This blog provides information, stories, links and events relating to and promoting the history of the Wimmera district.
Any additional information, via Comments, is welcomed.
The film ‘The Farmer’s Cinematheque’ will have a special one-off screening at the Rupanyup Memorial Hall at 2pm on Sunday 9th October.
‘The Farmer’s Cinematheque’ tells a story that comes from Rupanyup, although it could equally be a story from many other country towns. For more details on the history of the film see this previous post.
There’s a poetic resonance to this event, as the late John Teasdale, creator of most of the archival celluloid interpreted within the film, served many years as the projectionist for the Memorial Hall, in between his farming and his filmmaking. (The Memorial Hall makes a few appearances within the film.)
For information on the film, including a 2 minute teaser, please follow the link.
Admission to the Rupanyup screening costs $5 and includes afternoon tea.
A DVD version of ‘The Farmer’s Cinematheque’ will be launched at the screening, and copies will be available to purchase.
As the rains come tumbling down, people's thoughts turn to the river. This piece is from the Dimboola Courier:
The first natural flow in the Wimmera River since 2012 flowed past Antwerp earlier this week and had progressed northwards to a point beyond the Tarranyurk bridge by Friday evening 12th August.
Wimmera Catchment Management Authority said the natural flow peaked at 468 megalitres a day at Lochiel.
Prior to this event the river had dried up to the point where it was just a series of stagnant waterholes linked by stretches of dry riverbed with only the weir pools at Dimboola and Jeparit holding any significant quantities of water in the lower reaches of the river.
The old Antwerp Weir in April 2016 (Dimboola Courier)
The weir, August 2016 (Dimboola Courier)
The only man made structure on the river between the Antwerp and Tarranyurk road bridges is the old Antwerp weir (pictured above) which was constructed of timber and stone in 1903 to create a more permanent body of water for the local community. The weir pool became the venue for the annual Antwerp rowing regattas in the following years.
It is unclear when it was no longer required and fell into disrepair, but a significant amount of the structure still remains.
Proposals were put forward in the early years of last century to construct a similar structure near Tarranyurk to provide a water supply for that area but this never built.
This series of photographs were taken in the vicinity of the Antwerp weir both this week and back in April and they highlight this structure in the dry and with the water flowing.
The weir in 1903 (SLV)
The historical photograph, taken in 1903, compares with the one below, taken recently from a similar location to show the changes over the last century. The most obvious being the regrowth of trees around the weir itself.
The Antwerp weir in August 2016 (Dimboola Courier)
The water arrived at Jeparit a day later, and will now flow into Lake Hindmarsh. The last inflow into the lake was as a result of the 2011 floods.
The Jeparit Weir, August 2016 (Dimboola Courier)
The last time that the lake itself flooded was in August 1956. At Jeparit, the Wimmera River rose and forced Lake Hindmarsh to burst its bank near Four Mile, when the inflow overwhelmed the ability of Outlet Creek to cope with the huge volume, and was further compounded by the wind and waves forcing the water towards the south. Hundreds of acres of wheat crops were affected, several roads were cut, two families were forced from their homes and 30 others were threatened.
The old Jeparit road bridge in 1956, from the north bank (L. Hounsel)
The historic photograph shows the water up to the corbels of the old road bridge over the Wimmera River.The photo below shows the struts and pilings visible below the corbels.
The old Jeparit road bridge in November 2007, from the south bank
Conducted against the backdrop of the Suez crisis and the Hungarian Revolution, the Melbourne Olympics known as 'The Friendly Games', commenced on 22nd November 1956. The Games were centred around the Melbourne Cricket Ground and in terms of gold medals, were one of the most successful ever for Australian athletes. Athletes such as Betty Cuthbert, Shirley Strickland, Murray Rose and Dawn Fraser dominated their events. Television was introduced in Australia in time to broadcast the events, and thus made sure their success became part of Australian sporting history. Melbourne secured the right to host the Games back in 1949 and organisers immediately set about a building campaign.
