More disaster on local roads to close 1974
A road smash between Stanhope and Rushworth near the Woolwash swamp took the life of Deborah McKindlay of Moama, adding to an awful district road toll in the second half of 1974.
Schools
As the school year neared closure, a dress-up day at Rushworth Primary was embraced by teachers as much as students. A grainy photo showed Mrs Mackinder in jolly mood and lively costume.
Personal
Geoff and Lorna Britton, who had operated the milk bar now known as Gus and Ollie’s, and then had roles at the Criterion Hotel, prepared to move to manage the Hotel Elizabeth, in Elizabeth Street, Melbourne. (Big change from the bright lights of Rushworth.)
Arthur and Joan Harradence were licensees of the Criterion Hotel and advertised “good beer, good food and good accomodation”, (but bad spelling of accommodation).
Football
Summer or not, the talk was still about football, and the threat of 1974 premier Tooborac to quit the Heathcote League if a limit was imposed on the club’s ability to field ex-radius players. Apparently few locals were available or interested to play footy. The nearby Pyalong area had just as few men or boys willing or able to pull on the boots for Tooborac.
Cricket
In B-grade cricket, Ted Shanks (4/23), Stephen Teasdale (3/33), Roger Barnes (2/7) and Lurch Hoyling (1/3) dismissed Tatura for just 70 runs, in reply to Rushworth’s 133. The Rushworth lads hung on to eight sharp catches.
In the next match Girgarre made 71 runs and Rushworth replied with 70. Batting again, Girgarre did a little better, getting 89. To win outright Rushworth needed 91 runs in 45 minutes. Ross Williams teed off with quick-fire 54, but the match was only a first innings result as Rushworth finished on 4/80.
A-grade was well behind on the first innings and faced the possibility of outright defeat against Kyabram Red, but compiled 5/180 to force a draw. Veteran Graeme Johansen scored 75, Trevor Hawking 30 and Alan Mee 20. In the following match Rushworth’s 91 was well short of Cooma’s score of 179. Alan Mee got 4/74, John Raglus 3/39.
Tennis
Rushworth B-grade selected to play Harston Gold were Ross Burge, Rob Raglus, Colin Barlow, Mark Mackinder, Pauline Wootton, Julie Pearce, Judy Meagher and Yvonne Laurie.
C-grade sent out veterans Peter Davidson and Tom Harrop with Gerard McArdle, Geoff Burge, Miriam Poulson, Susan Barber, Jenny Hoyling and Meredith Heily, before the Christmas break. Matches were to resume in mid-January.
Season’s greetings in 1974
Chronicle proprietor Peter Davidson extended season’s greetings to readers, on behalf of himself and office assistant Sharon Jones. (Sharon is now Sharon Perry and her fine photos today would have greatly lifted the 1974 newspaper!)
Another tragedy
19 December, 1974, brought the darkest day in the life of our family. My mother Lorna lost her life in a collision at the notorious Midland Highway – McEwen Road intersection. This left our father Duncan hospitalised for three days and sister Isabel with a broken arm. She was just fourteen, and Barbara just eleven, the three boys being a little older, me the eldest on nineteen. It is fifty years ago, but we will obviously never forget that day, or the pre-Christmas funeral conducted by a minister who, unfortunately, had never met our mother.
The road toll across the district had been truly shocking in 1974, with a well-known Stanhope family about to be shattered early in 1975.
Another 50-year anniversary looming up is the Christmas Day 1974 destruction of Darwin by Cyclone Tracy. Anyone aged over about 65 now will remember where they were when that equally shocking news began to trickle out on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, after only the most basic communication contact was re-established with Darwin. (Telephone lines smashed and blown away. Obviously no mobile phones.)
Repeat apology
Throughout 2024 this page has been dominated by Rushworth and Colbinabbin news. I have only been able to extract content from what was published in 1974, and unfortunately there was very little news included from Stanhope and Murchison.
Season’s greetings and a suggestion
Warmest compliments of the festive season to all volunteers and readers. The feedback reaching me this year about this page has been positive (mostly), from residents who have been in the district for much longer than me, from people who left the area years ago, and from newcomers who have not been in this district for very long.
While attending local events like the Shearing for Cancer Kids day, and the old players’ day at the Football Club, it has been good to have perfect strangers recognise me from my mug-shot above, and come up to say that they have enjoyed learning of historical events and about the people involved.
I would close with a suggestion. Anyone with a local interest and some basic writing skills is genuinely encouraged to make a contribution to the pages of this little community paper. Only about 22 issues are published per year, and you would obviously not need to contribute to all of them.
Just write up a couple of hundred words and submit them, especially on a current local event. Today’s news. Historical columns have tended to be prominent over the past couple of years. Content from Murchison and Stanhope would be especially welcome. Plenty of people, not least the editor and her team, would welcome your contributions. Why not give it a go? If you like reading old newspapers, you could take over this page! Cheers!
Alan.
