1960-1979 Timeline – Beechworth History Timeline

Note: This page is a constant work-in-progress, with new information and corrections being made all the time. To search on the “1960-1979 Timeline” for any particular year, person, event, business, shop etc, simply press CTRL+F and type in the thing you are looking for in the small box that will appear on the screen.

1960

Beechworth continues to be promoted as one of Victoria’s most historic tourist destinations and “Victoria’s Best Preserved Gold Town”, often using the ‘Golden Horseshoe’ logo (above).

1960

*Percy W. Hill’s Beechworth-Stanley Bus Service in Stanley* *(photo: Stanley Athenaeum & Public Room)*

49-year-old Percy W. Hill from Stanley is running his regular Bus Service between Beechworth and Stanley, a road travel distance of 6.2 miles (10 km). Hill had been granted his ‘Carrier’s Licence’ in Beechworth in July 1955.

1960 – Dec 26

On Boxing Day, the first ‘Golden Hills Festival’ is held, organised and promoted by Beechworth Shire engineer Reg Carter, with major support from the newly formed Beechworth Lions Club. From 1966 it becomes known as the ‘Golden Horseshoe Festival’.

1961 – Sep

Despite the agreement of Michaelis Hallenstein and Co and their subsidiary Associated Leathers Ltd to keep the Zwar Bros Tannery operational in Beechworth, they make the announcement that, after 103 years of operation, the tannery is to close. At the time of closure, the output from the Tannery has fallen dramatically with the remaining workers only processing 250 hides per week for women’s fashion, leathers and glue. The loyal staff of 80 men and women are dismissed, with some given the option of transferring to the Footscray Tannery of Michaelis Hallenstein and Co. The buildings and fittings are sold both privately and at auction, with the remnants sold to a wrecker. The land is sold to an adjoining landholder. Today only the eye-catching 100-foot brick chimney remains. Visible from Malakoff Road, heading towards the new Beechworth Correctional Centre.

*The remains of the Zwar Bros. Tannery site today, with the* *still-standing 100 foot chimney* *(photo: Barb Sullivan)*

The closure is devastating for Beechworth, particularly as it comes just four years after the new owners had accepted the ‘moral agreement’ of maintaining the Tannery in Beechworth.

1961 – Sep

Directly following the demise of Zwar’s Tannery, Footrest Shoes also closes its Beechworth factory, letting go of 36 local female employees, leading to more unemployment woes in the local community.

1961 – Sep

Playing in the Ovens & King Football League, the Beechworth Football Club win the Premiership under coach Bill Comensoli. New coach of the Bombers Mick Brenia will lead the team to victory again in 1974, and once more in 1979 under coach Rob ‘Tree’ Forrest.

1961

*The new swimming pool at the northern end of Lake Sambell (photo: Burke Museum)*

The Lake Sambell Swimming Pool is completed, driven largely by Beechworth’s hard-working Shire Engineer Reg Carter, who has advocated for improvements to Lake Sambell and the surrounding area to encourage tourism to Beechworth. The new swimming pool area – which is divided and separated at the northern end of the lake – includes park benches, a water slide, and a fenced area with a diving pontoon for lap-swimming and racing. These improvements are financed largely by grants from the Tourist Development Authority. In 1959 Carter had overseen the establishment of the Beechworth Caravan Park (on the former site of the Beechworth Tip) next to the lake, and will go on to increase the surface of Lake Sambell – and encourage the introduction of water skiing and boating facilities – in 1964.

*The ‘Lake Sambell Committee’ in 1961, with *Beechworth Shire* engineer Reg Carter second from left* *(image from the book* *‘Echoes of History: Beechworth 1853-2003’)*

For many decades, members of the Beechworth community have advocated for the development of a swimming pool at Lake Sambell, including a safe ‘Wading Pool’ area and Olympic standard lanes for laps and races. Throughout the 1940s the ‘Beechworth Swimming Club’ tries to raise awareness and funds to address various structural engineering issues, raise the water levels, and improve swimming facilities at the lake. Although the ‘Beechworth Swimming Club’ host a swimming carnival at the lake in 1948, it is decided – due to several issues at the event – that no further carnivals should be hosted until necessary improvements are made to the area. Beechworth will gain its own separate in-ground concrete ‘Public Swimming Pool’ in December 1978.

*A ‘Swimming Carnival’ underway at the ‘Lake Sambell Swimming Pool’ in the 1960s. (photo: Burke Museum)*

1961

The ‘Ennals Grovery Store’ on High Street as it looked in 1895 as ‘Ladson’s Cash Grocery Store’ when Beatrice Ennals was 14-years-old. Beatrice will begin working at this store just a few years later.

At the age of 80, Beatrice Ennals finally retires from the popular Ennals Grocery Store at 30 High Street and hands the business over to her daughter Margaret and her husband Dick Galbraith. After Dick passes away, it is taken over by Dick and Margaret’s son Bob Galbraith and his wife Dianne.

*Advertisement in ‘The Ovens and Murray Advertiser’ – September 16, 1953*

Born in 1881, Beatrice Ennals (who will be widowed in 1915) works at the store for many years when it is run by the Ladson family (as ‘Ladson’s Cash Grocery Store’). Established in 1882 by Alfred William Ladson, it is eventually taken over by Alfred’s son Arthur Ladson who employs Beatrice, and eventually sells the entire business to her.

1961

*Dr Mervyn Lincoln returns to the ‘Lincoln Causeway’ later in life.* *From 1945 to 1950 his parents run the ‘Lincoln and Butterworth’ store on High Street in Wodonga.*

35 km from Beechworth, the busy causeway over Wodonga Creek on the border between Wodonga and Albury – originally known as ‘The Wodonga Flats’ – is officially named the ‘Lincoln Causeway’ in honour of 28-year-old Mervyn George ‘Merv’ Lincoln. Raised in Wodonga, in March 1957 the middle-distance Olympic runner had become the third Australian in the world to break the ‘4 Minute Mile’, running the distance in 3 minutes 59 seconds. Merv’s first running coach is well-known Albury identity ‘Chooker’ Elkington and Merv will go on to represent Australia three times … at the Olympic Games in Melbourne in 1956, the Commonwealth Games in Cardiff in 1958 and the Rome Olympics in 1960.

*The ‘Pollard Arch’ over the newly named ‘Lincoln Causeway’ at Wodonga in the early 1960s*

Following the Rome Olympics in 1960, Merv Lincoln retires from competitive running and takes up an academic career, achieving a ‘Bachelor of Commerce’, a ‘Diploma of Education’ and ‘Master of Business Administration’ degree before receiving a ‘Doctorate of Philosophy’ in 1983 from the University of Melbourne. He will then become a lecturer at the same University. Dr Mervyn Lincoln will pass away on May 1st 2016 aged 82.