The Olympic rings still suspended above Alamein Road
A self-contained Olympic Games village of 788-840 solid brick, brick veneer and pre-fabricated concrete houses accommodated up to 6,000 athletes and officials during the Games. It was built on the site of a former swamp in West Heidelberg, by the Victorian Housing Commission on a 117 acre (30 hectare) site 7½ miles (14km) from the main Olympic Stadium (the MCG).
Some of the Games housing in Southern Rd
The houses were a mix of single, semi-detached dwellings, and a number of row hoses. Each house had (what was then) a modern bathroom with shower, bath and basin, with hot and cold water from gas bath-heaters.
The Olympic shopping centre today
Facilities provided for the Games include 3 sports grounds, shopping centre, bank, post office, medical & dental centre, police, station, barber shop, and clothes mending & shoe repair centre. The community hall (now a leisure centre) was the venue for films, concerts, dance and other events for the athletes. Communication home for the athletes was largely via telegrams which were delivered by local boy scouts.
The Games Village Green with its Olympic bollards
There were dining rooms and kitchens for the different national groups in separate temporary buildings. It was said that the many cooks, chefs & bakers (like Burnetti's) brought in for the Games were the birth of Melbourne's food culture. The Games Village was planned, so that it become available for conversion to permanent housing after the Games. For years after the Games finished, the Housing Commission estate remained as public housing. The precinct is now in the City of Banyule and is on their Heritage Register.
Here is something a bit different – ‘Celebrities and their
family histories’
A member of the research team for the popular SBS TV
program, Who Do You Think You Are?, author and historian Linda Emery, will share
her stories of researching the family histories of Australian celebrities who
have featured on the show. Can you afford to miss this episode?
This free event will be held at:
The High Ground,(Level 5) Geelong Library and Heritage
Centre, 51 Little Malop Street in Geelong, on Tuesday 23 August 2016 - 6:00pm to 7:00pm Bookings are essential.
On the 21st August 1914, George Martindale along with many of his peers enlisted for the war in the service of Australia. Part of the 5th Battalion, he served for over 3 years and witnessed some of the biggest and most catastrophic battles of World War 1.
From the very beginning, when George was sent to Egypt to undertake training with some of the first of the enlisted men, he wrote home. He would document his daily life in the war - the events, his feelings and opinions, and send these messages and photographs back to his family. His military experience took him through some of the most notorious battles of the war; He was sent to Gallipoli landing at Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915, and fought in the Battle of Lone Pine - eventually being evacuated when the troops were pulled out. He was then sent to France where he was a part of the infamous Battle of Fromelles, where in one night more than 5,000 Australian casualties virtually wiped out his Division (he was one of 90 survivors from a thousand-strong regiment). He went on to Bullecourt, also a notorious battleground on the Western Front, where he was seriously injured - putting an end to his army career.
George sailed to Egypt on the HMAT Orveito (SLV)
George was a prolific letter writer, and described these actions for members of his family in the letters he sent home, forming a collection of his writings that is the basis of this book. His letters tell his story beginning with the excitement of signing up and sailing across the world to fight the enemy, to world weary having seen so much death and destruction. His letters tell the revealing real-life story of Gallipoli, Fromelles and Bullecourt. Through George Martindale's letters we see the First World War through his eyes, and experience the war as he did. And as an added bonus, this book is not just a narrative of the war, but George also wrote about the local gossip, Shire politics, the Wimmera's weather, and the local men he was serving with.
George Martindale was born on the 2nd April 1887 in Dimboola, he was the 2nd oldest of 5 siblings. He had brown hair and blue eyes. George's father Robert was a carpenter, plumber, general tradesman and undertaker who owned a prosperous business in the town. George learnt his trade of carpenter from his father. When war broke out he enlisted on 21st August 1914, because he signed up in Melbourne he ended up in the 5th Battalion whereas most of his friends from Dimboola joined the 8th Battalion.
A flake of a shell fired by the battleship the 'Queen Elizabeth', found near Sedd-el-Bahr, Chanak, Gallipoli Peninsula. Private George Martindale is with the rifle. The photo was taken by war correspondent C.E.W. Bean in May 1915. In a letter to his mother George wrote: "Mr Bean took a snapshot of me standing near a fragment of 15" shell - it only weighed about a couple of hundredweight. There were 3 of us there. You'll know me - in the centre - laden like a pack mule of infantryman - an awful wreck I look."
