27 July – 2 August 2025
100 YEARS AGO: 1925
CONNECTION: The Deputy Postmaster General has approved the application of Mr W. L. Bright, Cardross, on behalf of the residents for the provision of public telephonic facilities at that place. The connection of the desired line has been completed and a telephone office for the receipt and transmission of telegrams, and for public conversation has been established at Cardross in charge of Mr Bright.
SHOPS: Work has begun on the shops that are to be erected at Red Cliffs on the corner block next to the Collendina Café and opposite the Sunraysia Daily office for Mr Evan Davies, baker and pastrycook who purchased a few months ago the bakery business founded by Mr O. C. Vale. One of the shops will be occupied by Mr Davies, and the other, it is understood by Mr G. A. Freeland, butcher.
DEPARTURE: The huge Carowie barge will leave Wentworth wharf this morning with 3000 bales of wool on board. This constitutes a record for a single load of wool leaving Wentworth.
75 YEARS AGO: 1950
MEMORIAL: Five donations for the Mary Woorlong Appeal, to raise funds for the sealing of the grave and erection of a headstone for the last of the Kulkyne aborigines, were received in Red Cliffs yesterday. Sunraysia Field Naturalists Club has asked for funds for this purpose. The club has opened the appeal with a donation of 1 pound, 1 shilling. Mary Woorlong died a few years ago and is buried at the Mildura Cemetery.
FINES: City Council has agreed to a new system of fines for detention of books from Mildura Carnegie Library. Council approved a recommendation that fines be now at the rate of $3 every day or part of three days. Fines are imposed on borrowers who keep books longer than 14 days. It was also decided to discontinue the policy that nonfictional books not be allowed out of the library. In future, these books can be taken from the library, on payment of a deposit of 10 shillings a book. Council also agreed to a recommendation that the newspaper room at the library be open continuously from 9am to 5pm daily.
LESSONS: First actual flying lessons will be given this weekend to pupils who have been receiving instructions in preparation for the formation of an aero club in Sunraysia. A Tiger Moth which has been made available by Broken Hill Aero Club will land at Mildura airport this morning and flight lessons will begin at 10am. Mr R. G. Francis who has been organising the proposed club said, “It is a major step towards getting the club here in operation, and Broken Hill is to be thanked for the interest”. Although there was nothing definite arranged yet, it was likely that regular weekend flying instructions would be available shortly, Mr Francis said. All pupils who had attended the pre-flight lectures and anyone else interested were invited to be at the aerodrome to receive instructions in the air.
50 YEARS AGO: 1975
MEMORABILIA: Red Cliffs Primary School committee is preparing a time capsule – to be sealed at the end of this year and opened in the year 2000. The committee is charging any interested people $1 each to write messages for prosperity on small cards to be placed in the time capsule. At the end of the year all messages will be sealed beneath a monumental sundial to remain for 25 years before being opened in 2000.
HEAT: Mildura yesterday joined Melbourne and Adelaide in recording highest ever July temperatures. Mildura’s top of 26.3 beat the previous best of 26 and Melbourne recorded 22.7, the highest July temperature since records began in 1855. Many other Victorian country centres recorded their highest ever July maximum temperatures yesterday including Beechworth, Orbost, Swan Hill, Wangaratta and Ouyen.
BETTING: More than $4 3/4 million was handled by TAB offices in the northern Mallee in the 12 months which ended on Thursday. This represents an increase of 33.86 per cent on last year. This increase was well above the state increase of 26.32 percent. Racing turnover constituted 63.3 percent of total turnover, trotting 22.49 percent and greyhound’s 14.21 percent.
25 YEARS AGO: 2000
ATTRACTIONS: The number of associated attractions at the 2000 Great Australian Vanilla Slice Triumph continues to grow with three weeks remaining until the event. The opening of the Ouyen Art Show, the opening of the Mallee Genealogy Society, the History of Football exhibition by the History Resource Centre and the Show ‘n’ Shine are just some of the highlights. While all these take place there will still be the main item of interest, especially for the professional bakers, with the judging of the best creator of Vanilla Slice in Australia. Entries for both professional and amateur are now being received, and the organising committee has been encouraged by the widespread interest from the baking trade and home cooks alike.
REPAIRS: A long-standing rural community building is in urgent need of tender, loving care to prevent its demise. Repairs to the Carwarp Hall have begun but funds raised by the community have dried up, preventing any further work from being completed. Carwarp Hall Committee president Glenn Austin said several attempts to apply for funding were unsuccessful until this week. Mildura Rural City Council announced funding this week which was gratefully received. “We’re pretty proud of what we’ve done so far. It would be nice to finish the job properly.” Mr Austin said the hall is of great value to the Carwarp community as a meeting place and for its historical value. The original Carwarp Hall burnt down, and the present building was constructed in 1953 to replace it.
RACE: This year a new race will enter the long history of National Motorsport championships held in Sunraysia, with the running of the “Sunraysia 500”, which is round four of the 2000 Australian Off Road Championship. It will be held on Tapio Station at Gol Gol in September. The Sunraysia Motor Club has taken the next step up to bring the best off-road races in the country to the district. The best drivers in the nation, including the first man to beat the bikes at the Finke Desert Race, Mark Burrows, are going to be battling it out for those all-important championship points.
