THE TRARALGON & DISTRICT HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC |
DOCUMENTED EXTRACTS FROM THE TRARALGON
'JOURNAL' 1948 -1951
Taken by John W. Davidson, in 1968
January 1948 |
| Fred Stuart was elected R.S.L. President and Alf Rimington, Secretary; Frank McDonald, Assistant Secretary; Committee was J. Hopkins, D. Steele, J. Waugh, C. Grant, S. Berwick, F. Riggall, R. Lane, A. Pallott and J. Davidson. |
| Two tennis courts were under construction at Central Park (at the corner of Kay and Mabel Streets) at a cost of £500; another two were laid down later in the year. |
February 1948 |
| Albert Jerkins disposed of his delicatessen business (south of the Crown Hotel) to Mr. Ernie Travis, after 26 years. |
March 1948 |
| Greater Traralgon League sought information through Mr. Hyland about a Crematorium for Traralgon. |
| Messrs. J.B. Robinson and E.V. Klemke were local R.S.L. delegates to New Zealand on Anzac Day. |
| Traralgon Bus Lines took over Morwell Bus Services from Councillor Jim Catterick who retired. |
| Mr. Baden (Dossie) Johnson (late fruiterer in Franklin Street and great ex-Traralgon footballer) died at Murrumbeena, 11th March, aged 47. His wife was a Miss Humphrey of Glengarry. |
| April |
| May |
| June 1948 |
| Rev. G.L. Richardson, BA BD, became Presbyterian Minister. |
| Reported that Messrs. Carter and Hunt conducted a Men's Wear store in Franklin Street. Arthur Faulkner was a traveller for them and drove the first Maxwell car, touring the hills south of Traralgon for them. |
| July 1948 |
| Manager of Maryvale A.P.M. Jock Andrews, transferred from Traralgon. |
| Old Fire Brigade tower, erected in Princes Street in 1891, was dismantled and erected at Heyfield. The bell went to Broadford. |
| Traralgon Bus Lines became a company with head office at Frankston, with 140,000 subscribers at 10/- (ten shillings); Eric Marcus Hall was Director, Melville Charles Tomasetti, Bus Proprietor; John Duncan, Secretary; Geoffrey Charles Tomasetti , Clerk, and Bill Adams to continue as Manager. |
| August 1948 |
| R.S.L. purchased house of late Mr. Clarence Clarke and 2 blocks in Grey Street after Treasury approval of the sale, for £1,500. Additional Property Committeemen were named - Dave MacCubbin, K. Blythman, and J. Kraemer, to prepare for certain alterations to be made. |
| Thomas Anderson Cook, born Brunswick 1883, died at Yarram, aged 64. He came to live in Balook in 1889 and was the Yarram to Traralgon "Mailman of the Hills" from 1912 for 25 years. |
January 1949 |
| .Keith Chenhall and Jack Mole were taken to Warragul hospital after a car accident near Longwarry on their way to Portsea; passengers Graham Lewis and Ken Cameron were unhurt. |
| First sod was turned for new reservoir on Black's property on Hazelwood Road. |
| 300 water meters installed in the town area. |
| March 1949 |
| Traralgon Apex Club, the 69th in Australia and 3rd in Gippsland, received its Charter on 12th March. |
| Mr. Norman Willie McInnis, aged 65, former resident of Loy Yang, died at Tinamba. Some years ago his son, Neil, landed his private plane on Mt. Wellington to pick up an injured stockman, Robert Goldie, of Boisdale. |
| Miss Rene Majendi died, at Camberwell, late of Loch Park, and Toongabbie, daughter of late John Majendie, who was a cousin of Governor LatTrobe and pioneer of Toongabbie. A stained glass window was erected by the sisters "In memory of their Parents" at St. James' Church. Following the death of Helen Majendi, a children's ward in the new Traralgon Hospital was dedicated to her memory. |
| It was recorded that the late Duncan Campbell, of the "Travellers' Rest" Hotel (Ryan's) had his own smithy and could have been the first to use coal in Gippsland when he used coal from a seam in Rintoul's Creek. Charles Phillips took over the smithy and sol out to Alex Lyons in 1873 who shifted to Franklin Street on the present S.E.C. site. |
April 1949 |
| G.J. Coles sold by auction, stock taken over from H.D. Rogers, 58 Hotham Street, prior to their new shop there on 11th. |
| Headmaster, Douglas Lindsay, of H.E.S. retired after nearly 50 years of teaching. |
| Tiled Church of England porch floor dedicated in memory of Mr. Alf Cross. |
| Skeleton of Aboriginal found by Traralgon man rabbiting in the Cowwarr district. |
