23 – 29 April 2023
100 years ago
ENGINE PLAN: In view of the high price of firewood as fuel, the Mildura Urban Water Trust has been making enquiries with a view to installing an oil-engine capable of pumping 3000 gallon per minute against a 170ft head. At Wednesday night’s meeting of the trust a letter was received from Melbourne engineers Fyvie and Stewart, submitting quotations for an oil-engine and also for steam engines.
BIG SALE: What is claimed to be a record for the Mallee was taken by auctioneer Mr CF Lackmann of Murrayville, at a recent sale at Mr GV Goldsmith’s farm in that district. A bid of 150 pounds was made for a Robinson “Big E” harvester and Mr AE Beer of Cowangie raised the amount by 50 pounds to become the purchaser.
FLOWERS GONE: Mr WJ Woodham of Sarnia Avenue, Mildura, who is a great lover of flowers, has been for months carefully rearing some choice chrysanthemums, with the object of exhibiting at the floral show on Saturday. He had a rude shock on his arrival home at about 10.30pm on Friday last when, on going to have a final look at his treasured blooms, he discovered that six of the choicest had been torn off the plants and had vanished. The matter has been placed in the hands of the police. Mr Woodham ascribes his loss to a thoughtless act on the part of boys.
75 years ago
LABOUR DISPUTE: Meat stocks in Sunraysia shops will come to an end today – the seventh day of the stoppage by slaughtermen at the shire abattoir. Supplies were nearly gone at the close of trading yesterday and customers had little choice of cuts. At Red Cliffs, however, there was no meat for sale, according to Mr G McKenzie of the Caffrey’s butchery branch. The abattoir’s electric hoist, failure of which was the direct cause of the stoppage, is expected to arrive in Mildura by passenger train this morning. It has been repaired in Melbourne. If it can be put in operation today, slaughtermen will resume work tomorrow. Slaughtermen stopped work last Wednesday in protest against use of a manual hoist for slinging beef while the electric hoist was being repaired and other abattoir conditions.
HONOUR ROLL: Despite numerous suggestions, there will probably be no war memorial built at Cardross. This was decided at a meeting convened by Cardross Progress Association. For several weeks, Cardross residents have considered the construction of a memorial. Opinions expressed at the meeting, however, give the impression that Cardross does not really want the memorial. The association has decided to obtain quotes and data in connection with a Roll of Honour which is to be placed in Cardross Public Hall. There were about 30 Cardross residents at the meeting.
LOCK AWARD: The Senator JS Collins Shield and Certificate for the most efficiently maintained weir and lock on the Murray and Murrumbidgee rivers was presented last night to the Lockmaster at Lock 11 (Mr HJ Phillips). The presentation was made at the committee rooms of the Red Cliffs baths, during a display of the commission’s documentary films, before the staff of the commission employed at Red Cliffs, Merbein and Mildura. Mr East, the chairman of the State Rivers and Supply Commission, congratulated Mr Phillips on the honour his work had gained for himself and staff, and for the City of Mildura, and referred to the fine effort of the lock staff at No. 11 in maintaining and improving the grounds around the lock.
50 years ago
POPULATION: Mildura Shire had the greatest population gain of any Mallee municipality in the 12 months to June 30 last year, according to estimates of the Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics. Only Mildura Shire, Mildura City and Swan Hill City showed gains in population. The other five municipalities in the Mallee showed decline. The bureau estimates that in the 12 months following the Census of June 30, 1971, the population of the Mallee dropped by 280. In the same period, the population of Mildura Shire rose by an estimated 80 people, the City of Mildura by an estimated 53, and the City of Swan Hill by an estimated 38.
TRAFFIC LIGHTS: Traffic control lights were not needed in Mildura, Cr Roy Burr of Mildura City Council said yesterday. On Saturday morning, Cr Burr and Cr Syd Mills had a look at congestion in Mildura at the intersection of Eighth Street and Langtree and Deakin Avenues. Cr Burr said the “stop” signs were satisfactory as there had been no major accidents at either of these intersections. “I have never been in favour of traffic lights in Mildura, but Cr Mills and I decided to see for ourselves whether lights were warranted,” he said.
ART DEMAND: More than 2900 people have visited Mildura Arts Centre in the past four days. This is believed to be the highest number ever to visit the centre over an Easter holiday period. Another 1000 people looked over Mildura’s fifth art triennial, Sculpturscape ’73. These figures are well up on the corresponding period last year. This year Mildura Arts Centre was closed on Good Friday, and open only between 2pm and 4.30pm on Easter Saturday. In the past four days, a total of 1220 people have looked over the 130 sculptures in the open air Sculpturscape exhibition.
25 years ago
NEW GM: Mildura’s Grand Hotel Resort proprietors, Don and Anna Carrazza yesterday announced their daughter, Maria Carrazza, would take over as general manager of the business. “Since the purchase of the property in 1989, various people have held the position,” Mr Carrazza said. “The hotel has gone from strength to strength during this time. It is now appropriate for the first generation to have the main position of responsibility over to the next generation.” Miss Carrazza graduated from the Australian College of Travel and Hospitality after completing her VCE at Genazzano College in Melbourne. Asked how it felt to be one of Mildura’s youngest executives, Maria said her appointment was a “great honour”. She said her new task would be one of hard work and long hours but not daunting. “It will be a good challenge.”
SALE TO CENTRO: The Mildura Centre Plaza has been sold to a Melbourne property group for $31.6 million. Centro Properties Group announced the deal yesterday and chairman Brian Healey said he expected the plaza to be a solid performer for the group. “There is unlikely to be any significant new competition to the centre and we expect the current 10 per cent yield to be sustainable,” Mr Healey said. Mildura Centre Plaza was built in 1982 and refurbished in 1992.
CROP MILLIONS: Sunraysia’s dried sultana producers have grown, picked, dried and delivered the 1998 crop that will be worth about $57 million to them. Of this amount, packers have already paid nearly $30 million, with about 20 per cent of growers opting to take cash up-front for fruit on delivery, about 40 per cent going for the middle option and a similar number for the lower option. Growers taking the option of strung-out payments will get close to $1700 a tonne.
