50 years ago, November 1974
At the monthly meeting of the Rochester Local Association of Guides and Brownies, members were shocked to learn from their district commissioner, Mrs Christie, that the two Rochester Brownie packs faced closure at the beginning of 1975.
Mrs W. Ault, the LA president, urged all members to try to fill the vacancies of leaders or helpers from their own ranks or to seek out members of the community who would be willing to assist in their worthwhile work.
***
For at least one family, the May floods have never ended. A solitary patch of land on which their house is standing is the only land they have out of water.
The rest is part of over 160,000 acres still under water from floods six months ago.
George and May Hall are living on an island in the Corop area.
Mrs Hall has only been out of the house twice in the past six months, and Mr Hill has to row a boat half a mile to find dry land.
Both are over 70.
The area they live in has been described as the second worst flooded area in Victoria ... second only to Kerang.
25 years ago, November 1999
Unusual pets will be vying for prizes at the Salvation Army’s annual fair.
Already Buddy-Jack Causer is grooming his three-legged, blue-tongued lizard for the inaugural pet show and Rhonda Greenway’s dachshund Monty is a sure contender if there’s a prize for the most curious pet.
Army captain Caroline Wright said the fair had been an annual event for around 12 years and each year the group endeavoured to introduce something different — this year it’s the Unusual Pet competition.
***
Murray electorate voters gave a resounding ‘’no’’ vote at the republic referendum on Saturday.
Murray was the second top no vote in the state, with 70.23 per cent of voters opting to retain the monarch as the head of the nation.
Over 73 per cent of Murray voters also opted to vote no to the Constitution preamble.
Melbourne people were more inclined towards a republic, with Victoria the only state to gain a majority vote, with 50.10 per cent voting yes.
10 years ago, November 2014
Eight bold students from St Joseph’s Primary School parted with their beloved locks in a group effort to help raise money for the Leukaemia Foundation.
But before any curls hit the floor, principal Peter Teggelove explained to the excited audience the importance of raising awareness and money for cancer research, as the disease had a profound impact on all Australians.
The seven boys sat anxiously in front of the crowd while an eighth seat remained empty.
Mr Teggelove then announced he would select a student at random to have their head shaved.
Year 4 student Matthew Harington was the unlucky named pulled from the hat, much to the relief — and amusement — of his peers.
***
Greens Lake will be maintained as a safe recreational asset for the community, while still performing its role as an off-stream storage facility, according to Goulburn-Murray Water’s land and on-water management plan, which was released last week.
Rochester’s G-MW customer service manager Paul Cox said the plan provided a framework for public access management and recreational use of the storage, which forms part of G-MW’s irrigation network.
‘‘It has identified important social, economic and environmental issues and developed a series of actions to address these issues during the next five years,’’ Mr Cox said.
‘‘Our aim is to protect the long-term quality of the water resource for local and downstream users.’’