What El Niño?
Who said we are in an El Niño weather pattern?
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Although it is an official Bureau of Meteorology forecast, it would be hard to convince anyone in Kyabram and district — and a lot of other places, for that matter — it is a fact after recent rain events.
A Christmas Eve deluge and an early morning Boxing Day downpour dumped nearly 80mm of rain at the Kyabram weather station.
Some district areas had a lot more and some less, but the tropical-like rain certainly wasn’t appreciated for its timing.
From what was well below average December rainfall up to Christmas Eve, Kyabram’s December total jumped to 79mm, which is considerably more than the long-term December average of 33mm and is the seventh wettest December on record.
The wettest December belongs to 1930 when 158mm drenched the district, followed by 2017 when 111mm was recorded.
They are the only two years since rain records were first recorded in 1887 that December rainfall has topped 100mm.
And the late-year rain has boosted Kyabram’s yearly total for 2023 to 477mm, which is now more than the long-term average of 450mm.
Book shines spotlight on Oppy’s friendship
A new book featuring Rochester-born super cyclist Sir Hubert “Oppy’ Opperman has hit the book stalls.
Sir Bruce Small: From Malvern Star to Mr Gold Coast has been written by journalist and author Rachel Symes and tells of the friendship between Oppy and Sir Bruce Small of Malven Star cycling fame. Small managed the Rochester legend in the Tour de France in 1928 and 1931.
The book features more than 250 photos, some never seen before, including snapshots from the first Australian team to compete in the Tour de France.
Oppy was born in Rochester on May 29, 1904, and after his cycling days became a politician and diplomat.
Uncle Al brings back memories
Breeding buffs were a bit surprised when they checked the breeding of a trotter called Uncle Al, who recently won a two-horse trial at Kyabram.
Uncle Al initially came up as deceased on the harness racing website, which is no surprise considering he was listed as being foaled in 1920. That would make him 103 if he was still alive.
But it’s the modern day trotter Uncle Al that won the trial.
He was foaled in 2011 and had 169 starts for trainer-driver Anne-Maree Conroy for 11 wins and 40 placings.
Anne Maree‘s brother Glenn Conroy said he was named after his mother’s brother so they were keen to get him a good home.
His last start for that stable was in April this year and he is now owned and being trained and driven by Merrigum horseman Neil Caldwell.
Betty’s Christmas shock
Mathoura widow Betty Murphy, 87, got a shock the day after completing her Christmas shopping.
Content she had purchased all her presents in a trip to Deniliquin, she then spent that evening busily wrapping and placing them under her Christmas tree. So imagine how she felt the next morning when she found every single gift was gone. Yes, stolen.
The thieves had carried out their heist less than two metres from her bedroom.
And light-fingered souls have bobbed up again over the festive season, breaking into a Moama Public School shed and taking a ride-on mower, whipper snipper and power drill.
In another theft in the town, a yellow Suzuki motorbike — a DR-Z400 model with a number plate QRF — has also been stolen from a secured trailer.
The thefts have stepped up a campaign to hurry the process of getting the town a permanent policeman again.
At the moment, police from Deniliquin and Moama service the area.
Wind farm to be built near Jerilderie
One of the biggest wind farms in NSW, the Yanco Delta Wind Farm, is to be built in the Edward and Murrumbidgee shires north-west of Jerilderie after recent government approval.
A total of 208 wind turbines with a maximum tip height of 270m will be built on 33,000 hectares of Edward and Murrumbidgee shire-administered land and will be able to power up to 700,000 homes a year.
Eight host landowners and five residential dwellings are within the project area, with the nearest dwelling 3.7km from a turbine.
But there were no objectors to the the mega project, with construction set to start in 2025-26.
Historic shop on the market
A bit of Ned Kelly history is going under the hammer in Benalla.
In 1887, when Ned was only 16 years of age, he made his way to a bootmaker’s shop opposite the Benalla courthouse in Arundel St from where he had escaped after facing a charge of riding his horse on a footpath.
He knew the owners of the shop through a family connection.
Ned made his getaway from the courthouse because he objected to being handcuffed but was quickly rounded up by the police in what has been described as “a pretty ugly incident”.
Current owners of the bootmaker’s shop David Moore and Helen Forster have transformed it so it is identical to the day Ned made his dash into it and are hoping someone with a penchant for Ned Kelly history may buy and retain that history.
Picnic Point’s new mobile phone tower
A favourite haunt for many Kyabramites, Picnic Point near Mathoura was delivered a nice Christmas present by Federal Member for Farrer Sussan Ley.
She dropped into the picturesque tourist venue to announce the Federal Government was putting $700,000 towards a badly needed new mobile phone tower for the area.
Rodeo time in Katamatite
If you are thinking of attending this Saturday’s Katamatite Rodeo, you better act quickly.
After 4400 rodeo fans attended the inaugural event last year and caused a few teething problems, crowd numbers have been capped at 4000 for this year’s second staging.
DID YOU KNOW
No, the following aren’t porky pies:
1. The pig is rated the fourth most intelligent animal but are mentioned only twice in the Bible.
2. Sheep are mentioned 45 times and goats 88 times in the Bible. Dogs are mentioned 14 times and lions 89 times, but domestic cats are not mentioned.
3. Pork is the world’s most widely-eaten meat.
4. In Denmark there are twice as many pigs as people.
Square dinkum
G’day,
I overheard a group of women talking at the local gun club recently.
One woman said, ‘’I still miss my ex-husband ... but my aim is getting a lot better.’’
Hooroo!
Sports reporter