| Inness Cameron, born at Heyfield, wrote "Home Fires Burning" grand-daughter of George Gibson, first person to build a weatherboard home at Flooding Creek (Sale). |
| George Guntzler sold his farm on Traralgon Creek where his family began in 1889. |
July 1949 |
| One of our early doctors, Dr. Hagen, died at Hampton on 29th July. |
August 1949 |
| Rocla Ltd., commenced building a factory in early August. |
| Mr. W.H. Taylor became new Headmaster at T.H.E.S. |
September 1949 |
| On 6th September Cobbledick's received 2 crates direct from England containing Austin Motor Cars. (I was the 13th to receive my "A70" in January - J.W.D.) |
| A check of the roll book showed that 583 scouts had been invested since they began in 1924, with only 7 Kings Scouts, Alan Argent, Joe Lay, Rob Brown, Jim MacCubbin, Don Hunter, Ian Tucker, and Bob Lindsay. |
| Cubs were begun by Major Bruce but lapsed for some years when he left for England. Formed again in 1931 with Mrs. Robert Farmer, Cub Mistress, and Helen Faulkner, Assistant, later Elaine Waldron. Lucy Hunter took over from Mrs. Farmer with Phillipa Glascock as Assistant |
October 1949 |
| Kenneth J. Hastings, of Derham's Hill, a pulp cutter, was killed at Traralgon South by a falling tree. |
November 1949 |
| Kindergarten school opened in St. Andrew's school hall on 29th November. |
| 3 Airmen killed and 4 injured, from Sale, returning from Melbourne, at Sheepwash Creek bridge, Loy Yang. |
| After 9 years, teacher Harry Moller was promoted to Head Teacher at Rosanna; Miss Caughie and Miss Yvonne Mitchell also left, replaced by Misses Joan Macreadie, Barbara Gay and Maureen Stride. |
December 1949 |
| A large crowd saw Franklin Street blocked off on 31st December night with R.S.L. "first footing" the celebrations. |
| William Tomasetti, of Drouin, relative of Melville, perished in snow storm while hiking in Tasmania. |
January 1950 |
| On Monday, 2nd January, a sports meeting was held at the Showgrounds with wood chopping, cycling events, etc. During the afternoon, after a street parade, items were rendered by the Traralgon Exservicemen's Band, the Coburg Ladies' Pipe Band and the Morwell Caledonian Pipe Band who were making their initial appearance in their new uniforms, and they certainly looked well. |
| Dr. Trevor McLean, discharged from the Navy, commenced practice in Traralgon on the 14th. |
| William Brown, son of Sergeant Constable, began teaching at Traralgon. |
February 1950 |
| D & W MacCubbin's business in Hotham Street bought by Latrobe Valley Development Company. |
March 1950 |
| Our members, Mary Edith Maskrey, of Glengarry, and Reg. John Lang, were married at St. James. |
April 1950 |
| Mr. Fred Drane, and wife Margaret, of Moore Street, celebrated 60th wedding anniversary. Next to Mrs. Wallace, Fred was second oldest resident and both went to school here 75 years ago. |
May 1950 |
| Douglas Joseph Stoddart married Mary Josephine Keily, at Morwell. |
| 58 ton drier arrived at Maryvale by road from Melbourne on trailer - a combined weight of 80 tons. |
July 1950 |
| Hinkley Stores Pty. Ltd. took over Cuddigan Stores in Hotham Street, on 3rd July. |
| Colin McColl, son of Peter and Johanna, born at Traralgon 7th December, 1869, died at Sale, aged 81. |
| "Traralgon Club" formed and charter given for social occasions; Chairman, H. Saunders; Treasurer C Comber; Secretary E. Hanning. |
| Messrs. A.V. Hall and A.C. Winchester retired from Traralgon Journal partnership of 5 ½ years, leaving W.A. Thompson on his own to carry on after 26 years. |
September 1950 |
| On Friday 1st, at 11.00 a.m. Hinkley Stores were burnt out. Building owned by W.M. Bruce and Estates of late P.P. Sergeant and H. Frost Samuels. |
| Governor Sir Dallas Brooks and Lady Brooks visited Traralgon on 6th, with official welcome in front of Shire Hall in Hotham Street. They proceeded to the new hospital site and laid the Foundation Stone. Later they were present at the Fallen Soldier's Memorial, where the Governor placed a wreath. |
| Derham's Hill Hall officially opened with a Dance to follow. |
| Arts and Craft Exhibition held in Mechanic's Hall which was packed with antiques and hand made articles as well as a special display of World War 1 souvenirs. |
October 1950 |
| Traralgon Shire Ambulance, driven by Charlie Hill, from A.P.M., arrived and housed in the Fire Station. |
November 1950 |
