50 Years ago
March, 1974
Tenders called for car park
Tenders have been called this week for the construction of the Nish St. off-street car park.
Construction will involve the complete sealing of the car park area, its drainage and the replacement of the kerbing and channelling on the eastern side of Nish St.
Tenders close on March 8 and it is expected that work will be started immediately afterward if a successful tenderer is engaged.
UBCO workers stop to hear report
More than 250 metal workers at the United Bearing Corporation plant at Echuca held a two-hour stop-work meeting on Wednesday to hear a report on the latest negotiations for higher wages and longer annual leave.
The meeting between 10a.m. and noon, was held at the East Oval.
The meeting decided that its representatives of the Metal Workers’ Union reject an employers’ offer of $8 a week and to continue negotiations with their current log of claims.
However, yesterday Australia’s 400,000 metal workers were offered pay rises ranging from $11 to $12 and four weeks’ annual leave.
Fish move in
The Aquatic Reserve is expected to be open within two weeks as the stocking of fish and wildlife has been progressing well.
About a dozen fish and a large tortoise have already been placed into the enclosed section for the underwater viewing cell and about six Redfin have been caught for glass tanks in the old pump house display.
The City Engineer, Mr Les Robertson, said yesterday that despite the delay caused by disease of the animals and other factors, the wildlife display should be open within two weeks.
Sharp increase in golf subscriptions
An increase of approximately 40 per cent in subscription fees for the Echuca Golf Club’s 1974-75 season was adopted at the club’s annual meeting this week.
The subscriptions for members have been increased from $36 to $50 and those for associates from $24 to $32.
Increases were also made for all other membership categories.
The subscriptions for intermediate junior members (18 to 21 years) rise from $18 to $25, sub-junior members (12-18) from $9 to $12.50, country members $20 to $25, country associates $16 to $20, non-playing members $14 to $15, non-playing associates $7 to $8, summer and learner members $18 to $25, junior associates $6 to $8, and summer and learner associates $12 to $16.
25 Years ago
March, 1999
Team spirit ‘vital’
Echuca-Moama businesses will be the target of a new awareness campaign to highlight the vital economic impact of the region’s tourism industry.
It was “sad and disappointing” so many businesses in town did not understand the value the tourism dollar and the multiplier effect it created locally, Restaurant and Hospitality Association president Ross Veale said on Thursday.
“Many residents of Echuca-Moama and surrounding districts are employed directly in the industry,” he said in a passionate plea for common logic and understanding at a general meeting of Echuca-Moama District Tourism Association (EMDTA), of which he is also a board member.
Pamper your pooch today
Sharon Villiers is an animal person. And she is perfectly suited to her new job.
Sharon took over Shampooch at the start of January and loves working with animals.
Most of her customers have dogs, however Sharon is more than happy to work with anything that needs bathing, grooming, clipping, de-fleaing or worming.
Sharon can also clip your pet’s nails.
Sheridan sets up osteopath practice
Sheridan Butler is breaking new ground in the medical world.
Last year Sheridan finished a five-year degree in osteopathy at Victoria University, one of only three places the course is offered in Australia.
Osteopathy is a relatively new field in medicine but is slowly gaining more recognition.
It is a system of health care that uses “hands on” techniques such as deep tactile pressure, stretching and manipulation to treat the physical body, the joint, muscles and connective tissue.
Try YMCA sport before committing
The Echuca YMCA will host a series of “come and try” days and nights in the next week.
They are designed so anyone can give a sport a try without committing themselves to playing in a team.
Tonight sees the first of two “come and try” nights for badminton.
It starts at 7pm at the Moama Sporting Complex.
10 Years ago
March, 2014
Celtic music to enjoy
Music-lovers will enjoy a new format to the Celtic Festival this year when bands perform on a number of stages. The Echuca-Moama Celtic Festival is less than two weeks away and publicity officer Kirsty Read said the slight departure from last year’s set times would hold more appeal.
‘‘We’ve tried to change the atmosphere. We’ve got rotating bands on all stages so there’s music no matter what time of day you’re there,’’ she said. She said preparations for the festival were going well.
Logging ‘can save Mathoura’
Mathoura business owner and logger Chris Crump is pleading with the NSW Government to save his town.
He says the State Government has the power to return local loggers to the forest, which he said would revive the town’s struggling economy before it was too late.
Mr Crump’s plea followed more business closures in the small Cobb Hwy community, which has already lost its supermarket and bakery.
Pancake Day does not get any batter than this
Volunteers at Echuca’s Uniting Church will furiously be flipping and frying on Tuesday as part of Pancake Day. Echuca-Moama residents can do their bit for the cause by tucking into delicious sweet and savoury pancakes to help raise money for Uniting Care to tackle homelessness. Pancake Day coincides with the religious date of Shrove Tuesday, a traditional celebration before the start of Lent, the season of penance.
Swans sunk
Rochester Tigers ended Echuca South’s slender hopes with a commanding eight-wicket victory at Windridge Oval.
On the back of an unfavourable five-week break, the Tigers produced a dominant performance on the weekend, showcasing the same intimidating form which gifted the reigning premiers an undefeated 2013-14 season.
Losing the toss and bowling first on Saturday posed little threat to the Tigers’ favouritism as they went about restricting the Swans to 163-run total after 56 overs, a five-wicket haul to Adam Ward (5/19) setting the tone for the home side.