1961

*Merv Sinclair in 1977, aged 65* *(photo: courtesy Michael Sinclair)*

After running a successful General Store in the nearby town of Stanley since the late 1940s (see photo below), Mervyn John Sinclair (above) establishes Beechworth’s first Supermarket on Ford Street. After a few years, Sinclairs Foodland Supermarket (below) will outgrow its single shop and Merv and Margaret ‘Meg’ Sinclair will take over an adjoining shop. By 1967 the design department of Foodlands is working on plans to combine the two shops into one modern supermarket … at the same time as the Shire Council and the National Trust are working on plans to preserve and restore the whole historic area of Beechworth. The Sinclair family embrace the idea of the preservation of Ford Street and abandon their plans for a modern façade and agree to create a new ‘1870s-look’ façade which will remain in harmony with the surrounding historic streetscape, while building a modern supermarket inside. It will open – with a grand ceremony – in December 1968. (see further entry below)

*‘Sinclairs Foodland Supermarket’ on Ford Street in the early 1960s*. *Note the vacant land next to the supermarket, which will become, for a short time, a laneway.*

*‘Sinclairs Foodland Supermarket’ (to the right of Stan White’s ‘Beechworth Billiard Saloon’ and Wally Price’s Bike Shop and Taxi Office) on Ford Street in the early 1960s*. *The Supermarket is made up of the two combined shops, but the new “1870s-style façade” is yet to be added.*

*Merv Sinclair’s ‘Stanley General Store’ – photographed on January 1st 1960 (courtesy: Amber Dee, Stanley Community Victoria)*

1961

Graeme Smart, who has been running his own taxi service in Beechworth since 1954, purchases the taxi licence of Tom Collie and his son Noel Collie, expanding his growing fleet of taxis and private hire cars in the town.

Over the years, many others in Beechworth will own taxi licences including Frank Jarvis, Tom Parkinson, Leo Kavanagh, Harold Colin McIntosh, along with Wally Price and his nephew Laurie Price. Wally Price also runs a popular Beechworth bicycle shop.

1962 – Jan 3

After years of two different gauges on Victorian and NSW railway lines – meaning all interstate trains have to stop and change at Albury – the first ‘Standard Gauge’ freight train travels straight through from Melbourne to Sydney when the ‘Broad Gauge’ (1,600mm) in Victoria is finally converted to the ‘Standard Gauge’ (1,435mm) used in NSW. This will mark the start of a new era in Australian transport. The railway tracks on the branch line to Beechworth, unfortunately, will remain ‘Broad Gauge’.

On April 13th the ‘Spirit of Progress’ and ‘Southern Aurora’ passenger trains will make their debuts on the ‘Standard Gauge’ tracks now linking Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane (see further entry below).

D3 667 Class Steam Locomotive pulling a freight train on ‘Broad Gauge’ tracks at Beechworth Railway Station – January 15, 1962. Built between 1929 and 1947, D3 667 class Steam Locomotives – a type of 4-6-0 steam locomotive – are known for their effectiveness on branch lines due to their efficient coal usage and relatively low axle load. They will serve with Victorian Railways until the last is retired in 1974,

1962 – Mar

*The new Beechworth High School. Although it fronts onto Sydney Road, the main entrance (and car park) is located at the rear of the school at 85 Balaclava Road. (image from the book* *‘Echoes of History: Beechworth 1853-2003’)*

With 248 students, Beechworth High School moves into new purpose-built classrooms near the Ovens District Hospital on Sydney Road and classes begin, although the official opening of the new school will not take place until October 15th, 1963. One of the first new staff members hired is Mary Martina as the School Librarian. The school had previously been based at the Beechworth Primary School which had become a Higher Elementary School in 1912, before being raised to Beechworth High School in 1959. Due to increasing secondary school student numbers and lack of space, the new location is found for the secondary students. From 1986 the school will become Beechworth Secondary College.

*Beechworth High School students with a banner featuring the school’s emblem (photo courtesy: Peta Rust)*

*A ‘Beechworth High School’ blazer with the school motto ‘Vitai Lampada’ on the pocket along with the school’s ‘Torch of Life’ emblem between the ‘H’ and the ‘S*‘ *(see box below)*

The Beechworth High School motto is ‘Vitai Lampada” which translates as “The Torch of Life” and symbolizes “the duty to uphold values and pass them on to future generations”. Henry Newbolt’s 1892 poem “Vitai Lampada” (“The Torch of Life”) includes the phrase “Play Up! Play up! And play the game!” often used in schools as a rallying cry for their sporting teams.

1962

The Beechworth Scout Hall is erected in Centennial Park – the grounds of the former Ovens Goldfields Hospital – at 13 Church Street. The Beechworth Scouts had commenced in 1925, holding their scout meetings in various locations throughout Beechworth over the years including the Beechworth Fire Station (the Fire Brigade Hall) on Camp Street (below) and at Walter Joseph Edwards’ Auction Mart on Ford Street. From 1957 their meetings are held to the scouts at the Serviceman’s Memorial Hall. The new hall will become the new permanent home of the 1^st Beechworth Scout Group, and they are still there today.

*Beechworth Fire Station – also known as the ‘Fire Station Hall’ – where the Beechworth Scouts hold their meetings from the 1920s.*

In the early part of the 20^th century Walter Joseph Edwards is a notable Beechworth undertaker, coach-builder and owner of livery stables and an ‘Auction Mart’ on Ford Street. He builds and provides coffins and hearses for his clients and is respected within the community. He passes away in 1945.

1962 – Apr 13-16

The ‘Spirit of Progress’ train is hauled by ‘S314’ (above) as it departs Spencer Street Station in Melbourne for the first leg of its trip to Sydney on the newly completed ‘Standard Gauge’ tracks (courtesy: MHNSW State Archives Collection)

The Spirit of Progress passenger train – which had made its debut on November 23rd, 1937 between Melbourne and Albury – makes its debut on the ‘Standard Gauge’ tracks that now link Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. A 1961-built Victorian Railways S-class S314 diesel-electric locomotive (above) will haul the Spirit of Progress from Melbourne to Albury, where it will be replaced by a 1949-built New South Wales Government Railways 3830 steam engine (below) for the final leg of the journey from Albury to Sydney on April 14th-15th. The inaugural, invitation-only trip of another Melbourne to Sydney train – the Southern Aurora – also takes place on April 13, 1962, followed by its first official passenger service on April 16th, operating as an overnight, first-class, all-sleeper service between Melbourne and Sydney.

*When the inaugural standard gauge* ‘Spirit of Progress’ from Melbourne reaches Albury, a classic NSWGR 3830 steam engine (above) will complete the journey to Sydney in a time of 12 hours and 13 minutes. (courtesy: MHNSW State Archives Collection)

A dinner – with political figures and other dignitaries – is held in Albury on April 12th to celebrate the official opening of the Sydney to Melbourne Standard Gauge Line (image courtesy: National Library of Australia)

By June 30^th a weekly service of between 30 to 40 passenger trains – the ‘Spirit of Progress‘, the ‘Southern Aurora‘ and the ‘Intercaptial Daylight‘ – are running on the new ‘Standard Gauge’ route, some express, and others stopping at places like Benalla, Wangaratta and Chiltern. The line to Beechworth is still, unfortunately, ‘Broad Gauge’.

1962

*The corner of Conness and Main Streets – the town centre of Chiltern – in the 1960s (photo courtesy: Chiltern Athenaeum Museum)*

Chiltern (14 miles / 22 km from Beechworth) – located on the main road between Melbourne and Sydney – will become the first Victorian town to be bypassed by the Hume Highway as work begins on a new section of the highway, with construction of the bypass fully completed by 1988, meaning that the new route completely avoids the town centre and Chiltern’s historic narrow Main Street (above).

