1982
Mary Bowman was announced as the winner of the 1982 Australia Day Citizen Award, rewarded for her work during the International Year of the Disabled.
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Kyabram Mayor Frank Findlay was given the honour of presenting the award, which recognised Mrs Bowman’s work in having a ramp built at the Kyabram Post Office and was president of the committee that organised International Year of the Disabled activities.
Mrs Bowman was celebrating with her children, three who still shared her Dawes Rd home — John, Julian and Phillip.
Phillip, the youngest child, is confined to a wheelchair because of spina bifida.
– Les McMeekan was rewarded for 14 years as secretary of the Tongala Amateur Basketball Association.
Secretary of the association since it began, he was also involved as a coach and umpire.
His name was among the first to be listed on an honour board to record the named of all office bearers and life members, donated by Ron “Spud” Florence.
The first basketball competition in the new Tongala Leisure Centre was due to start only a few weeks after the presentation.
– Seventeen-year-old Rod Abraham was named dux of Kyabram High School, topping the list of 42 students who sat their Higher School Certificate exams.
He planned to study veterinary science at Melbourne University after scoring 87 for physics, 82 for chemistry, 80 for applied maths and 79 for pure maths.
Other students who did well were David Thomas, Lyndon Robertson and Andrea Salmon.
Kyabram district students attending St Joseph’s College in Echuca also fared well, with seven of the eight hitting the necessary level.
Kyabram High School teacher Peter Campbell described the pass rate of 64 per cent as “close to the state average”.
– Kyabram Fauna Park manager Ron Pope announced the 2115 people that visited the park as a new record, more than doubling the figure of 1979.
January was also on track for a record after the annual figure recorded by the park for 1981 was 15,000 — an amazing 3000 more than the previous annual record.
1992
Seventy Kyabram Secondary College students had successfully obtained their VCE, with just two failing after exam results were released.
One student unable to join the celebrations was Nikki Gemmill, who had achieved an Anderson score of 369 (out of a possible 410), having just arrived in Germany as part of a 12-month Rotary exchange program.
Her parents Stuart and Bev, told her the news by phone.
Other students to do well were Nicole Frankenhauser, Suzie Caldwell, Matthew Makin, Ben Jones and Adele Smith.
– Wyuna farmer Max Sayer told the Free Press that his cows had been scared by an Unidentified Flying Object while they were in the paddock of his farm.
He said the cows had put their heads in the air and started bolting around the paddock while he was trying to yard them at milking time.
Another farmer corroborated the sighting, and while not prepared to be named, said he had seen a round, flat and dull object in the distance.
“Maybe it was a UFO or a government secret, or even an over-revved rotary fairy platform which had become airborne,” he told the Free Press.
– Eric Merrigan received a rare honour when he was named a life member of the Victorian Farmers Federation.
At the time he was only the fourth person in the 40-year history of the organisation to be given the honour.
Forty eight years earlier he had been secretary of the Barnawartha branch of the Victorian section of the Australian Primary producers Union.
He shifted to the Goulburn Valley in 1950 and had a mixed farm at Gillieston, eventually moving into tomato growing. He was chairman of the VFF Tomato Section for 10 years and a committee member for more than 30 years.
Mr Merrigan retired to Kyabram seven years prior to the award being presented and took on the role of chairman of the Victorian Irrigators Research and Promotions Organisation.
– Country music legends Chad Morgan and John Williamson were planning to join Reg Poole at the Kyabram Hoe-down event.
Joining the headline acts were Kyabram’s Johnny Matthewson, Echuca singer Jane Maddick, Tommy Sloper and the First Edition Band.
The event was planned for the new timeslot of early January, having previously been held the night before the Kyabram Rodeo on the Labour Day Weekend.
– Former Wyuna East resident, now a Melbourne based chef, was responsible for preparing a meal for United States president George Bush — during his visit to Canberra.
Working for Spotless Catering David Rathbone was second in charge at Parliament House during the service. The son of Reg and Heather Rathbone was among the team responsible for the main course served to President Bush, Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating and more than 600 other guests.
For the service there were 17 chefs and 32 kitchen staff involved.
David Rathbone was no newcomer to the limelight, having been the main dining room chef at the MCG and involved in catering at Caulfield racecourse, Olympic Park and Sandown special events.
He was also working at Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club, Geelong and Carlton Football Clubs.
2002
Adele Smith was named the winner of Kyabram Secondary College’s prestigious Caltex Award for all-round achievements.
The 18-year-old was chosen from the 72 VCE students as the winner of the award, the daughter of Jeanette and Harvey Smith, of Kyabram.
She scored 319 in her Anderson score and plans to study Graphic Design in Melbourne. Her swimming and netball prowess were other reasons for her recognition.
– Seven people had been nominated for Kyabram’s Citizen of the Year award, Rotarian Neville Dickson saying it would be a tough assignment for the judges.
He said although the number of nominations was impressive it was not a record, with 13 nominations having been received two years earlier.
Media personality Nigel Dick was due to act as the Kyabram Australia Day ambassador, best known for his television roles of the previous 40 years.
– Kyvalley Community Pool was thrown a lifeline after the cost of demands and increased public liability insurance costs had threatened its future.
Pool committee secretary Vicki Guiney said an offer by SUN FM radio station to support a fundraising drive had saved the pool, with insurance costs increasing to $2700.
2012
Sacked Heinz Girgarre workers walked out of the factory gates with their heads held high, a 146 strong staff losing, or about to lose, their jobs as a result of the company’s decision to move its tomato processing operations to New Zealand.
About 17 workers were helping Heinz prepare for the move, but of the others, only about 20 had future job prospects.
The great hope was the Goulburn Valley Food Co-operative, which hoped to purchase the factory and re-hire as many as 80 of the redundant workers.
Some workers spoke of their plans to head interstate, but several had no idea what they would do next.
– Warramunda Village resident Jean Parker was about to turn 100-years-old — on Australia Day — born on January 26, 1912 in Geelong.
Jean met Harry Parker, a teacher in the area, and they married on December 31, 1935. They eventually moved to Lancaster and were parents to four children — Mavis, Frank, Gordon and Arthur.
Jean and Harry settled in Drum St in 1958 to be close to their daughter, and in 2001, the couple moved into Warramunda, Harry dying in 2004.
Jean celebrated the event with 16 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.
– Kyabram couple Newt and June Tomasini celebrated 60 years of marriage, declaring the milestone as “not really a big deal”.
They were married on a “terribly hot day” at Stanhope Presbyterian Church on December 29, 1951.
June was born at Rushworth and the pair lived within walking distance of one another, but didn’t meet until Newt began picking up his mother’s orders at the local grocery store where June worked.
They moved to Kyabram in 1973 and had three children, who in turn produced nine grandchildren.
Kyabram Free Press and Campaspe Valley News editor