This group, pictured, in 1975, would surely have to be the most experienced trio of punters at last Saturday’s Cup meeting. Between them they would have nearly 150 years of punting experience. On the left of the picture is Mrs May Kiely, of Echuca, who claims that she has been a supporter of Echuca race meetings for many, many years. The other couple is Mr and Mrs Jack Taylor, of Echuca, who have frequented country race meetings for years. Mr Taylor was a well known bookmaker in the area, but as he is now retired he only attends race meetings for pleasure and not business.
Photo by
McPherson Media Group
50 years ago November 1975
The Premier has agreed to carry out a program of aerial spraying of mosquitoes this year as a precautionary measure against any outbreak of disease throughout the Murray Valley area.
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The spraying program is likely to be commenced about the second week of December and will be carried out to protect the people who are already living in the Murray Valley area and also visitors to the area.
This is the result of representations made by local Members of Parliament, Mr Eddie Hann, MLA, Mr Michael Clarke, MLC and Mr Stuart McDonald, MLC, seeking the continuation of this program by the State Health Department, which was carried out last year, and was very effective in reducing the spread of mosquitoes.
Mr Eddie Hann said that the spraying was very much a preventative measure, and at this stage there have been no outbreaks of disease.
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Local sidecar road racers, Alan Harris and Paul Fraser, dominated the junior class at the open race meeting at Calder last Sunday.
Riding Alan's 550cc Suzuki-powered outfit, the pair proved themselves to clearly be the top junior team on the day.
Alan Harris (left) and Paul Fraser are pictured on the sidecar they raced at Calder last weekend.
Photo by
Riverine Herald
With Paul in the chair, Alan drove his sidecar to a convincing second place in the junior class, being beaten by a competitor who had a motor close to the limit of the junior class, 650cc.
In the senior class, for sidecars with motors up to 1300cc, Alan and Paul again proved their worth, defeating several outfits with motors twice the capacity of theirs.
Of the four senior class races held, Alan and Paul scored two fifths and two sixths.
25 years ago November 2000
Marathon swimmer Tammy van Wisse is expected to be in Echuca tomorrow.
Van Wisse finished yesterday's leg of her epic Murray River swim just upstream of Barmah after hitting a submerged log.
Van Wisse was not injured in the incident, but decided to finish her day's swim there.
She started her swim yesterday morning at Picnic Point, and swam about 27km.
Marathon swimmer Tammy van Wisse had her swim into Barmah cut short yesterday after she collided with a log. Tammy was uninjured but decided to call it a day after the incident.
Photo by
McPherson Media Group
Swim media advisor Kate Groves said van Wisse had coped well swimming through the tannin stained water to Barmah.
Yesterday's swim was fraught with obstacles as van Wisse weaved her way through the narrows upstream of Barmah.
She had the help of Barmah's Bill Vickers who, in his small boat, helped guide van Wisse and her entourage through the narrows.
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Rising LPG prices during the last two months have struck at the core of gas conversion businesses in Echuca-Moama.
Not only are motorists suffering from the hike in prices, conversion businesses are also feeling the pinch.
LPG is currently selling at 61.9c a litre in Echuca-Moama. The price has risen more than 40c compared with this time last year.
Proprietor Trevor Robinson installs his first gas converter in two months.
Photo by
McPherson Media Group
For Trevor Robinson, owner of Echuca Exhaust and LPG Conversions, the extraordinarily high cost of LPG has brought his healthy gas conversion business to a halt.
‘’I am now lucky to do one conversion a month, whereas during the busy times last year and early this year I would average between 12 and 20 conversions a month,'' Trevor said.
‘’When they announced the GST we knew there were going to be changes, but I don’t think anyone would have thought they would be like this.’’
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Cohuna teenager Luke Raffin has taken out the Regional Initiative Award for Victoria, one of seven categories in the prestigious 2001 Young Australian of the Year Awards.
The 18-year-old accepted the award in front of 600 people during a gala presentation at the Hilton on the Park in Melbourne.
He picked up a $4000 Award Saver Account from the Commonwealth Bank.
Luke, who has received a host of accolades this year, now automatically qualifies as a semi-finalist for the national awards to be announced by Prime Minister John Howard on January 24, 2001, in the Great Hall of Parliament House, Canberra.
St Joseph's College co-principal Bill Teggelove said the college was proud of Luke's achievements.
‘’Luke has been a fine community person for a long period of time, even though he is still very young.’’
10 years ago November 2015
When Kim Burns made the switch to special education after 20 years as a nurse, it was a big career change.
That was three years ago. Fast-forward to last Friday night at Etihad Stadium and it must have felt like the move had paid off.
Ms Burns was named Victoria’s most outstanding secondary teacher by the Principals’ Association of Specialist Schools.
‘‘I was in shock and disbelief. I was completely overwhelmed,’’ she said.
The recognition stems from her work setting up the ukulele and drum music program, Ukestra, at Echuca Specialist School last year.
Ms Burns said the program was an avenue for students to express their feelings.
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Echuca’s Clive Atkinson has been inducted into the Victorian Aboriginal Honour Roll.
The renowned graphic designer, artist and educator was among 15 Aboriginal leaders receiving the honour at a ceremony in Melbourne yesterday.
Clive Atkinson was one of 15 Aboriginal leaders inducted into the Victorian Aboriginal Honour Roll recently.
Photo by
Riverine Herald
Mr Atkinson said he was proud to be recognised for the skills he had used to celebrate and promote Aboriginal culture.
‘‘It feels like an honour,’’ he said.
‘‘But I have never been a person for accolades. I think everyone should just be equal. And I always thought that — no matter where I worked — whether it was in London or Canada.’’
The 75-year-old was Victoria’s first Indigenous graphic artist and one of his greatest achievements was designing the corporate branding for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission in the early 1990s.
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Every week, at least one woman in Australia is murdered – by her husband, her lover or a former partner.
It is an overwhelming, frightening statistic – and it is getting worse, not better.
Campaspe Shire has regional Victoria’s worst record of domestic violence and incident numbers here are also still going up.
Local men, women and students in Echuca-Moama came together for White Ribbon Day.
Photo by
Riverine Herald
Which is what brought hundreds of men, women and students together for Wednesday’s White Ribbon Day.
Organised by the shire, it helped turn the spotlight on the community as a whole about the issue of protecting women against violence.