The Hume Highway no longer passes through ANY Victorian towns, the last town – Wodonga – will be bypassed in 2007.

1962

Ian Downs and his wife Joan take over Leo Kavanagh’s BP Service Station and his former Beechworth Taxi Service buildings at 34-36 Camp Street. (These two buildings are now the ‘Moments & Memories Tea Room’) They will move their BP Service Station to Ford Street in 1972.

*The Hibernian Hotel and the I.S. Downs BP Service Station in Camp Street in 1971.*

1963

*Bank Manager* *Wally Russell (centre) with Bank Tellers Gary Jarvis (left) and Ron ‘Sandy’ Burridge (right)*

46-year-old Wally Russell is posted to Beechworth as the new manager of the State Savings Bank of Victoria at 97 Ford Street. He and his wife Bette move into the residence above the bank building (constructed in 1876 as the Oriental Bank). Having played 65 VFL games of football in Melbourne for both Richmond and Geelong, Wally now becomes a football fixture in his new hometown – both as a player, coach and administrator for the Beechworth Football Club. He also plays tennis, as well as cricket with the Beechworth First XI. Other staff members at Beechworth’s State Savings Bank branch excel in local sport, with bank teller Gary Jarvis winning the Ovens and Murray Advertiser award for Best Footballer in the local league in 1966. Ron Burridge, who joined the bank in Beechworth in 1960, wins the same Ovens and Murray Advertiser award twice before transferring to the powerful Wangaratta Football Club.

*The* *Beechworth branch of the* ‘*State Savings Bank of Victoria*‘ *at 97 Ford Street when it was the ‘Oriental Bank*‘ *with bank manager Norman Lawrence and his family in front of the building on 1865*

Bank Manager Wally Russell will become vice-president of the Beechworth Lions Club and serves as Treasurer of the Beechworth RSL as well as the Lake Sambell Committee of Management.

1963

*The renamed ‘Delany College*‘ *at 8 Priory Lane*

The Brigidine Convent of Mt St Joseph at 8 Priory Lane in Beechworth is renamed Delany College (after Irish Bishop Daniel Delany, founder of the Ireland’s Brigidine Sisters). The Beechworth convent, originally a boarding school for girls, the renamed Delany College will now accept both female and male ‘day students’. Student numbers will slowly decline and it will eventually close in 1978.

*Bishop Daniel Delany (1747-1814)*. *He establishes the Congregation of St. Brigid – ‘The Brigidine Sisters’ – in Kildare, Ireland* *in 1907 and ‘The Brothers of St. Patrick’ in Tullow, County Carlow in 1908.*

1963 – Oct 13

*The musical Crossman family – Joan on tenor saxophone, Greg on violin, Geoff on trumpet and Herb on saxophone*. *Herb and Joan had a backgroud with the Salavation Army.*

Following the gradual demise of the much-loved Beechworth Brass Band – founded by Henry Vandenberg in 1887 – Herb and Joan Crossman establish the Beechworth Music Group. Their first concert is held in front of a packed house at the Ovens and Murray Home (below). Beginning life as part of Beechworth Adult Education Group (BAEG), it is led by Beechworth police office Herb (who plays tuba and saxophone) and Joan (who plays tenor saxophone) and their two sons Greg and Geoff, along with other musicians, and noted violinist George Rucins as conductor.

*Beechworth’s ‘Ovens and Murray Home’ at 9 Warner Road, location of the Beechworth Music Group’s first performance.*

Eventually growing to become the ‘Beechworth Concert Band’ in the mid-1970s, the idea behind the ‘Beechworth Music Group’ is to bring in other instruments and broaden the town’s orchestra to be either a ‘Marching Band’ or a ‘Concert Band’.

1963

In 1935, Sid Evans takes a tumble from the wheelbarrow being pushed by Tom Parkinson – the same wheelbarrow that Parkinson’s nephew Allen Parkinson will use in his 1963 recreation of the marathon event.

Allan Parkinson (nephew of Tom Parkinson) and Ronnie Evans (a relation of Tony ‘Sid’ Evans) recreate the famous 1935 Tom Parkinson-Sid Evans “Wheelbarrow Challenge”, this time doing the eight-day journey in summer (as opposed to winter) and doing it in reverse, starting at Mt Buffalo and returning to Beechworth using the same wooden wheelbarrow that had been used in 1935 (below) which now resides at Beechworth’s Burke Museum.

1963 – Dec 26

*Graeme Smart drives his decorated Model T Ford down Ford Street as part of the 1963 ‘Golden Hills Festival’ parade.* *(photo courtesy: Graeme Smart)*

Crowds turn out along Ford Street for the third annual ‘Golden Hills Festival’ Boxing Day Parade. Established in 1961, the festival draws thousands of people to Beechworth for a range of events just after Christmas. Originally organised and promoted by Beechworth Shire engineer Reg Carter, with major support from the newly formed Beechworth Lions Club, from 1966 it becomes known as the ‘Golden Horseshoe Festival’.

1964

*The (former) ‘Beechworth Girl Guide Hall’ at Queen Victoria Park. Now the ‘Rotary* *Hall’*

Former Australian Army mechanic Mal Davidson suggests the Lions Club of Beechworth purchase a former army hut from Bandiana for the Beechworth Girls Guides to use as their meeting hall. The purchase proceeds and the Lions Club transport the building to Beechworth, relocating it to Queen Victoria Park where it still stands today, facing Ford Street. From 2010 the Beechworth Rotary Club will take possession of the building, to be known as ‘Rotary Hall’.

Today, the ‘Rotary Hall’ continues to be used for regular ‘Rotary’ meetings (above), along with the ‘Red Cross’, the ‘Beechworth Country Women’s Association’ (founded in 1942). Even the board of the ‘Bendigo Bank’ use the hall for their annual meetings.

1964 – Apr 12

*Beechworth’s War Memorial (photo: Tony Ledger)*

Major-General Sir Kingsley Norris is on hand at Beechworth to unveil the Centotaph War Memorial at the Town Hall Gardens, on the corner of Williams and Ford Streets. The plaque on the memorial states: “This memorial is dedicated to all the men and women from the Beechworth District who gave their lives in the service of their country in all the conflicts in which we have been involved”.

*Closer detail of* *Beechworth’s War Memorial (photo: Tony Ledger)*

1964 – May 22

*The Civic Theatre under construction in the centre of Albury.*

37 km from Beechworth, NSW Premier Jack Renshaw officially opens the 812-seat Albury War Memorial Civic Theatre in the centre of Albury at the newly named ‘Civic Centre Square’. It has cost the city £230,000 and features a war memorial cairn in the theatre foyer (see newspaper photograph below). During the opening ceremony, Albury pianist Glennis Carter plays Grieg’s ‘Concerto in A minor’ on a Bechstein grand concert piano alongside her husband Jack Carter (the Albury Town Clerk and renowned band leader). A fountain is added in front of the building in 1965 (below) with the assistance of Albury’s Apex, Rotary and Lions Clubs. In May 1972 a new ‘Convention Wing’ of the Albury Civic Theatre will be officially opened, standing proudly behind the old Albury Library. The theatre and convention centre become a central part of Albury’s cultural life, hosting numerous events and productions, becoming known as the Albury Performing Arts Centre, then the Albury Convention and Performing Arts Centre in 1993, and is now called the Albury Entertainment Centre.

