Big price rise for Rushworth Chronicle in July 1974
Content and quality were down but there was a 20% rise in the Chronicle’s price, up from 8 cents to 10 cents a copy. Increased cost of paper was the primary reason reported. Advertising rates also rose.
Peter Ross-Edwards, MLA, presented a Decentralisation Certificate to Rushworth Printing Company, publisher of the Chronicle. (Perhaps the paper was de-centralising, to Moora or Wanalta?)
A new savings facility commenced at Rushworth when Hotham Permanent Building Society appointed Ivan Jell as an agent, in association with his newsagency, which had operated for eight years.
Waranga Shire
Cr Alan Hammond, elected Shire President after death of Cr Coyle, made presentation to Bill Furphy, retiring after 28 years as works superintendent. Bill took the job while waiting for his allocation of a Soldier Settlement block after the War.
Contract was let to Midland Housing, of Shepparton, to build four lone-person flats in Parker Street, at total cost of $42,800. (I will take a couple, at the price!)
Road accident
After football at Colbinabbin, cars driven by Rushworth men Bill Cruz and Wayne Britton collided. Both men were shaken and Britton’s car more badly damaged.
Schools
At Rushworth Primary, clouds loomed. Grades 2 and 3 wrote, “Next week our parents are coming to get our reports”. The same class learned that “two-thirds of a person’s body weight is water”. (But isn’t blood thicker than water?)
Grade 4 visited the sawmill and the forest, watching Mr Risstrom cut down a tree. (That would be front-page news today for several reasons, and imagine the permission slips for completion before the kids left the school grounds!)
Grade 6 were doing research on composer Mozart and making puppets.
Community
Moora Fire Brigade roster: Brothers-in-law Ivan Baldwin and Neville Clarke. Colbo roster: John Borger, John Brown, Brendan Tuohey.
Rushworth-Colbinabbin Senior Citizens were to be entertained by musician Bob Stewart.
Personal
Rev. McDougall, wife Anne and children Peter, Kristin and Bruce arrived from Wyndham, W.A., to take up the Anglican ministry at Rushworth and Murchison.
Pam Laurie of Rushworth announced her engagement to Neville Chapman of Glen Alvie.
Constable Conway departed to join Footscray police station, already being served by Paul and Anthony Grigg who were ex-Rushworth, though previously here at school, not as police.
There was a photo of Graham Ross’s Weimaraner stud bitch and litter of nine pups, the latter available for $100 each.
Football
Colbo at home kicked 15-18 in a thriller over Rushworth’s 15-13. Returning to the team were Slimmons, McCubbery and G. Reid, all named in the best with McEvoy, B. Tuohey, B. McCormick and G. Brown. Horne got five goals for Rushworth who were without Lloyd, J. Raglus and I. Williams, replaced by Lambden, B. Thompson and W. Cruz. Lout and Bill Cruz were named in the best with O’Sullivan, Heily, H. Barlow, D. Roberts and M.Clarke.
Rushworth Seconds needed a selector to come out of retirement to make up the numbers, going down 3-8 to Colbo’s 7-3. Les McMurtrie kicked three with usual suspects W. and T. Johnson, K. Wilson, B. McIntosh, J. Brown, T. Morgan and G. Rathjen named best for Colbo. G. Jones, G. Cruz, T. Shanks and T. Hawking were best for the Tigers.
Colbo then beat Elmore 14-10 to 8-11, Pinniger and Gerry Brown notching four goals each. Paul Tuohey was “kicking out to the centre”, assisting McEvoy, Hammond, B. Tuohey, Lundberg, Emsley and McCormick. Colbo Seconds rolled Elmore 10-3 to 5-6, thanks to B. Cheatley, G. Maddern, J. Brown, J. O’Dwyer and G. Rathjen.
Rushworth trailed top team Tooborac 4-5 to 7-4 at quarter-time, 9-8 to 10-6 at half-time, 10-3 to 13-8 at three-quarter time, before kicking 5-11 in a great last quarter, to win 15-24 to 15-12. Alec Horne got five (as usual), named best with Farrer, H. Barlow, Schneider, Heily and O’Sullivan.
Rushy Seconds 10-10 to Tooby just 2-2. G. Hawking slotted five, a good player beside N. Clarke, B. Thompson, T. Hawking, R. Raglus and T. Cogan. Hector Hagan was best for Tooborac.
Girgarre was riding high, second on KDFL ladder, while Murchison sat second last. (Times have changed, 50 years on.)
Netball
Rushworth defeated Colbo in A-grade but “B-grade will have to pull up their socks if they are going to make finals”. B-grade skipper was Karen Oliveiri.
Both Rushworth senior teams beat Tooborac, without the scores given, but “goalers Pauline and Kerryn were on target”.
Golf
Jack Borger and Reg McIntosh were 10 up in a 4BBB (whatever that is), ahead of Wes Risstrom and Les Hoyling 9 up. John P. Williams had an eagle 2 on the third hole.
Graham Spence and Doris Barlow won the Mixed Canadian at the Murchison tournament. (Not sure what the Canadian had to say about that.)
Stableford points event won by Bob Barlow on 45, over Doug Poulson and Keith Taylor. In B-grade, Ross Coyle 43, beat Jim Perry and Max Richards.
Associates Club Championship quarter-finals were heating up, with C-grade’s Jan Ross accepting a forfeit when Lucy Barlow when down with flu.
Pigeon racing
A prize for juniors went to Susan and Raymond Barber, after taking third place in a race from Finley into gale-force wind. (Their pigeon did all the work.) Fifth placed pigeon of Peter Geisler only made 619 yards per minute (and may have walked most of the way).
Stanhope South carpet bowls
Winners were Bill Malins, Mrs Patton, George Milthorpe, Mrs Sherman, Mr and Mrs Kent, Mr and Mrs Brunt. Runners up Bill Hageman, J. Hepburn, Mrs Newton, J. Kline, P. McGlashan, Mrs Turpin and R. Steddar. (How did they all fit in the Stanhope South Hall?)
