PRESENTED by Mildura and District Historical Society and compiled by Judy Hyde for Mildura Rural City Council Libraries.
100 YEARS AGO: 1925
TRAIN: A letter received by the Shire secretary, Mr S. H. Semmens from the secretary’s office of the Victorian Railway’s Commission, contained the information that the new Yelta line will be opened for general traffic on Saturday, June 27. The line will be served for a start with the Mildura and Merbein Steam train.
PLAYGROUND: The playground section of the Citizens’ Beautification Committee, of which Mr R. Walker is the chairman, has decided to make a start with the erection of swings, see-saws and sand pits on the Deakin Avenue lawn between Seventh and Eighth Streets subject to the Mildura Town Council. It is proposed to hold a working bee to erect awnings etc, and it is the committee’s idea to have separate sections for girls and boys.
LINE: Rapid progress is being made with the new telephone line between Werrimull and Red Cliffs, officials in charge of the work estimate it will be completed in a week. The line at present is completed between Benetook and Thurla. The new line will provide service for the settlers at Werrimull, Karawinna, Merrinee and Pirlta and will prove a great boon to those hardy settlers of the outback Mallee country.
75 YEARS AGO: 1950
TELEVISION: About 1000 people yesterday saw the first demonstration of television in Mildura. They may not be able to see it in their homes for about 10 years. Televised images of the Mayor, councillor Mansell and professional golfer Norman Murphy of the Riverside Golf Club who will be the first man in Australia to give a demonstration of golf by television. Several district artists appeared on the 16 receivers in the town hall almost as clearly as screened films. Others who will appear before mobile television camera will be schoolteachers, highland dancers, elocutionists and musicians.
SPEED: Vehicles speeding over intersections will come within the scope of the police blitz on traffic on Saturday morning. The offence comes under Clause 8 of the Road Traffic (Country) Regulations, 1944. The clause states that the driver of a vehicle or horse proceeding along any street shall on approaching and crossing the intersection of such street with another street, proceed at such a rate of speed that he shall be able to stop immediately said vehicle or horse. The only time this clause does not apply is Clause 6 which says drivers must stop their vehicles in any street where a standard stop sign has been erected near an intersection before crossing the intersection. None of those stop signs have been erected in Mildura yet but are to be discussed at the next Mildura City Council meeting.
MAIL: A photograph shown in today’s paper which was taken in Wentworth in 1911 places Wentworth on the map as far as the history of the New South Wales postal service is concerned. It is of the first motor vehicle to be used for the carrying of mail. It is being placed with hundreds of other relics of more than a century of postal history in New South Wales. The photo was discovered by Mr J. Walter, a member of the Royal Australian Historical Society who has spent 25 years gathering historic postal material. Delivery of mail by motor vehicle was inaugurated by John Cleary in 1911. It ran three times a week from Wentworth to Menindee.
50 YEARS AGO: 1975
CHOP: Wentworth Shire Council has supported action by its outdoor staff in cutting down a 100-year-old river gum near the wharf reserve. The council have been trying to make the tree safe for two years and many letters and a poem of protest have been received, one suggesting the dismissal of the person responsible. The tree had lost two branches with dry rot three years ago and when felled it had dry rot ten feet up the stem which left only the outside shell and a smaller stem.
MAGPIE: Neville Mitchell will play his 180th senior’s game for Merbein on Saturday entitling him to become a life member of the club. Only a few players have gained life membership with the club. They include Bob Martin and Frank Cetinich. Mitchell has been playing football for Merbein since 1961 when he played for the under 16s. He has won the best and fairest award twice with the seniors in 1969 and 1972. He travels in from Wemen for games.
MALL: Mildura will have a shopping mall for a period of up to two months between Eighth and Ninth streets during December and January. This was decided after a meeting with the Mildura City Council and the Mildura Chamber of Commerce. Slides of malls from other parts of the world were shown by the City engineer, Mr A. Thomson who had inspected them overseas. The survey showed that the car park had an average use of two-thirds of its capacity. It is something we must try and give a chance to work.
25 YEARS AGO: 2000
HOSPITAL: Project manager Mary Allen said the new state-of-the-art Mildura Hospital on Ontario Avenue is progressing well. The actual construction was expected to be completed by the end of next month, allowing a period of time to commission the new equipment well before it opens to patients on September 19. About 150 tradespeople were working on the site with some putting the finishing touches on Block B, which will house much of the in-patient accommodation, including the obstetrics department. All carpets are laid and painting done.
TREES: One-hundred-and-eighteen Our Ladies Primary School Merbein students got back to nature this week for National Tree Day by planting 24 Australian natives around their school. Mr Kontrec, a school board member said the students from Grades Prep to 6, raised student awareness of how important the environment is. In seven years to come they can return and see something they have had a hand in doing, so the tree planting is really a two-pronged idea.
OLYMPICS: Two Coomealla High School students have been given the chance to show their talent in front of millions of people at the opening of the ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Rachel McGlashen and Kimberly Ward will be two of the 2200 singers chosen from throughout New South Wales to be in the Sing 2001 Choir. The Year 9 students have been through an extensive audition process and now must participate in numerous rehearsals. They will also perform at the opening of the Paralympics in Sydney and as part of the Olympic Torch Relay ceremony in Deniliquin and Finley.