*The front page of the ‘Border Morning Mail’ – Saturday May 23rd, 1964 – showing the dedication of the war memorial cairn in the foyer of the new theatre.*

*The* ‘*Albury War Memorial Civic Theatre*‘ *with the fountain added in 1965.* *Due to leaking issues, the fountain will be removed at the end of 2009.*

In 1988, during her Bicentenary Tour, Queen Elizabeth II visits Albury and unveils a plaque to rename the ‘Civic Centre Square’ to ‘Queen Elizabeth II Square’ (now commonly called ‘QEII Square’).

1964

*The Petrol Station just over the Newtown Bridge at 4-6 High Street when it is selling Ampol petrol in the 1990s.*

John Breen and his sons Robert and Michael establish the Mayday Hills Service Station at 2-4 High Street – a vacant block of land just across Newtown Bridge – the original site of the first gold diggings on Spring Creek. Originally selling the new Amoco brand of petrol, the business quickly changes its name to Breen Brothers Service Centre after confusion with the Mayday Hills Mental Hospital! It later sells Esso petrol then Ampol. It is now a Shell Service Station owned and operated by Indigo Fuels.

*A January 1991 advertisement in ‘The Ovens and Murray Advertiser’*

1965

The Department of Forestry carry out renovations to their two Beechworth office buildings – the former Golden Warden’s Office and the Chinese Protector’s Office next door – including the erection of a connecting timber link between the two historic buildings. The two buildings continue to operate as the Beechworth Forestry Office until 1985 when they will move a few doors south along Ford Street into the former Beechworth Telegraph Station. By the mid-1980s there are around 15 permanent crew working from the depot, plus 15-16 ‘summer crew’ each year and another 7 staff in the office and out in the field.

1965

*Aerial image of the Beechworth Water Treatment Plant on McFeeters Road.*

A sewerage system for Beechworth is finally approved! First proposed in 1925, funding is withdrawn due to the decline in mining activities. Once approval is finally granted in 1967, a wastewater collection system is constructed between 1967 and 1970 using vitrified clay pipes. The ‘full gravity system’ includes conveyance to the Beechworth Wastewater Treatment Plant on McFeeters Road near Woolshed.

1965

*The ‘Beechworth Elderly Citzens Club’ at 40 Ford Street*

The Beechworth Pensioner’s Club is established. Initially holding their meetings and activities at in the former Country Women’s Association rooms on Camp Street, they will soon move to rooms at Warden’s Hotel on the corner of Ford and Church Streets. Renaming themselves the Beechworth Elderly Citizen’s Club, they move to new premises at 40 Ford Street (above) before purchasing Stan White’s former Billiard Saloon building next to the supermarket on Ford Street (below). In 1975, the Beechworth Elderly Citizen’s Club will become the Beechworth Senior Citizens Club and gain a new purpose-built and permanent home on Harper Avenue.

*Stan White’s Billiard Saloon (centre) on Ford Street*

1965

*The ‘Golden Hills Festival’ street parade* – *Greg Crossman out front on the ‘Beechworth Music Group’ “Cabaret” float dressed as a little orchestra conductor, with Carolyn Wyatt behind him holding a violin.*

The Beechworth Music Group continues to grow, giving a number of concerts and featuring in local events, as well as entering ‘floats’ in the annual Golden Hills Festival. The group wins first prize for their floats with orchestral and music themes in 1964 and 1965.

1965

Beechworth’s iconic 1859-built Powder Magazine continues to stand neglected on the Gorge Road, not helped by the removal of the building’s roof to discourage “rough sleepers” during the depression of the 1930s. Inspired by the historic conservation work of the late John ‘Jack’ Skidmore, local residents and the Progress Association begin to raise funds for urgent restoration work. They are supported by the North Eastern Historical Society and enthusiastic staff members from Melbourne University. The restoration and preservation project will soon be formally adopted by the National Trust.

Skidmore Road will be named after Jack Skidmore in recognition of his efforts in conservation. Skidmore Road links the bottom of Camp Street to the ‘Powder Magazine’. Jack’s home at the bottom of Camp Street had been destroyed in the Christmas bushfires of 1899. Skidmore dies aged 91 in Beechworth on 9 March 1925 and is buried in the Presbyterian section of Beechworth Cemetery.

1965

Despite television becoming more popular in the area (local television station AMV-4 begins broadcasting from Albury in September 1964), Beechworth citizens still flock to the three local cinemas – The Regent at 15 Loch Street, The Civic (at the Beechworth Servicemen’s Memorial Hall at 101 Ford Street) and The Bijou at the Mayday Hills Asylum. Norman and Lois Garland run The Regent while Arthur Mezeys and Joan Crossman are in charge of The Civic. Posters for coming attractions at The Civic are placed on a billboard at the tree beside the Beechworth Post Office.

*“Mary Poppins” (1964) screens at the 1871-built Regent Theatre (the former ‘Oddfellows Hall’) on Loch Street*.

*“The Jungle Book” (1967) is a popular film with Beechworth children, screening at The Civic Theatre on Ford Street.* *Tickets for kid’s Saturday matinee sessions are just one shilling.*

The ‘Bijou Theatre’ at the Mayday Hills Asylum will later become a popular venue to screen ‘art house’ films, including films from the annual ‘Melbourne Film Festival’ organised by the ‘Beechworth Arts Council’.

1965

*The new Beechworth Kindergarten (image from the book* *‘Echoes of History: Beechworth 1853-2003’)*

The new purpose-built Beechworth Kindergarten opens at 2 Albert Road – on the corner of Albert Road and Harper Avenue – the former site of the Beechworth Gas Works. The Beechworth Kindergarten is now located in the beautiful parks and gardens of Mayday Hills.

*An aerial view of the site of the new ‘Beechworth Kindergarten’ (highlighted by red arrow). On the left, on the other side of Harper Avenue, are the green lawns of the ‘Beechworth Bowls Club’.*

1965 – Oct 15

The ‘Steam Age’ is over as the two K-Class locomotives from Beechworth and Wangaratta leave the North-East line for the final time, replaced by T-Class Diesel Locomotives (above).

1966 – Jan 17

*Cawthray’s Empire Hotel on Camp Street in the 1960s* *(photo: Burke Museum)*

Thelma Josephine Cawthray (née Porritt) the 56-year-old (second) wife of Claude Rolland Cawthray – the licensee of the Empire Hotel – falls from the hotel’s balcony and dies shortly afterwards. Although the coroner finds it an ‘accidental death’, rumours spread that Thelma had been pushed to her death.

*The ‘Empire Hotel’ on the corner of Camp and High Streets as it look in the early 1970s*

Stories persist to this day that the ‘Empire Hotel’ is haunted by the ghost of Thelma’s husband Claude Cawthray, who passes away at the ‘Empire’ in 1972.

1966

The Golden Hills Festival – which originated on Boxing Day in 1960 – is replaced by the Golden Horseshoes Festival, held over the Easter long weekend. A few days before the big event, Ford Street is decorated with display shapes – depicting stylised picks and shovels – attached to light poles. (close up detail below) The Easter Horseshoes Festival continues in Beechworth to this day and is a big draw card for the town at Easter.

