50 years ago January 1975
Captain Eddie Hazelman was back at work in his High St bicycle shop this week, still raving about his 10-day paddlesteamer trip along 824 kilometres (521 miles) of the Murray River.
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Eddie, 40, and one of the youngest captains on the river, took the Enterprise from Swan Hill to Renmark, SA, between December 27 and January 5.
He was helped by a crew of 24 — an engineer, fireman and a passenger list which included 10 children — 50 tons of wood and a 45 metre long (150 feet) river chart and more than 100 years old.
The Enterprise had been sitting at Swan Hill Folk Museum since it was out-paced by Etona in the Great (steam paddle) Race last October.
The boat travelled about 103km (70 miles) each day at an average speed of 12km/h.
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Officers at Echuca roadblock intercepted more fruit fly over Christmas-New Year than for the same period last year.
More than 38,000 vehicles crossed the Murray River between Echuca and Moama over Christmas-New Year. This is 4000 more than for the previous year.
Senior orchard inspector, Mr Ron Hicks, said 778 vehicles coming into Victoria had been carrying fruit — nine less than for last year’s holidays.
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Three of 23 university students carrying out a survey on the results of the recent campaign to eradicate mosquito larvae in the Murray Valley are working in Echuca Health Group’s district.
The students, Chris Belcher, Brett Mitchell and Scott Smith, have so far carried out investigations in the Barmah Forest, at Tatura and in a swamp in Victoria Park and the Echuca saleyards and cemetery.
They have also travelled to the five mile reserve past Moama and collected many species of mosquitoes.
Included in the collection were several Culex annulirostris, a species which is known to be able to transmit Australian arbo encephalitis to humans.
25 years ago January 2000
Barmah residents are calling for better rubbish disposal facilities in the town’s main streets after it has been left looking like a rubbish dump.
But, neither Moira Shire Council or Parks Victoria will take responsibility for doing something about the increase in rubbish volumes generated by visitors to the town.
With no rubbish bins in the Barmah Forest around the Barmah area, campers have been bringing their bag loads of rubbish into the town to dispose of them.
But Barmah’s three small rubbish bins and two 40 litre bins can not cope with the volume of rubbish being deposited during peak holiday times.
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Tongala played host to the seven state winners of the Lions Youth of the Year competition.
The teenagers, Leisa Glass from Tongala (Victorian winner), Peter Clark from South Australia, Andrew Charlier from NWS, Carol Bellini from Western Australia, Leigh Oswin from Tasmania, Kate Lemmon from Queensland and Chris Dobunaba from Papua New Guinea, visited Tongala for four days.
The trip to the local area was part of a 35-day tour for the group, who are visiting the home towns of all the winners.
Leisa said the group had enjoyed their time together and were getting along really well.
‘’It’s been a great experience,’’ she said. ‘’We have come together from different backgrounds and experiences.’’
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Leitchville residents will soon have somewhere to lay wreaths in remembrance of those who fought in wars.
Leitchville is to get its own war memorial before Anzac Day, thanks to a $2000 Federal Government grant.
The erection of the wall of remembrance will mean that people attending Anzac Day, Remembrance Day and other similar services in the town will have somewhere to place wreaths.
The 1.8m long by 1.2m high brick wall will be built in Railway Ave on land made available by the Gannawarra Shire.
10 years ago January 2004
Murray Shire’s dream of reopening a rail line to Moulamein is a serious step closer to coming true.
General manager Margot Stork and mayor Tom Weyrich met with executives from VicTrack and the Victorian Department of Planning and Infrastructure this week.
The government bodies gave in-principle support to having the rail line reopened from the Victorian border to Moulamein.
The shires will now have to convince two of the region’s biggest freight users, SunRice and GrainCorp, to come to the party and help pay for it.
Ms Stork said VicTrack and the department believed the project ticked a lot of boxes.
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Echuca’s Gwenda and Mick Johnstone know the ups and downs of racing better than most.
Having been in the game for more than 20 years, the pair recognise the importance of striking while the iron is hot.
And it has never run as hot as this season.
With 15 winners in four months, at a strike rate north of 26 per cent, everything they are touching is turning to gold.
The stable’s hot form is comfort for Mick, who has spent the best part of 2014 on the sidelines with a serious back injury.
With almost 3500 race rides under his belt, Johnstone broke his T-12, L-1 and L-2 vertebrae in his back in January.
After returning to the saddle, Johnstone again injured his back in October, bursting his L-1 vertebrae.
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Echuca-Moama’s major charities are being overwhelmed — with rubbish.
People too lazy or too cheap to use the tip are turning donation bins into an easy out for dumping household rubbish.
Donations, not rubbish, is the plea from charity op shops these holidays.
Householders are asked to consider if they would give a friend any items they dropped off.
And to donate directly to the op shop during operating hours and to put rubbish and damaged items where they belong — in rubbish bins.
Nothing is supposed to be in the front yard of Moama Epicentre Op Shop.
But manager Denise Barton said they were so inundated with stuff they could not bring it inside.
‘‘I have to cover it up until we can sort it, good and bad,’’ she said.
‘‘People still dump anything, even the odd empty Coke can in the bin.’’
RIV Herald