going to be a Children’s Christmas but our family of 6 (our 4 children) also my sister who has recently been discharged from the Services are now living in a stable yard in two tents and an unlined hut.
Every time the wind blows – dust and horse manure gets into our food- we have no bath, copper or troughs.
The childrens’ playground is the yard where the horses are, its hot and the flies are numerous.
We have tried many times to get a house, my husband returned recently from the War- our health is undermined by our living conditions- can you help?” (14.12.1946)
ITEMS – The infectious ward of the Mildura Base Hospital this year had 740 patients compared to 822 for the same period last year- measles had increased but only one case each of Scarlet Fever and Tuberculosis.
After March 31 no funerals will be made in the Mildura Cemetery between the hours of Saturday noon and 8am on Mondays.
Applications for a scholarship for those who wish to take a course at the Kindergarten Training College in Kew are due.
Mr F. Ransom, proprietor of the Store for Men, said he had many hat boxes he’d be glad to give to people. (13/16.12.1946)
OVERSEAS – Over 40 of the world’s most skilled forgers whom Hitler recruited before the war to forge English notes, under gestapo orders, are still free.
A new use for some of the L.S.T, sea-going units used extensively to form a transport service between England and the continent are to be used to transport touring motor vehicles across the channel to centers such as Calais, Antwerp, Hamburg, Amsterdam and other ports. (16.12.1946) 50 YEARS AGO: 1971
SCHOOL – A survey conducted by the Mildura Branch of the Victorian Teachers’ Union shows that most people have some form of air conditioning in their homes’ and it should be more necessary to have cooling in the school where students spend most of their day as when the temperature gets to 95 degrees it is difficult to get any work out of the children. The Irymple Technical School has decided to name its “houses” after four pioneering families – Johansen, Lloyd, Middleton and Roberts. (14/17.12.1971)
NEWS- Mildura now has a big, “new-look” Yugoslav Hall with alterations and extensions to the club over 3 months costing $13,000, especially the new 30 x11ft kitchen, said the President, Mr J. Dolenec. Mildura-brewed draught beer in bottles will go on sale in most Sunraysia premises on Friday, it is made at Northern Brewing Co a subsidiary of Heley’s Pty. Ltd.
The CSIRO stated that the cost of mechanical harvesting of grapes would not lead to any immediate great financial in the industry – harvesters are likely to cost $17,000 and be capable of harvesting eight acres in eight hours working both sides at once.
Last week Sister Elsma Runnalls, now relaxing in her Mildura home, was working as midwifery supervisor in Karachi’s 120-bed Seventh Day Adventist Hospital during the bombing raids there.
She was one of 24 Australians that were flown out when it became too dangerous for them to stay. (15/17.12.1971)
GOODS – In 1971 costs of goods were: G.E. Refrigerators with freezer section $189 to $429, Pye Air Cooler $169, new T.Vs $179 to $239, Phillips Stereogram $239, Whirpool bin freezer $229, Whirpool Washing Machines $259, Sunbeam Mixers inc bowls and beaters $17.95, Phillips Car radio $59, Ferris car radio $49.50, Vertical griller $26, Phillips 12 inch T.V. $195, Auto Toasters from $11.95 and Sunbeam Irons $9.95.(14.12.1971).
25 YEARS AGO:
ITEMS – Sunraysia sultanas picked and dried in the heat of last summer have been selling in packs printed in seven different languages for Christmas puddings and cakes the world over in the past six weeks.
ADFS at Irymple handles about 65 per cent of all Australian domestic retail packs and 90 per cent of export dried fruit. They are now running a promotion called “Christmas in Winter” because the time to eat Christmas pudding is in July not when it is 42 degrees in the shade, but we still love our pudding at Christmas as we used 2000 tonnes of fruit in November.
You’ve got to make 20 batches of scones to use the same amount of fruit for a large pudding.
All Fishers grocery stores and liquor outlets would open on Sundays now, a result of new legislation to allow trading then.
The Coonawarra was rebuilt and damage fixed after a strong gust of wind caught it and it glanced off the Abbortsford Bridge while passing under it. Identical twins Kylie and Brendan John achieved identical Tertiary Entrance Ranks – 97.8 – in the VCE also Michael Araco achieved a 97.75 pass and 39 of the Robinvale VCE students passed – Dux was Melissa Galioto.
The new gun laws have so far seen several bins of guns handed in to the Mildura Firearm Collection centre. (12/17.12.1996)
PHONE – Telephone calls to international sex lines, valued at $2500 have been run up by an anonymous caller on a public pay telephone outside a Mildura caravan park. The calls were to Tonga, Turkey, Germany, America, New Zealand, Israel, Canada and Ghana.
A gold pay phone at Mildura Base Hospital has been used to run up an unpaid $1200 bill of explicit “sex” phone calls to Turkey, said the MBH chief executive Sid Duckett. (12/15.12.1996)
RED CLIFFS – The people of Red Cliffs got into the spirit of Christmas five days early this year when the Red Cliffs Carols by Candlelight attracted a happy festive crowd of 1500 people, about twice the usual crowd.
Leading the crowd was the Henderson College choir.
A book commemorating the 75th Anniversary of Red Cliffs featuring many historical photographs of the settlement gives a comprehensive insight into the progress and make-up of the town. (17.12.1996)
