3 – 9 December
100 YEARS AGO
NEW CAFE: Messrs M M and G E Butler announce that they are opening Diggers’ Rest Cafe, Red Cliffs, next to Diggerland Picture Theatre, today, and will endeavour to cater to their patrons’ satisfaction. The cafe, which has just been fitted up from the latest designs, has a seating accommodation for 153. It is claimed to be the coolest place in Sunraysia of account of its complete and effective ventilation system.
HOSPITAL BUSY: The Mildura Hospital wards are very full at present. There are nine patients in the infectious diseases ward and 51 in the general ward, making a total of sixty. The contractor building the new infectious wards (Mr J Corbett) has nearly all the concrete foundations in and is just completing the remainder. He is well satisfied with the quality of the ground to carry the reinforced concrete foundations. The grounds around the hospital are well looked after and present a very neat appearance.
SHED MAKEOVER: With Mr H L Curtis as business manager and Mr H J Dodemaide as shed boss, the Aurora packing shed (late the Cowra shed) at Irymple is getting into trim for the coming season’s work. The new name has been painted in big letters on the roof, the interior has been thoroughly cleaned and white-washed, and the old stemming and grading machine is to be dismantled and a new Brockhouse 35 tonne machine is to replace it. A store-room containing all settlers’ requirements has been installed, supplies of chaff etc. have arrived, and the first consignment of fruit has been sent away. “We’re out for business,” says the management.
75 YEARS AGO
BAN STAYS: Mildura Shire Council will not alter its ban on the conducting of street stalls in the township of Red Cliffs. Yesterday the council received a letter from the Red Cliffs District Central Council of Progress Associations asking the council to end the ban so that street stalls could be conducted for charitable purposes. Councillor Hicks told the council he had attended a meeting of the central council when the matter was brought forward. He told the central council then that there was little possibility of council repealing the by-law. He pointed out that trades people and police were not in favour of the stalls being conducted within the shopping centre.
WATER USE: Mildura consumed nearly 40,000,000 gallons of water last month, the highest for November since 1944, Urban Trust commissioners were told last night. In 1944, water consumption was 40,914,000 against 39,761,000 last month. Referring to the recent increase, the Trust manager (Mr Robins) said that more than 100 new homes in Mildura had been serviced since last year. “Increases can be expected from now on as we are connecting an average of three new services each week,” said Mr Robins. He pointed out that in November 1944, the Trust was supplying the Air Force station at the aerodrome which was then at its peak.
NEW BOILER: Installation of a new steam boiler at the Eighth Street factory of the Mildura Co-operative Fruit Company has started. The boiler, which is expected to increase the output of steam by about 60 per cent, will, when assembled, be 24 feet high, 24 feet, six inches long and 12 feet wide. It weighs 64 tons. It will provide power for machines in the future extensions at the Co-op. Built by Babcock and Wilcox in England, the boiler is of the latest wood-burning type.
50 YEARS AGO
NEW COACH: South Mildura Football Club has appointed ex-Footscray utility player Algy Vosilaitis as coach for season 1974. Vosilaitis, who played three seasons at Footscray, was appointed last week after coming to the district to meet the Bulldog committee. He will return to Mildura later this month to meet players and will move to the district in his employment late in January. Vosilaitis, who migrated from Lithuania with his parents at the age of four, is 29, six feet tall and weighs just over 13 stone. He is a keen sportsman, having high interest, besides football, for golf, swimming, cricket, and squash.
CHRISTMAS MESSAGE: The real meaning of Christmas eludes many people. So the Sunraysia Council of Churches plans to erect a signpost, to remind people what Christmas is all about. The 17ft sign, complete with four photographs and two written messages, will be put up in the Deakin Avenue plantation behind the Eighth Street fountain early next week. Mildura City Council, which made the adaptable base for the construction, has laid permanent foundations so the sign may be erected again. The council of churches hopes the sign will be used at Easter with a different message. The sign cost about $90 to make. The SEC will install lighting free.
RUG UP: There is a warm link between the young and old citizens of Sunraysia. That link is rugs – hand knitted, woollen rugs, made from about 40 squares each. The squares were knitted by both boy and girl students at schools around the district and sewed together by volunteers, who included women in their 80s. The finished articles are gifts for Sunraysia’s senior citizens, including patients at Mildura Base Hospital geriatrics ward and with the district nursing service. The organiser of the venture, Mrs Myra Ryan, recently presented 50 woollen rugs to the hospital. Business houses have been generous with gifts of wood, Mrs Ryan said. She hoped rug-making would become an annual event among young people in Sunraysia and urged knitters to save oddments of wool for next year’s efforts.
25 YEARS AGO
SEAT ALARM: Mildura motorists have recorded the highest number of incorrectly fitted safety seats in Victoria with more than 90 per cent of vehicles volunteered for checks at fault. The figures were revealed at last weekend’s Safety Seat Sunday campaign at Bunnings warehouse, where 82 of the 90 vehicles tested showed an ill-fitting safety seat. The figures initiated calls for more education about correct child restrain fitting procedures.
BANK CAMPAIGN: Pledges totalling about $150,000 have now been received from 72 people and businesses who wish to see banking services come back to Wentworth. Wentworth Community Bank Steering Committee chairman Cheryl Rix said if people wanted the bank, more must put their hands up and get their pledges in quickly. “The bank will belong to everyone, and by using it and the bank trading profitably, we will eventually get a dividend back for community projects,” she said. “You don’t have to pledge money to be part of the community bank, but we do need to raise $200,00 to start it up. It would be nice if 50 or 100 people came forward with $1000 or $500 each in pledges – that would give us the last $50,000 we need. Once the bank is profitable, these pledges can be repaid.”
YOUTH CENTRE: A youth centre space for leisure activities and a safe environment have been highlighted in a youth needs analysis conducted for the Mildura Rural City Council. The analysis was released yesterday by Victorian Youth and Community Services Minister Denis Napthine. He said the number one concern was the prospect of unemployment and the lack of opportunity to remain locally. This was closely followed by the need for a skateboard area, the easy availability of drugs and alcohol, the difficulty for youth in getting accommodation in Mildura, teenage pregnancies, drug taking and underage drinking.