After serving for approximately 3 years he was very seriously wounded at Bullecourt on the 9th May 1917, losing his right eye and a portion of his skull and brain. He returned to Australia as permanently unfit for service, he continued to suffer from fits and seizures as a result of his head wound, one of these seizures proved fatal and he died on the 2nd of April 1922 (his birthday).
George Martindale’s war experiences reflect a litany of our nation’s hallowed trials. He may well have become one of the great writers of twentieth century Australia had his life not ended prematurely as a result of the injuries he sustained on the Western Front.
George’s letters were a gift to his family, but more so to posterity. They retain the scent of the trenches, and the stains of no man’s land. In them he honoured his mates, cherished his heritage and condemned falsities. His letters allow us to look back more than 100 years, and for his words to reach out to future generations.
There is even ashort YouTube promo to 'Dodging the devil'
I was looking for something totally different, when I came across the "Victorian Railways tourist's guide : containing accurate and full particulars of the watering places, scenery, shooting, fishing, sporting, hotel accommodation, etc. in Victoria ; also a new and complete railway map showing all the present and projected lines" edited by Joseph Pickersgill, published by Sands & McDougal in 1885, and available online via Trove at http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-268214772 It describes the towns and cities in Victoria at the time, and really was not that complementary about this area, especially as it was a 'tourist guide'.
ARMSTRONGS,
Which is not famous for anything in particular, and about six miles further on is
GREAT WESTERN.
This important place lies in undulating country on the Concongella Creek, a tributary of the Wimmera River, and to the north of the Black Range, and is the centre of a magnificent wine-producing district. Here, amongst other smaller ones, is the justly celebrated Great Western vineyard (Best's), famous for its extensive cellarage, and above all for the excellence of the wines of all kinds produced there, which have taken prizes at most of the World's great Exhibitions. A visit to this place will amply repay the tourist's time if only to
"Sit 'neath the shade of the spreading vine,
And drain a deep draught of Great Western wine,"
From Great Western to
STAWELL,
Also known familiarly as Pleasant Creek and the Reefs, is about 8 miles, being 19 miles from Ararat, 76 miles from Ballaraat, and 176 miles from Melbourne. Stawell is a large and somewhat straggling place, the streets in the old part of the town in particular being narrow and tortuous. In fact, the top end of Main Street (the Collins Street of Stawell) is as crooked as a dog's hind leg.
One wonders whether the author got a sample of some Best's sparkling, as he/she is a bit scathing of everywhere else, and it continues -
GLENORCHY,
Eight miles north-west of Stawell, and on the line of railway, is a pastoral township of the smaller type. The native name is Djarrah, which means a job of work. It is only noticeable as being the starting-place for
BALMORAL,
A place of about equal calibre. The only reason for mentioning these out-of-the-way townships is that the road between them passes through Rose's Gap, a gloomy, precipitous gorge in the Grampians, well deserving a visit, whose native name, Barregowa - meaning Middle of the Mountain - sufficiently indicates its character. Quitting Glenorchy, the train passes the little townships of LUBECK and MURTOA, and proceeds to the comparatively large town of
HORSHAM,
The most important and the liveliest place in this part of the country. It is the centre of a flat agricultural and pastoral district, some of the finest grazing land in the country being in the neighborhood. The botanical gardens, as in the cases of Koroit and Stawell, were laid out by Mr R.P. Whitworth under the supervision of Mr W.R. Guilfoyle. Horsham has two newspapers, the 'Times' and the 'Wimmera Star'. The town possesses no special attraction, except to those who wish to see pastoral country, and it is questionable whether it is worth coming so far to see so little. It may be remarked that it was in this part of the colony that the late Marcus Clarke gained his colonial experience. The pastoral centres of Dimboola and Tarraginnie lie still further afield, but whether to visit them or not is purely a matter of choice.
Steam train passing through farm land c1890-1900 (SLV)
So what were the chances of getting a special excursion train to visit the Wimmera in the 1880s, based on this guide?
For information on the film, including a 2 minute teaser, please follow the link. 