| South African granite cut tablet, with 16 names inscribed in memory of our soldiers who had attended the State School and had died in the 1939-45 War, also an all-weather clock was unveiled by Major-General Ramsay. |
| Country Roads Board purchased two blocks for headquarters and workshops, also 3 blocks for staff residents. (None of these blocks were ever used - JWD) |
December 1950 |
| The new "Traralgon Club" opened in Brian Breen's home in Breed Street. |
| "Coldstream", home of Mr. C. White was burnt to the ground. It was once lived in by Mary Grant Bruce (author) and Major Bruce, later by Mrs. Fithie, senior. |
| Franklin Street was again closed on New Year's Eve for R.S.L. "First Footing Frolic" and both Morwell Caledonian, and Coburg Ladies Pipe Bands entertained. |
January 1951 |
| Campbell's house in Collins Street burnt to the ground. |
March 1951 |
| Journal had a full page supplement for application-enrolment form for Latrobe Valley Hospital and Health Services Benefit Fund, £3.0.0 annual fee and 5/- for ambulance. |
| Apex Club removed the old 2 storey grandstand at the Showgrounds, for a tender of £150. |
| Harriet Hilda Lindsay, wife of late John Lindsay, died in March, aged 97. She came from Wales as a baby with her parents, the Morrises, to settle first at Beechworth and in about 1880 travelled to Gippsland by horse and dray and bullock wagon; they selected land at Traralgon West opposite the school. When she married, she lived for 50 years on the property later bought by the A.P.M. at Maryvale. It was a native camping ground, and even in the 1880's there were still a few there. |
| Margaret Cowell married Ron Hore and St. James'. |
| Recorded that "Central Park" now "Osborne Park" was formerly owned by late J.E. Thomson of Sale, who was the Traralgon Clerk of Courts for many years, and sold the land to the Council. |
May 1951 |
| Charles Ford. Junior, was admitted to the Victorian Bar as a barrister and solicitor, proposed by his fiancée, Norma O'Connor. |
| Procession to Showgrounds of many floats and Jubilee Sports with crowd of 3,000 and a gate of £201. |
June 1951 |
| Applications called for Soldier Settlement at "Park Estate" for 6 dairy farms, purchased by the Government from Mrs. Whittaker and her 2 daughters. |
| Old bacon factory at eastern end of Hotham Street, dismantled and sale of timber. |
July 1951 |
| Mr. & Mrs. Farren Webb were present at a ceremony in England at Litlington (Sussex) at a LaTrobe Commemoration, where he lies buried. They also visited Miss Tiesdale, of Australia House, - her father was formerly manager of the Traralgon National Bank. |
| Light fall of snow in Franklin Street on 19th. |
| Soccer became very popular in the Valley with Maryvale the prime mover of Gippsland League. |
August 1951 |
| Miss Mary Hoare who built the (Ryan's) Traralgon Hotel, died in Sydney aged 86. |
| A story recorded the early history of Callignee South when the first settlers were the Tanner family in 1875, where local Post Office stands. Disastrous bushfires destroyed the school in 1898. Bullock teams that year were carting timber to Traralgon sawmills, along the old road past Membrey's Hill and site of present school and the farm of late Mr. and Mrs. Dawson of Callignee North. Mr. Fick's Hotel stood on Membrey's Hill - only the cellar remains. |
| Mr. George Stubbs and Charlie McKenzie shared 1st prize in Tatts. of £10,000 |
September 1951 |
| A.P.M. subdivision west of Stockdale Road and streets named after early citizens; Walter West (Court), Dave Gilmour, Mrs. R. Wallace, Richard Canfield, Geo. Pentland, Robert and Eric Farmer, Peter Johnson and Jim Holden. |
November 1951 |
| 29 buses took A.P.M. employees to Sale for picnic on Jubilee Day, Tuesday 13th. |
| Valma Ellen Parker married Noel William Plant at the Methodist Church on the 10th. |
December 1951 |
| Maryvale Picnic for Christmas held at Glengarry; all employees contributed one day's pay and A.P.M. contributed £250 towards the formation previously, of the "Maryvale Works Picnic & Sports Club". |
| Great Eastern Brickworks opened. |
| Traralgon held its 63rd show. |
| Christmas celebration were dampened by huge shortage of bottled beer. Patrons only of the Richmond pub (Royal Exchange) required a punched ticket to obtain liquor...(All Richmond Beer bottles in those days were packed in straw in brown paper bags. JWD) ... from the publican, Ron Masters, of Olympic diving fame. |