100 YEARS AGO: 1925
SHOWCASE: Dan, the Giant Russian Boar Hound, who will be on exhibition at the Mildura Carnival, was proclaimed throughout Russia as the largest dog on earth. These types of dogs were very useful during the Great War. They were great workers in harness and pulled mountain guns over hills and through forests where horses could not go. Being as docile as a lamb, any child that comes to see Dan, can have a free ride on him. The management will give 100 pounds to any person producing a dog as big as Dan. Do not fail to see him. He will be located in the large tent at the carnival.
PRUNING: A pruning demonstration for the benefit of Red Cliffs settlers has been arranged to take place on the block of Mr C. K. Mackenzie. Mr A. V. Lyon and other experts will attend. Following the suggestion made at the annual meeting of the Red Cliffs Fruit Growers Association, pruning demonstrations will be held on blocks in different parts of the settlement during the season.
FUMIGATION: Interviewed yesterday, Mr N. L. Anderson, the rabbit inspector reports that for some months he has had five men working the fumigator and poison carts in conjunction with the Millewa country. Good work on the reserves has been done right through from Benetook to Merrinee, and the outfit is now in West Kera, working towards Werrimull. “Everything is dead when burrows are finished,” said Mr Anderson, adding that the fumigating outfit is a great success. He also states that the farmers themselves are doing excellent work with poison and that there is great improvement throughout the country. If the farmers will only stick to it, there should be a good clearance of the rabbit pest. Any settlers who desire instruction in the proper mixing and laying of poison have only to go to the camp and get it.
75 YEARS AGO: 1950
CAFETERIA: Mildura Working Man’s Club plans to build a cafeteria in the old boardroom at the club. Tenders for the work have been called. Manager of the club (Mr C. Haines) said last night that the project had been discussed for two or three years but obtaining a building permit has been one of the delays. The cafeteria, which would be all-electric, would serve meals at prices cheaper than most restaurants. A chef would be engaged, he said. The service would be a boon for country members and members working in Mildura, who could have a cheap meal there instead of taking cut lunches to work every day. Electric toasters, grillers and cookers would be installed.
SCHOOL: Already, 264 children from nine countries are enrolled at the Mildura Migrant Centre school. Mr C. A. Chappell, temporary head teacher said the school has been open since May 23, and when sufficient teachers arrive, enrolment would jump to nearly 400. The school, which is being conducted in the mathematics section of the former University Branch comprises children mainly from East Europe. Besides Mr Chappell, the staff at the school consists of three teachers from England, one from Queensland and another from Western Australia, as well as four Victorians.
DISPLAY: The famous Wedderburn Retriever and Bulldog nuggets, found at Wedderburn several months ago, will be displayed in Mildura this week. The nuggets, valued at nearly 10,000 pounds and insured for 5000 pounds, will be displayed for two days to raise funds for Mildura Base Hospital. Sunraysia people would be able to see the nuggets between 9am and 5.30pm on Friday, and 9am and 12.30pm on Saturday. Permission has been given to use the showrooms of Stuart and Harrison Proprietary Limited for the display. Special arrangements have been made for the nuggets to be kept in the vaults of a Mildura bank on Friday night. An armed police guard will be engaged while the nuggets are displayed.
50 YEARS AGO: 1975
REUNION: Hundreds of old faces will return to the Millewa in a fortnight to attend “back-to” celebrations. The celebrations will be held over three days in June. Committee secretary, Mr Col McDonald, said at the weekend that 1500 invitations had been sent out. Replies have been received from people in Tasmania, Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne and other parts of Victoria. The official opening will be carried out by Mr Peter Fischer, MHR for Mallee during the ball at Werrimull. A number of other important activities will also be held on the Saturday. The centre at Werrimull will be in the Commonwealth Bank and the Shire buildings will be the information centre at Meringur.
LIGHTS: Mildura could have a long wait before traffic lights are installed at the intersection of Deakin Avenue and Eighth Street. It has been readily acknowledged that Mildura does have a problem at the intersection, and the city has a high priority for traffic lights. The chairman of the Road Safety and Traffic Authority, Mr J. G. Westland said the problem was not unique to Mildura. He said he took the opportunity to inspect the intersection in March and agreed that a problem existed. He understood Mildura City Council was waiting to be told of a subsidy towards the installation of signals, which had been included in the traffic control program designed for Mildura. “Council could, of course install the lights at its own cost,” Mr Westland said.
PLATPUS: CSIRO’s Division of Wildlife Research has shown an interest in a platypus found in the Murray River near Mildura. Zoologist, Mr John Calaby, of Canberra, has said he will contact the fisherman who found the platypus while checking his nets near the Kulkyne Forest. Mr Calaby said that the find was “most uncommon.” He couldn’t recall when the last mammal was found in the river near Mildura. “The Sunraysia area would be the limit of its known territory,” he said.
25 YEARS AGO: 2000
CONSERVATION: A property northwest from Wentworth is tipped to become the world’s biggest “feral-free” conservation park when hundreds of kilometres of special fencing costing millions of dollars is completed this year. The fencing on Scotia Sanctuary, some with high voltage electricity and netting deep underground, will keep feral animals including cats, foxes, goats and other predators and pests out. A buffer zone around the boundary of a 27,000-hectare section of the 65,000-hectare property will provide a further barrier to unwanted species. The intensive Scotia Sanctuary program began in 1997, on the former Tararra and Ennisvale grazing properties. It has already become home to a number of re-introduced species including numbats, plains mice, stick nest rats, hopping mice, woylies, bilbies and bridled nailtail wallabies. Re-introduced species are multiplying well in the semi-arid environment and when more fencing is completed and predators excluded more will be released into the wild.
HISTORY: The restoration of the Royal Australian Air Force’s No.2 Operational Training Unit (OTU) Headquarters at the Mildura Airport will house Mildura’s first RAAF museum. One of only four original structures remaining from the Unit’s working days – the former headquarters – will feature a three-room museum focusing on Australia’s Flying Corps from World War I to the present day and the story behind Mildura’s No.2 OTU. The museum’s curator, RAAF Association Mildura Branch’s Mackenzie Wright said a curators working group had been formed and they were now seeking information, photographs and any other memorabilia on the RAAF or No.2 OTU. “All memorabilia donated to the museum will be acknowledged through a letter and receipt and will be displayed with a plaque of recognition,” Mr Wright said. According to Mr Wright the restoration is something which should have been done a long time ago.
CRASH: Three Melbourne people are lucky to be alive after the single-engine aircraft they were in crash landed at Mungo National Park yesterday morning. The Piper Warrior Series 2 went down about 9.15am, 120 kilometres from Euston, near Mungo Lodge. A 21-year-old flying instructor, 31-year-old trainee pilot and a 41-year-old female passenger were doing training flights at Mungo when the accident happened. The trainee pilot had just taken off and was about 500 feet up when the plane started to lose control. The instructor took over, but the plane had no uplift, and he was forced to try and land in a clearing. The aircraft hit the ground, tearing the front landing wheel from the fuselage before ploughing into the ground on its nose. The aircraft was a write-off as a result.