1966 – Apr 9

Closed and unused since 1918, the 1859-built Beechworth Powder Magazine is finally restored with funds raised by local residents and the Progress Association. On Easter Sunday, on behalf of the National Trust, Rupert ‘Dick’ Hamer, the Victorian Minister for Local Government is on hand to officially open the Powder Magazine to the public as a new tourist destination for Beechworth. Work will then commence on building a replica of an early settler’s slab hut a few metres away. It will be completed in 1968 (see entry below in 1968 section).

Rupert James ‘Dick’ Hamer’s great-grandfather Robert McLuckie (from Scotland) had worked on the Spring Creek diggings and is buried in the Beechworth Cemetery. ‘Dick’ Hamer will go on to serve as the 18th Deputy Premier of Victoria from 1971 to 1972 and then as the 39th Premier of Victoria from 1972 to 1981.

*A colourful pennant, manufactured in Australia, to promote Beechworth’s restored Powder Magazine (courtesy: Burke Museum)*

By 1973, over 23,000 people will visit the Beechworth ‘Powder Magazine’ annually.

‘The National Trust’ is established in 1956 and is quickly invited to identify and help preserve many of Beechworth’s important historic buildings, with many of them eventually given ‘National Trust Classifications’. The ‘Beechworth Powder Magazine’ is the first ‘National Trust’ property to be opened to the public outside the Melbourne metropolitan area.

1966

The Lions Club of Beechworth complete preservation and painting work on the 1863-built façade of the ‘The Ovens Goldfields Hospital’ in Church Street, and erect a sign (above) outside the remains of the former hospital which – apart from the Grand Façade – had been demolished in 1940.

*The 1863-built ‘Grand Façade’ of the ‘The Ovens Goldfields Hospital’ as it looks today*

1966 – Jul 15

*Beechworth Railway Station during the snowfall of 15 July 1966 (Photo: Geoff Barnes from the ‘Hobby Train Collection’)*

In the midst of one of the coldest winters on record, snow blankets Beechworth and surrounds as a mass of cold air descends on the area, with snow falling as far north as Wodonga (below) and even the centre of Albury (below).

*Snow covers the gardens in front of the Beechworth Gaol on 15 July 1966 (photo courtesy: Tim Fitzgerald)*

*Snow at Ron Fulford’s BP Petrol Station in Wodonga on July 15 (photo courtesy: Wodonga & District Historical Society Inc)*

1966

The ‘WM Meldrum’ imitation steam locomotive on the ‘Golden Pioneer Railway’ track near the ‘Beechworth Caravan Park’. Note the ‘Mayday Hills’ railway sign to the left of the train and the ‘Golden Horseshoe’ logo on the front of the engine *(photo: Mike McCarthy)*

After a number of years work, The Golden Pioneer Railway is finally open as a tourist attraction around the Beechworth Caravan Park at Lake Sambell. A pre-war Willys-Overland 4-cylinder petrol engine (similar to a wartime Jeep) is used as the engine for the little imitation steam locomotive built by Don Hayes and Rex Norman, with assistance from Beechworth motor mechanic Frank Perryman. The engine is named the ‘WM Meldrum’ after Beechworth gold pioneer, James Meldrum, the former shepherd and overseer to the Reid Brothers. The little engine pulls three 4-wheel railway trucks – open air carriages – on railway tracks that Don and Rex have recovered from the now disused 1947-built tramline at the Mayday Hills Asylum and the tracks that once ran around Zwar’s Tannery. Operated by volunteers (including members of Beechworth’s Apex Club) on Saturdays and Public Holidays, the two-foot gauge railway carries children and their parents on a return journey around Lake Sambell’s picnic areas and through a forest grove beside Silver Creek (see map below).

The ‘WM Meldrum’ imitation steam locomotive travels along the ‘Golden Pioneer Railway’ track near the ‘Beechworth Caravan Park’ – Easter Saturday 1972 *(photo: Mike McCarthy from ‘Light Railways’ magazine Number 202, August 2008)*

*Sometimes the imitation steam locomotive needs a little help to keep going on the track* *(photo: Mike McCarthy from ‘Light Railways’ magazine Number 202, August 2008)*

*‘The Golden Pioneer Railway’ map courtesy of the Light Railway Research Society of Australia*

1967

The National Trust is instrumental in having a Melbourne-based company, Beechworth Developments Pty Ltd, purchase Tanswell’s Commercial Hotel and announce a $150,000 plan to restore the 1873-built hotel to its former glory, under the supervision of the National Trust. The company will lease the coach-house and stables at the rear of the hotel to the National Trust for conversion into the Beechworth Carriage and Harness Museum.

Officially opened on November 28, 1969, the ‘Beechworth Carriage and Harness Museum’ will feature Beechworth’s grand horse-drawn hearse; the massive Beechworth-Stanley ‘Omnibus’ which was built in Beechworth by ‘Crawford and Connolly’; a ‘Sociable’ said to have used by Governor Bligh; and a saddle which once belonged to Daniel Morgan the bushranger.

1967 – Oct

*‘Mayday Hills Hospital Beechworth’ booklet (image courtesy Museums Victoria Collections)*

To celebrate the centenary of the Mayday Hills Hospital, a special centenary booklet is produced by the Mental Health Authority Victoria and published by T & H Hunter Pty. Ltd. It contains a brief history of the hospital with the centre pages featuring a programme of events for the upcoming centenary celebrations.

1967 – Oct 24

*Sir Rohan ‘Jumbo’ Delacombe and Lady Eleanor Delacombe.*

On the centenary of the opening of the Mayday Hills Mental Asylum in 1867, a public holiday is declared in Beechworth as the town welcomes the Governor of Victoria, Major-General Sir Rohan ‘Jumbo’ Delacombe and Lady Eleanor Delacombe. A ‘re-opening ceremony’ is held, a plaque is unveiled and a buffet dinner is held on this fine Tuesday evening. An open-air theatre is established on the grounds of the Asylum and a pageant entitled “Fight Against Affliction” is performed to a crowded audience. Two days later, the annual “Patient’s Picnic” is held, and a “Cabaret Staff Ball” takes place on Friday evening. Before the occasion, almost $500,000 has been spent restoring the cement facing of the Administration Office building.

Coinciding with the Centenary celebrations, the government accepts a recommendation to officially change the name of the Asylum (again!) from the ‘Beechworth Mental Hospital’ to the ‘Mayday Hills Mental Hospital’, specifically noting that the name ‘May Day’ (an earlier name for Beechworth) be written as one word – ‘Mayday’ on the basis that the word ‘Mayday’ comes from the French derivative of ‘Please Help Us’.

1967 – Nov

*The newly installed St. Kilda Road street lamp at the Hospital’s entrance.*

Alan McDonald, the manager of the newly re-named Mayday Hills Mental Hospital, uses his connections in Melbourne to acquire an ornate street lamp post – topped by two lamps – that had once graced St. Kilda Road, to be installed at the Hospital’s entrance gate. It still stands proudly at the entrance today (below).

