100 YEARS AGO: 1925
SHOPPING: The store at Cardross (North-West Red Cliffs) will be opened by Mr W. Bright on Monday, and it is expected that residents in that portion of the settlement will lose no time in showing their appreciation of the facilities provided by the store, which will save them a journey of three miles to Red Cliffs for shopping purposes. Mr Bright will have on hand in addition to all general store lines, by arrangement with the authorised newsagents Barker and Park, “The Sunraysia Daily” as well as the metropolitan newspapers. Mr Bright’s store will be the post office for Cardross as soon as the Post Office General’s department has completed the necessary arrangements.
BOTTLES: Mr T. M. Whelan of Red Cliffs has been appointed the sole agent of the Mildura Bottle Exchange for the exchange of bottles in Red Cliffs. The Mildura Bottle Exchange yard in the town will be closed, and the business carried on by Mr Whelan at his premises in Woodbine Avenue.
BANK: The Red Cliffs branch of the Commercial Bank opened yesterday, and Red Cliffs businesspeople and settlers were able to transact business up to three o’clock, instead of one o’clock as previously. The alteration in the status of the Red Cliffs office will be it is expected to greatly convenience not only the Red Cliffs residents, but of settlers in the adjoining area.
75 YEARS AGO: 1950
SKIING: This year Mildura will be represented in the Australian Ski Championships to be held at Mount Buffalo. The representative is 31-year-old G. Althoff, a new Australian now living in Mildura. He is an ex-ski champion of Czechoslovakia, and holder of the Union Championship of Czechoslovakia for 1936-37. He also competed in the Austrian ski championship with success. He came to Mildura about three months ago for the grape picking season and now works at the Mildura Co-operative packing shed.
ROADWORKS: Deviation of a section of the Murray Valley Highway to enable the establishment of a caravan park at Hattah Lakes is suggested by the Mallee Regional Committee. Mr Welch, a government nominee on the committee said the Country Roads Board was straightening the highway to give a shorter and better route to the Calder Highway. He considered that with a small deviation, the highway could be made to pass closer to the “beautiful Hattah Lakes” and allow for the possible establishment of a caravan park there.
FERRIES: The New South Wales department of Main Roads is calling tender for the operation of two ferries, one at Pooncarie and the other at Speewa, ten miles west of Swan Hill. The Pooncarie appointment will be for three years and the Speewa appointment for one year. A residence is provided rent free in each case.
50 YEARS AGO: 1975
RESTORATION: Wentworth Shire Council was recently offered a grant of $2000 to restore the old Wentworth jail. The grant represented 25 percent of the estimated cost of restoring the jail. The remaining $6000 will come from revenue received from the jail. Shire Clerk, Mr Cliff Ryder, said yesterday council had accepted the offer and would begin restoring the jail soon. The two main wooden doors will be rebuilt, two guard rooms will be restored, along with a slate roof. Some partition walls will be taken out. Mr Ryder said the cost covered provision of equipment similar to that used when the jail was operative.
CORPSES: Mildura Wharf is being turned into a huge European Carp “rubbish heap.” Rotting fish are spread over much of the wharf, as well as the riverbank nearby. Tourists boarding on the pleasure boat “Melbourne” are forced to walk through piles of dead fish lying on the wharf. The fish are being caught mainly by children on school holidays. They are obeying the law which says carp are not to be thrown back into the river. Some tourists spoken to yesterday described the stench as “nauseating.”
PEST: Hardhead Thistle weed is becoming a major problem in many parts of Sunraysia. Sometimes known as Russian Knapweed, or Blue Weed, it is one of the major noxious weeds of the world and grows mainly in the heavier soil types where it thrives on plenty of moisture. The weed competes seriously with vines in these areas, often making them very weak and barely economical. The thistle is beginning to flower in the district now and is approaching the stage when a 2 4-D Amine control spray can be applied. The vines are becoming dormant and there are no high temperatures, and provided that great care is taken over drift, there is no danger of vine damage.
25 YEARS AGO: 2000
CLOSING: The countdown for the final months of Mildura Base Hospital has officially started. A large “countdown clock” has been erected at the front of the hospital, indicating the number of weeks remaining until the Thirteenth Street facility closes its doors for the final time at midnight on September 19. Closing events co-ordinator Patsy Barraclough said the clock – which is turned over every Monday morning – was just part of the overall closing procedure for the hospital which has been a Mildura institution since it was established in 1832. Three committees have been working to organize a “great weekend” to mark the closure of the hospital, which would be held on October 6 and 7. These events include a staff dinner, an open day and a celebratory “wake”.
LEARNING: Students at Saint Paul’s Primary School took the concept of open education to new lengths on Tuesday. With curious shoppers watching on, Val Easterbrook’s grade two students enjoyed a lesson – complete with chairs, tables, books and pencils – taught at the Mildura Plaza centre concourse. Principal Colin Markham said the students had thoroughly enjoyed the experience, which formed part of the school’s celebrations to mark State Catholic Education Week. Mr Markham said a specially prepared pictorial display was currently still on show at the Plaza.
VISITORS: Mildura will host members of the Adelaide and Melbourne branches of the Coca-Cola Collectors Club of Adelaide during their bi-annual swap meet this Sunday. Coca-Cola memorabilia is now big business for both the serious and hobby collector, particularly with the Olympic Games being held in Australia. True collectors are still on the lookout for items from the 1940s, 50s, 60s and 70s – or any item at all Coca-Cola has put its name to – from pens, ashtrays, yo-yos, metal and cardboard signs and cigarette lighters. The swap meetings are ideal, not only for meeting old friends, but to buy, swap and sell Coca-Cola collectibles. The public is more than welcome to attend, where they too can join in the swapping or selling.
