Sporting complex idea gone forever
Plans to build a Rushworth sporting complex on Education Department land adjacent to the golf course were officially shelved! Two years of fighting and arguing went down the gurgler after price rises exceeded all previous estimates, and the Public Works Department insisted on involvement of an architect likely to cost close to 10% of the whole job. Tens of thousands of words spoken and written came to nothing! Local anger generated during the debate had divided people who had previously been friends.
Winter flooding on the local landscape was one thing. There was growing concern about increased salinity in the Stanhope-Girgarre district.
Northern Region of Soil Conservation Authority awarded first prize to Graham, Rod and Ewan McRobert for tree planting on their Mt Pleasant property.
Shire of Waranga
At the Shire AGM, Cr. W. A. Jacobsen was elected President for a third term, and Con and Mrs Demaris of the Stanhope CafО became naturalised Aussie citizens.
Wage rises and a long list of flood damage repairs were putting pressure on Waranga Shire, eased slightly by a $40,000 grant from the Commonwealth.
Work was delayed on Max’s Maze, leaving the streetscape in disarray opposite the post office. Strikes in the cement and transport games were blamed.
Strangely there was concern about plans for No Standing signs at the Toolleen Hotel, presumably on the highway side.
Schools
St Mary’s Mothers’ Club (President Mrs Quinn) was told by Sister Martin that 20 louvre windows needed replacement at the school. (Probably those Fraser boys kicking their football! Barlows, McArdles and Morgans may also have come under suspicion!)
Community
Colbo Fire Brigade roster: Ian Reid, Frank Stewart and Jim Phelan.
Fifteen-year long service brooches were presented to Mrs Irene Shepherd and Mrs Muirhead at Murchison Guides. Mr Mac Shepherd received a supporter’s badge.
Personal
Bill and Dot McGuire left the role of deputy weir-keeper at the Basin, promoted to the top job at Lake Mokoan near Benalla. Daughter Wendy was to make her home at Rushworth, married to Graeme Wall.
Russell and Linda Hacon welcomed Jamie’s sister Teresa, the first girl in the Hacon family for 93 years!
Frances Johnson (nee Kennedy, and formerly of Rushworth), and husband Lionel, welcomed Matthew, making him a nephew of Elaine Francis of Rushworth.
Alf Perry died suddenly, at just 61 years, leaving widow Pearl (nee Campbell). Henry George Brown, 81, of Colbinabbin, died. He was the father of Gladys and Alan.
Also passing was Florence Elvey, mother of Kathleen Emmett of Stanhope, and nan of Glenis, Greg, Noel and twins Roy and Wendy.
Ian Oliveiri, born and raised at Rushworth, became engaged to Barbara Berkery.
Arthur and Kit Heath leased out their Wanalta farm and retired to Bendigo, after a farewell at the Catholic Presbytery. (The property these days is the home of Bill and Katrina Ogden and their three boys.)
Golf
In the Crosgrove Cup, Ray Cheatley and Norm Geisler claimed their match 5 and 3, over Tacky Borger and Max Richards. Nearest the Pin was Ron Risstrom.
In a charity day event, Mal McLeod went around in 79. The best Digger player was Reg McIntosh, the Best Lion Don Sefton and the Best Apexian was Ralph Barlow.
Jean Branson won the Frank Richards trophy over Amy McIntosh.
Toolleen Golf Club held its annual tournament on the only 11-hole golf course in Australia!
Football sensation during the finals
Ahead of the second semi-final, the Heathcote Football League disqualified a Doug Stacey for five years. He had played some of the season at Tooborac using the surname Lacey, but was part-way through a three-year disqualification from the Panton Hill League for a serious misdemeanour! Though Tooborac should have lost the points for every winning match in which Stacey/Lacey had played, the club escaped penalty, after claiming they had no idea of the player’s true identity. (They had fifteen ex-radius players each week from Melbourne, so that defence sounds vaguely plausible.)
Tooborac responded by beating Colbo by 29 points though oddly the actual scores were not shown. Gerry Brown got five goals with best players Emsley, Ellis, McTaggart, McMurtrie, Hammond, Lundberg and Pinniger.
Second semi-final in the Seconds had Denis Ogden’s Tigers up against John Brown’s Colbo. 16-10 to Rushworth, 6-7 for the Grasshoppers. Geoff Hawking four goals, Geoff Wall three, as Les McMurtrie and Mick McArdle notched two each for Colbo. Barry Thompson and Neville Clarke were best for Rushworth, the Johnson brothers for Colbo.
Rushworth Under-15s began the second semi-final with just seventeen players for the first half, but still beat Heathcote 7-5 to 3-4. Chris Geisler, Cruz brothers Greg and Mal, Hugh Fraser and Peter McGuire were mentioned. The season was over for Craig Beck after dislocating his collarbone in his 115th game, having commenced in the Under-15s at age eight.
In the Senior preliminary final at Elmore, Colbinabbin 18-9 just topped Rushworth on 15-11. McCubbery (captain-coach) booted six goals for the winners, Alec Horne (captain-coach) six for the losers. No surprise to find McCubbery named best, with Emsley, G. McTaggart, K. McMurtrie and B. Ellis. Horne was best for the Tigers, with Lambden, H. Barlow, McKeown, R. Williams and O’Sullivan.
Meanwhile the Rushworth club votes were counted with Herb Barlow romping home in the best-and-fairest with seventy-six votes, Glen Heily on thirty-one, Noel Lloyd and Warren McKeown joint third on twenty-nine. (As paid players, club rules prevented any votes for Alec Horne or Mick O’Sullivan.)
Seconds’ b-and-f went to Trevor Hawking on twenty-eight votes, from Graeme Jones twenty-four, Barry Thompson twenty-three. Geoff Hawking won the League award for Seconds’ top goal-kicker.
Netball
Rushworth A-grade lost narrowly to Heathcote in the preliminary final, going down by just two goals, season over and no match report published.
Pigeons
A train strike meant that a truck and a caged trailer took the birds to Narrandera, thanks to H. Fleming, R. Geisler and S. L. Simpson, the latter rewarded when a pigeon covered 1123 yards per minute, beating home T. Simpson’s bird by a beak, with 1122 yards per minute.
CORRECTION
In this edition I referred to the departure for Bendigo retirement in 1974 of the highly-respected Arthur and Kit Heath, and indicated their land as now owned by the Ogden families. A reliable source reminds me that taking up some of the Heath land were Barlows (Bob and son Colin), and later other parcels were owned by a host of people, some being Ogdens, some being other Barlows.
Bill and Katrina Ogden live on property once owned by different Barlows again, Jim and Eileen, later Anthony and Bronwyn.
With all that confusion and in the context of eternity, it probably doesn’t matter, but I always welcome a correction if I have made an error. In my own mild defence how could a former Moora boy, who has not lived there for fifty-one years, be expected to recall land transactions in outback Wanalta? You will have heard of being up the (Wanalta) creek. Basically I was just on the wrong side!