1967 – Dec 26

*The Boxing Day burial of the Beechworth Time Capsule (photo: Keith Borschmann)*

With much excitement, a ‘Time Capsule’ is buried in the Beechworth Town Hall Gardens. Organised by the Beechworth Lions Club and its President Brian Cousins as part of the annual Beechworth Boxing Day Golden Horseshoes Festival, the concrete capsule includes a personally signed copy of Prime Minister Harold Holt’s Federal Election Speech dated November 9^th 1967. Holt will tragically drown on December 17^th in Portsea, just 9 days before the ‘Time Capsule’ is buried in Beechworth.

*Beechworth Lions Club charter member Ian McGuffie uses a trench digger to create a 6 foot pit for the Time Capsule*

The concrete and plastic-sealed ‘Beechworth Time Capsule’ is manufactured at the ‘Rocla’ factory in Wodonga. ‘Rocla’ was founded in 1922 by Walter Robertson and Heaton Clarke (who combined the initial letters of their surnames to create the company name ‘Rocla’).

The ‘1967 Time Capsule’ will be opened 33 years later on Boxing Day 2000 by members of the ‘Beechworth Lions Club’ who are saddened to discover that many items in the capsule have been damaged or destroyed by moisture. A new ‘Time Capsule’ is buried on the same day in 2000 containing around 280 local items, as well as a personal letter from the (then) current Prime Minister John Howard in which he sends his “best wishes for the future of Beechworth” and a ‘a tip’ that by 2050 Australia could well be a Republic. The ‘2000 Capsule’ is due to be exhumed and opened on Boxing Day 2050.

1968 – Feb 1

Beechworth records its hottest day when the mercury hits a whopping peak of 114 degrees fahrenheit (45.6°)!

1968

A former shearer’s slab hut from the Corryong area is relocated (in pieces) to Beechworth where it is reassembled on Skidmore Road adjacent to the Beechworth Powder Magazine. The old building is preserved for tourists, while also (initially) providing a functional use as a Caretaker’s Cottage. It will later be rented out to a few individuals before the building experiences issues with mould and other problems, before being essentially abandoned and falling into disrepair. Over the years there is talk of it being repaired and restored by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) with a number of locals pushing to save it – including Elizabeth Mason and the Beechworth History and Heritage Society in the 2000s – but it seems no one wants to claim responsibility for it.

*Over the years the cottage is allowed to fall into a gradual state of disrepair (photo: Leanne Cole)*

*The Shearer’s slab hut in its original location near Corryong before it is moved to Beechworth.*

1968 – Apr

Doris Schmitt is named both the ‘Queen’ and ‘Charity Queen’ of Beechworth’s Golden Horseshoes Festival. The Beechworth Music Group Junior Concert Band who sponsor Miss Schmitt’s entry, raise $1,000 which will go towards new uniforms for members of the band, along with three new instruments – mellophones (similar to French Horns) at a cost of $600 each – which will be shipped from England especially for the group. The Beechworth Music Group, formed in 1963, now has 39 playing members (below).

1968

*Beechworth’s first motel – the ‘Beechworth Motor Inn’ (photo courtesy: John Young Collection)*

Jim and Gwenda Francis build and open The Golden Horseshoe Motel – Beechworth’s first purpose-built motel – at 54 Sydney Road, on 1.5 acres of land previously owned by the Le Couteur family, dating back to 1853. Quickly renamed the Beechworth Motor Inn, the property – constructed by local builder Graham Aherns – features 10 motel rooms (below) and still operates today.

*The* ‘*Beechworth Motor Inn’ covered in snow in 1969*

1968

The Apex Club of Beechworth is established. They hold regular meetings at Regency House on Loch Street (below).

*The 1871-built ‘Oddfellows Hall’ later becomes the ‘Federal Theatre” then the ‘Regent Theatre’ and, in the late 1960s, ‘Regency House’.*

1968 – Jun

The Beechworth Music Group complete a successful three-day tour to perform in Adelaide over the Queen’s Birthday long weekend.

1968

Automatic telephones begin installation throughout Beechworth, with the need to make calls through an operator no longer required.

1968

Graeme Smart’s ‘Esso Service Station and Taxi Office’ at 31 Ford Street – the prime corner position of Ford and Church Streets – opposite The ‘*Golden Era BP Service Station*‘. A new building – constructed in the early 1980s – now stands on the site at 31 Ford Street – the home of ‘The Beechworth Honey Shop’

Graeme and Lesley Smart take over the Esso Petrol Station on the corner of Ford and Church Streets and move into the house next door on Church Street. Previously run by Peter Boyd Snr and his wife Kath Boyd, Kath leases the business to the Smarts following the death of her husband, who had started his career working for Tom Parkinson. The Smarts will also run their rapidly growing Beechworth taxi business from the service station.

1968

With a growing interest in promoting tourism for Beechworth’s heritage, the National Trust (established in 1956) and the Beechworth Council devise an environmental area for the preservation of selected buildings and the encouragement of sympathetic design for all new buildings. Most of the town is a conservation area under the Register of the National Estate. In addition to Beechworth’s lack of twentieth century progress having caused little danger to most of the buildings, their durable granite and fine stonemasonry also ensures their longevity.

The United Shire of Beechworth engages the firm of Perrott, Lyon, Timbrock and Kesa to complete a town plan to allow “development without destruction” of the town’s 19^th century character. In keeping with this town plan, during the remodelling of ‘Sinclair’s Self-Service Store’ on Ford Street in 1968, a new shop front is built, but in the style of the 1870s.

1968

Dewar Wilson Goode purchases the run-down old Black Springs Bakery – 5 km from Beechworth on the road to Wangaratta – and donates the property and surrounding buildings to the National Trust who begin work on restoring the bakery as a house. The beautiful and historic 1870s-built stone and brick bakery buildings will later be sold to Rob Carr who will develop the gardens on the 10-acre property (below) and restore the buildings for use as B&B accommodation.

In 1875. the ‘Black Springs Bakery’ became the centrepiece of the small goldrush town of Black Springs, established in the 1850s. At its peak, the township of Black Springs includes a State School, three hotels, a butcher, three blacksmiths, a racecourse, a rifle range, three sawmills, several vineyards and orchards, a collection of dairies, with the ‘Black Springs Bakery’ becoming the settlement’s official Post Office. Ned Kelly is reputed to have bought bread at the ‘Black Springs Bakery’ The Bakery closes in 1942 and becomes the last remnant of a once thriving community.

1968 – Sep

Local policeman and ‘Beechworth Music Group’ founder Herb Crossman dressed as a Chinese Mandarin, sits in the rickshaw that will be pulled all the way to Melbourne by Neil McBain who bows down beside “his master”

The Beechworth Music Group announce plans for a major fundraising event – a ‘Beechworth Derby’. Local policeman Herb Crossman will be pulled in a rickshaw by Neil McBain on an eight-day journey on foot from Beechworth to Melbourne. They hope to raise $3,000 in the sponsored event to equip local children with instruments to form a Junior Concert Band. However, after much publicity, they hit a snag when the Victorian Road Traffic Regulation Act of 1962 reveals that while a rickshaw is considered a ‘vehicle’ and can travel on the left-hand side of the road with cars, the person pulling the rickshaw is considered a ‘pedestrian’ and therefore must travel on the right-hand side of the road! Beechworth schoolchildren stage a protest march (below) and there is much debate and pleas to the government, but the law stands firm.

