100 years ago
CAMELS: About a mile north of the Red Cliffs Station, the driver of a jinker had his attention attracted by the peculiar shape of some tobacco bush bent before the wind. It appeared to be that of a camel, as did a second bush then he remembered that there were no tobacco bushes there and his horse bolted. Later the driver learned that he had passed a team of camels on their way to be engaged by their owner, Aga Khan, in humping fencing and trellis posts.
LAVENDER: The secret of the old-fashioned-bag associated with the linen presses of past days consisted of a mixture of lavender with a few other ingredients and fragrant herbs. A little dried thyme and mint with a sprinkling of caraway and ground cloves, make all the difference in the lasting quality of this refreshing and moth-defying perfume. Lavender toilet vinegar, a splendid restorative in hot weather is half an ounce of lavender flowers off the stalk put into a pint of white vinegar, add the thinly pared rind of a lemon. Steep it in a stone pickle jar for 24 hours then place on top of a warm oven for 12 hours. When cold, filter through muslin before bottling, sealed with a tight fitted waxed cork to preserve it.
VALETTA: THE residence of Mr and Mrs F J Hawkes, “Valetta” in Eleventh Street, lends itself admirably to outdoor entertainment as it sits in the midst of beautiful lawns. On Thursday night, the house was decorated in colourful electric lights with seats placed conveniently. The Mildura branch of the Red Cross VAS had availed themselves of the offer of their President Mrs F J Hawkes the use of her garden to augment the funds of the society. There was lots of singing in the open air. Miss Plant sang The Charm of Spring and Mr G Gibson’s The Powder Monkey, which were greatly enjoyed.
75 years ago
TIP: The first, though minor, step in the beautification of the river frontage was carried out this week, when the old tip was cleared by the Mildura City Council. Now that the old tip has been tidied, it is hoped that it would not be used by citizens to dump rubbish. People are urged to refrain from doing so as it shows lack of sufficient civic pride. The next step in the beautification scheme was to grass the lock ovals.
SPORT: A crowd of nearly 3000 people attended a sports meeting conducted at Red Cliffs by the Red Cliffs RSL and Free Kindergarten. A truck and semi-trailer rodeo was considered the outstanding event. The judges, H Crouch and H James, found their job to be a difficult one. Athletic and Firemen’s events were conducted with enthusiasm. Miss M Murnane easily won the 75-yard race in 9 2/5 seconds. The organising secretary was Mr H Anderson, gate takings were 211 pounds. Mr Anderson said it was anticipated the nett profit would be 260 pounds, to be divided between the RSL and the kindergarten.
SETTLEMENT: Applications will soon be called for the irrigated blocks in the new Coomealla Soldier Settlement area. The Water Commission and Irrigation Commission propose to construct a deep drainage system to enable growers to drain the water from the subsoil of their blocks. The 74 blocks will hopefully be ready for disposal in 12 months.
50 years ago
SHOOTING STAR: Deserie Wakefield, 13, has a target in life, in fact she has hundreds of targets … and she hits them all. Last weekend at the Australian National Shotgun Titles, Deserie, a Mildura schoolgirl, cleaned up five national titles, the Australian New Zealand Trap Championship, the Australian National Champion of Champions Cup, the Grand Australian Handicap, the Australian National Doubles Championship and the Australian National Skeet Championship and was in a shoot-off for two more.
ART: Joy Scherger is well-known for her water colour nursery pictures. She could almost be called “Granny’s delight”. Joy attended art school in Melbourne on a scholarship and taught in the last part of the war. She did tracing and drafting at an aircraft factory, also shop designing and commercial art at night school. She married in 1946 into the Scherger family, pioneers of the Millewa. For her art, she obtains photographs of her subjects and arranges them to fit her background. Some book publishers are also interested in her work.
STRIKE: The strike by Sunraysia packing shed employees will continue indefinitely as discussions on a suitable settlement reached stalemate. It is the 8th day of the strike. Workers flatly rejected a $10-a-week pay increase and dropped their original demand for $20 a week to $15. The meeting was attended by 150 shed workers.
25 years ago
FUEL: Victoria’s peak automobile authority believes Sunraysia needs only 10 to 15 petrol outlets. The RACV said there are too many stations working at small volumes and many local stations had small storage tanks and needed off-site storage. When you have these smaller capacities, the fuel tankers must empty their load into holding tanks. This translates to holding costs, meaning higher prices for the consumer. The Woolworths service station had the potential to initiate a more competitive pricing cycle in Mildura.
MARINA: The company planning to develop a marina in Mildura defended the project, saying it had been subject to the most authoritative scrutiny ever undertaken into a project in North West Victoria. Sunraysia Daily has also solicited comments on the marina proposal in the form of a readership survey. A marina could be the ideal catalyst to boost business and investment along Mildura’s Riverfront, Seventh Street and the city’s central business district, according to the Lower Murray Water chairman, Mr M Tilley. Lower Murray Water, in relation to its urban raw water source provision, is a key stakeholder in the outcome of riverfront activities and as such, the marina proposal.
MEDAL: The presence of the Federal Arts Minister was just one of the highlights of the third Philip Hodgins Memorial Medal Dinner, a major event on the calendar of the Mildura Wentworth Arts Festival. This was the third and final judging by Mr Les Murray, who said he was very proud to be the person who gave the prize to Mr Alan Gould, whose body of work has a unique voice. Mr Gould, born in London of English-Icelandic parents, having lived on armed forces camps in England, Ireland, Germany and Singapore before coming to Australia, has a Bachelor of Arts from the Australian National University, has written poetry and fiction and worked in teaching and literary journalism.
