One hundred years ago today – 3 January, 1914

Shire-wide news extracts from the Moruya Examiner of this time in 1914, provided by the Moruya & District Historical Society:

MUSIC AND WATER – Mr. Weatherby is, without doubt, an enterprising and up-to-date citizen. Not only has he put a fleet of light pleasure boats and oil launches on the river but has now installed a piano in one of the latter, which will, no doubt, be greatly appreciated by music moonlight parties. 3/1/1914

MR. W.H. TWYFORD and party last week cleaned up a crushing from their Central Tilba mine receiving the handsome return of 73 ozs. smelted gold from a crushing of less than 30 tons. 3/1/1914

BODALLA PICNIC RACES – The annual meeting of the Bodalla Picnic Race Club, registered under the rules of Associated Race Clubs, was held on Boxing Day on the picturesque course, west of the village near the banks of the Tuross Rover. The day was an ideal one for picnicking, and the many hundreds of well-dressed and happy visitors from centres far and near grouped under the shady trees on a hillock overlooking the course presented as gay and pretty a picture as one could well wish to see. Mr. P. Lennard, licensee of the Bodalla Arms, had a booth on the ground in which three hands were kept going at racing pace to meet the demands of their numerous thirsty patrons. An eating booth was on the ground, but the supply of cooked vegetables – an indispensible auxiliary to corn beef and ham – was not equal to the demand, and late hungry patrons had to satisfy themselves with bread as a substitute and an extra supply of tea to wash it down. A fruit and cake stall was also in evidence, with a phonograph to attract special attention, and the vendor of these picnic luxuries must have done an immense trade, judging by the number of empty cases in evidence long before the crowd dispersed … 3/1/1914

MR. GEORGE TURNER, our enthusiastic dairyman, is erecting an ideal residence on his old farm at Deua River. We hear that George purposes giving us a spree when the building is finished. 3/1/1914

A COW ON AN AEROPLANE – Had any one been up early enough on the morning after the late State election polling day in Moruya he or she must have witnessed the somewhat extraordinary spectacle of a cow on an aeroplane. It’s not possible to conceive how otherwise a cow could have then got into the local Court House grounds, and eaten up (and leaving other unmistakeable evidence of its presence) all the growing maize, sunflower and other plants that our C.P.S. has been so patiently cultivating at so much trouble and expense – for charity, especially at this Xmas season, forbids the supposition that anybody could be so despicably mean as to open the front gate or two back gates and let a cow in. It’s not possible for a cow on all four legs to get in otherwise – not possible for such to get up the steps and reach over the high gate and undo the latch on the inside. Indeed one must abandon the very suspicion that there exists a so-called man in our community who would deliberately open the gate for a cow to walk in. Why, if there were such a miscreant he’d be mean enough to steal a blind dog’s dinner, therefore one is driven to the only possible alternative of supposing that a cow borrowed an aeroplane from perhaps the French Government, and got in by its aid, and got out again the same way…. 3/1/1914

Fifteen 100 Years Ago booklets containing articles for the years 1899 to 1913 are available ($5 ea) from the society’s rooms. Copies of local newspapers from the 1860s to date can be viewed at the society’s Family History Research Centre (Ph 4474 3224) situated at the rear of the Pioneer Museum in Campbell St. Moruya (mdhs.org.au).