In the end, the walk will proceed – without Herb Crossman and the much publicised rickshaw. Instead, Neil McBain will walk (on the right hand side of the road) on his own all the way to Melbourne – in the “Invisible Rickshaw Marathon” – ending at the Royal Melbourne Showgrounds. McBain, an education officer at the Beechworth Training Prison, had previously paddled a kayak from Yarrawonga to Mildura to help raise funds for the Manangatang Ambulance Service.

1968 – Dec 12

*Beechworth Supermarket – note the laneway on the right. There is now a building filling the laneway, most recently operating as ‘The Beechworth Pantry*‘ *and the ‘Chinese Village Restaurant’.*

After remodeling of its façade to better reflect a shopfront of the 1870s, Sinclair’s Self-Service Supermarket has a grand re-opening ceremony at 73-77 Ford Street, with the Shire President holding a reception for special guest Dame Mabel Brookes (below).

*‘Sinclairs Foodland Supermarket’ on Ford Street before remodeling*

*Authouress* *Dame Mabel Brookes* is *appointed C.B.E. in 1933 and D.B.E. in 1955 for her service to hospitals and charity,* and *appointed* *Chevalier de la Legion D’Honneur in 1960. She is the wife of (Sir) Norman Brookes, famous as the first non-Briton to win Wimbledon.*

Merv Sinclair also owns and operates the General Store and Supermarket in the nearby town of Stanley

1969

The Silver Creek Caravan Park opens at 151 Stanley Road, 1.5 km from the centre of Beechworth. Backing onto Silver Creek, the holiday park features cottages and cabins (below) along with powered and unpowered camping sites. It will later be renamed the Beechworth Holiday Park and now also features villas and ‘glamping pods’ along with a solar powered swimming pool.

1969

Reginald Brine and his wife Margaret purchase 11 acres of farmland beside Silver Creek and set to work building water races from Spring Creek to encourage fish (particularly the abundant trout) into specially built breeding ponds. Within a short time, they are able to open the Golden Hills Trout Farm at 121 Stanley Road, just a couple of minutes’ drive from Beechworth, and it will remain a popular tourist attraction for the next 22 years.

*The ‘Golden Hills Trout Farm’ at 121 Stanley Road*

1969 – Nov 28

*The Governor of Victoria, Sir Rohan ‘Jumbo’ Delacombe, reveals the plaque to commemorate the restoration of* ‘*Tanswells Commercial Hotel*‘ *on Ford Street.*

After almost 2 years and at a cost of over $100,000, Beechworth Developments Pty Ltd – under the supervision of the National Trust – complete renovation and restoration work, and the refreshed 1873-built Tanswells Commercial Hotel is officially re-opened by His Excellency Major-General Sir Rohan ‘Jumbo’ Delacombe, the Governor of Victoria. At the same time, at the rear of the restored hotel, he officially opens the National Trust Carriage Museum – in the buildings that had been the ‘Crawford and Connolly’ coach house and stables – displaying a collection of horse-drawn vehicles.

The National Trust carries out a nationwide search for to locate authentic Victorian hotel furniture and fittings and have remarkable success, often from unexpected sources. The antique brass chandelier in the public bar is located in Adelaide – coated in many layers of pink paint! Carefully stripping back the paint to reveal the original fine brass beneath takes many weeks (above). Wallpapers are specially imported, and new carpets (to match the originals) are specially manufactured and finally the main room is restored to its Victorian opulence.

*Although parts of ‘Tanswell’s Commercial Hotel’ are upgraded, some things stay the same – like the ornate gas lamp at the hotel’s entrance on Ford Street* *and the leadlight windows*

1969 – Nov 28

*A sketch by Graham Hawley of the new Beechworth Carriage Museum (from* ‘The *Beechworth Sketchbook’ published in 1972)*

The new National Trust Carriage Museum – in the former ‘Crawford and Connolly’ buildings at the rear of Tanswell’s Commercial Hotel on Ford Street – contains a fascinating array of over 30 historic carriages. Over the last two years they have been collected by Beechworth’s Catholic priest Father John Peregrine Stockdale and actor Andrew Gilmour after scouring Australia for the carriages and assorted historic vehicles and harnesses of interest, under the auspices of the National Trust Carriage Committee, chaired by Jack Murphy.

*A sketch by Graham Hawley of an ‘Omnibus’ – one of the numerous historic vehicles in the Beechworth Carriage Museum (from* ‘The *Beechworth Sketchbook’ published in 1972)*

1970

There is growing concern in Beechworth that the railway line to the town might be closed, after the ever-increasing use of cars and trucks (and freight) on the Hume Highway.

*Beechworth Train travels under the footbridge at the cutting (photo courtesy: Dorothy Collins)*

*Beechworth Train travelling up the cutting (photo courtesy: Dorothy Collins)*

1970

*The ‘Beechworth Squash Courts’ building as it look decades later* *when it is operating as the* *‘*Beechworth Squash and Fitness Centre*‘*

The Beechworth Squash Courts are built at 4 Mellish Street.

In 2009 the ‘Beechworth Squash Courts’ will be renamed the ‘Beechworth Squash and Fitness Centre‘ and in 2021 the business is renamed ‘Newtown Fitness‘. In 2023 the original squash courts will be removed and reconfigured as part of the gym.

1970

The Victorian Government established the Totalizator Agency Board in March 1961, and a Beechworth branch of the T.A.B. has been operating at 83 Ford Street (above) for a number of years. In the early 1990s it will close this branch and T.A.B. betting facilities will move into Beechworth’s Empire Hotel. The Totalizator Agency Board will be privatised in 1994 and renamed Tabcorp.

Before the advent of the TAB in 1961, Victorian punters can only bet – legally – through bookmakers on the racecourse itself or on the On-Course Totes, run by the race clubs. However, punters can illegally place bets with SP (Starting Price) Bookmakers, and people who live any distance from a racetrack have no alternative but to patronise the SP Bookies. From modest beginnings in the 1960s, the TAB grows rapidly until, in 1990-91, over 3,000 TAB outlets across Australia turn over $7.461 billion – a healthy percentage of the overall racing industry’s $40 billion-plus value! Around 85 per cent of the TAB’s income is returned to punters as dividends.

1970

John Maher, who has run his Beechworth Pharmacy at 20 Camp Street for many years, sells his chemist shop to Gwyn Morris. Qualified as a pharmacist in 1965, Morris will later move the pharmacy to a new location at 54 Ford Street and will run the successful business for the next 17 years, selling it in 1987, when it becomes Kelly’s Pharmacy (below) run by Simon and Wendy Kelly.

1970

*The ‘London Tavern’ looking rather sad and forlorn*. It was Beechworth’s first brick-built hotel and one of its most popular from 1859 until it is delicensed in 1920 (when it was known as the ‘Federal Hotel’)

After being classified by the National Trust, the now rather dilapidated 1859-built London Tavern (used as a private home since 1920) is purchased by Frank Strahan and a syndicate of fellow Melbourne academics – from Monash and Melbourne Universities – and friends linked to the National Trust, who slowly begin restoring and conserving the various buildings – sitting on a quarter-acre block on the corner of Camp and Finch Streets – with the aim of using it as a holiday home (below).

