50 years ago August 1974
After numerous delays totalling eight months, the restructuring work on the Echuca wharf was completed on Wednesday afternoon when the last spike was driven into the decking by Ports and Harbors Supervisor, Mr Geoff Walters.
Work on the wharf began in April 1973 when the Minister for Tourism, Mr Murray Byrne, drove the first of the new piles to officially mark the opening of the Port of Echuca Restoration Scheme.
It was originally estimated that the work would cost in the vicinity of $74,000 and would be completed in December 1973, but despite an eight-month delay in completion, the total cost was only about $79,000.
The work was supposed to be finished last December but the high river of October 1973 delayed the work until February, the high river of May then delayed it to the present.
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Echuca Golf Club members on Wednesday night voted to re-locate the club’s amenities at Moama and empowered the committee to proceed with necessary arrangements for the re-location.
About 130 people, including 100 voting members, attended the meeting called to consider the proposed re-location, and only five voted against the move.
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Murray Shire Council held over until its next meeting recommendations from the health surveyor, Mr Barry McMillan, that notice be served on several householders in Mathoura and Moama, requiring them to tidy up their properties.
Mr McMillan’s report indicated that the householders concerned had allowed unsightly conditions to accumulate with the storage of disused motor vehicles, old machinery and second-hand materials on their properties.
Cr Arthur Murphy said he knows personally that some of the householders named in the report were using old vehicles for spare parts on current jobs of repair, and also that in some cases the old vehicles were out of sight of the roads.
25 years ago August 1999
A new business/industrial estate aimed at enticing industry into the Murray Shire region will be developed in Moama.
The development, of between $2 million and $3 million, will offer 51 allotments on 32 hectares, including several with highway frontage.
Murray Shire Council general manager Greg Murdoch said a feasibility study was carried out on the new estate in 1996 before it was included in the shire’s long-term plan.
‘’The current industrial estate in Moama has a limited life in that there is no room to grow.
‘’The new business/industrial estate caters for both growth in the area and our future confidence.’’
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Kids at Echuca South Primary School were treated to a fun-filled, action-packed performance by professional clowns Dig and Dug.
Dig and Dug’s company, Circus Maximus, has been touring schools throughout Australia and New Zealand for the past 14 years.
The two-person performing troupe include duo juggling, unicycling, magic, trick cycling, music, comedy, slapstick and audience participation in their 60-minute shows.
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Seven students took part in a Microsoft Certified Engineers training program at Terry Barton Computers.
The six-month program involves two week-long sessions of training, in which a Microsoft Certified Tutor prepares students for their computer exams in Melbourne.
The program has eight modules and includes software, set-up, performance, security and computer networking.
According to Mr Barton, there is a shortage of skilled, technical computer engineers in the area and the detailed training program was trying to address this situation.
10 years ago August 2014
It is the ‘cool’ new craze sweeping the world, and next week it will make a splash in Echuca-Moama.
Murray Human Services’ Phillip Evans has called on groups, businesses and individuals in the region to ‘buy a bucket’ for an ice bucket challenge.
The challenge, to have a bucket of ice water poured over your head, is a viral sensation, which aims to raise money and awareness for motor neurone disease.
Mr Evans said he was inspired to get involved with the charitable cause after watching former Essendon footballer Neale Daniher talk about his battle with the disease on television.
The interview struck a chord with Mr Evans, who has watched his own father battle the debilitating disease, for which there is no known cure, for the past five years.
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Paul Weller has fewer than 100 days left in his parliamentary career.
The Member for Rodney is not facing an overwhelming opponent.
Instead, his seat is disappearing in an electoral redistribution.
But Mr Weller would like to think he has done his fair share for the people in and around Echuca.
He said his high water mark was seeing the $40 million delivered towards the Echuca hospital.
It seems a strange way to end a career — not voted out, not even retiring, just disappearing from the ballot papers.
‘‘I hope people think I’ve been a strong advocate on many issues,’’ Mr Weller said.
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Campaspe Shire has handed planning control of Echuca-Moama’s second Murray River crossing to the Victorian Government.
Councillors could have taken on responsibility, appointed VicRoads or handed it to the Victorian Planning Minister.
Mayor Ian Maddison said allowing Planning Minister Matthew Guy to take the running in planning was the best option.
‘‘There are a number of benefits in supporting the minister's appointment as the planning authority, including consistency, accelerating the approval process and maintaining patency,’’ Cr Maddison said.