*The former ‘London Tavern’ restored and looking more respectable*

1970

*The 1856-57-built Beechworth branch of the ‘Bank of New South Wales’ in its prime position in the centre of town – on the corner of Ford and Camp Streets.*

The Beechworth branch of the Bank of New South Wales is under threat. With changes in banking operations and the need for better, and more modern, accommodation for the Bank Manager and staff, the head office of the bank considers demolishing the imposing 1856-57 built branch and replacing it with a more modern and functional bank, although they say the replacement building would be built with a ‘colonial design’ in mind. After protests about the historical importance of the old bank from the Beechworth Shire Council and the National Trust, the Bank of New South Wales agrees and announce plans to build new bank staff accommodation elsewhere in town and retain the old building without external alteration and with minimum internal changes.

*Beechworth’s ‘Bank of New South Wales’ building as it looks in 2022 (photo courtesy Beechworth Honey)*

The Beechworth branch of the ‘Bank of New South Wales’ will continue to operate from the old building until 1982 when it will become a branch of the ‘Westpac Banking Corporation’, then become the ‘Bank of Melbourne’ (a subsidiary of Westpac) in 1997, before closing and passing into private ownership in 2001.

1970

68-year-old James Thomas Dillon ‘Diamond Jim’ Mosbey and his wife Jean Mosbey take over the recently restored Tanswell’s Commercial Hotel on Ford Street.

*James Thomas Dillon Mosbey (1902-1978) behind the bar of ‘Tanswell’s Commercial Hotel’* *(photo: Burke Museum)*

1970

1970 – Sep

*Wagga driver Brad Stevens (Car 58) roars past another competitor while on his way to a lap record at the new Beechworth Stockcar Track.*

Founded in 1968, The Beechworth Motor Club finally holds its inaugural race meeting on the newly completed “Beechworth Track” built in the disused gold mine quarry along Madman’s Gully. The club’s first president is Ian Downs from the Golden Era Service Station. Regular race meetings are held, known as “Victorian Country Hot Rod Championships”.

By 1972 it is estimated that over 16,000 gallons of sump oil have been used on the track, and within a couple of years the use of waste oil on the track’s surface has come to the notice of the ‘Victorian Environmental Protection Authority’ as the oil is leeching into Silver Creek which runs into Beechworth’s Lake Sambell. In 1976, the E.P.A tells the ‘Beechworth Motor Club’ to stop using oil on the track or they will be fined $2,000. The track is closed and the club is disbanded.

1971

The former Bank of Victoria building on the corner of Ford and Camp Streets is taken over by Joan and Herb Crossman as their new Gem Shop and Information Centre. (The Crossmans had been running their Gem Shop for the previous three years at 48 Ford Street.) From the 1980s until the mid-1990s it operates as The Rock Cavern. Since 1997 it has been the home of the Beechworth Gold precious gems and jewellery store.

1971 – Oct 20

*The Bank WAW building- built in the the late 1970s – as it looks in 2022 at 17 Camp Street in Beechworth*

Beechworth Credit Co-Operative Ltd is founded for the male nurses and domestic staff at the Mayday Hills Hospital. In June 1977 its name is changed to the Beechworth and Ovens Credit Union Co-Operative Ltd to reflect the Credit Unions bond covering the Shires of Beechworth, Yackandandah, Myrtleford and Bright.

On July 1^st 1998 the ‘Beechworth and Ovens Credit Union Co-Operative Ltd’ becomes part of the ‘WAW Credit Union Co-Operative Ltd’. In March 2022 the ‘WAW Credit Union Co-Operative Ltd’ rebrands as ‘Bank WAW’. W.A.W stands for Wangaratta, Albury and Wodonga.

1971

After over 50 years in business, Parkinson Motors and Shell Petrol Station (below) is still busy serving Beechworth customers on Ford Street as well as running its regular bus service from Beechworth to Wangaratta with their ‘Leyland Royal Tiger’ bus (above at left). The late Tom Parkinson had established the first Wangaratta to Beechworth Motor Car Service from his Ford Street Garage in December 1930, followed by the commencement of Parkinson’s regular daily Beechworth Bus Service at the end of 1939.

*‘Parkinson Motors’ in the 1960s with the ‘Beechworth-Wangaratta Bus Booking Office’ on the left of the building, and the bus parked at the extreme left of the photograph.*

1972 – Jan

The Beechworth Sketchbook is released. Researched and written by 39-year-old lawyer Rodney Davidson (below), the 62-page hardback book is an illustrated history and background to the key buildings of Beechworth and features sketches by 35-year-old Graham Hawley. The book is part of the historic Australian towns ‘Sketchbook’ series by South Australian publishing firm Rigby.

*Portrait of Rodney Davidson A.O. O.B.E. LLB* *painted later in his life*

Rodney Disney Davidson A.O. & O.B.E., is one of the key players in the preservation of Victoria’s heritage during the latter part of the 20th century. He will play a crucial part in building the ‘National Trust’ movement in Victoria after it is established in 1956. His work as Chairman (from 1965 to 1982) and then President of the ‘National Trust’ in Victoria, and his subsequent contribution to the ‘Australian Council of National Trusts’ makes an enormous impact on the preservation of numerous heritage buildings, including those in Beechworth, as he calls for legislation to ensure the preservation of historic buildings. He also has one of the finest collections of books of Australia’s history in the world!

1972

*The Victorian Premier Rupert ‘Dick’ Hamer talking to the media in the 1970s*. *Hamer’s great-grandfather is buried in the Beechworth Cemetery.*

Rupert ‘Dick’ Hamer, the Premier of Victoria, establishes the Government Buildings Advisory Council and will then pass the Historic Buildings Act in 1974, demonstrating that Victoria is leading the way in preserving historic buildings in Australia. Rodney Davidson – author of the Beechworth Sketchbook (see entry above) – will be appointed the first chairperson of the Historic Buildings Preservation Council (1974-1977). This will all be very significant for the continued preservation of many buildings in Beechworth.

*Rodney Davidson – the first chairperson of the ‘Historic Buildings Preservation Council’ with some of his vast collection of Australian books*

When Rodney Davidson dies in Parkville on his 83rd birthday, his massive collection of Australian books is considered one of the finest privately owned collections of historical Australian books ever assembled. His collection includes unique items which are eagerly sought by both private and institutional collections.

1972

*The ‘Star Hotel’ on Ford Street, next door to Ronald ‘Ron’ Adolph Rosen’s Hairdresser & Tobacconist* *shop*

Upon the death of 76-year-old Bertha Pemberton in August 1971, her will directs that the National Trust should have the first option to buy the former Star Hotel on Ford Street at its current valuation. Bertha and her late husband William Joseph Pemberton had purchased the 1864-built hotel building in 1935 for £500 to run their popular grocery, furniture and drapery business and the Pembertons, and later, their two sons Maxwell and Robert, will serve Beechworth for many years. The National Trust will negotiate a sale price of $10,000 and purchase the large two-storey building in 1972. After restoration, the building will be opened as the Beechworth Youth Hostel in December 1973.

Although ‘Youth Hostels’ have become common in old buildings in Europe, this is the first time it has ever been attempted in Australia. To raise the $50,000 for restoration and conservation, a partnership is formed between the ‘National Trust’, the ‘Youth Hostel Association’ and the ‘United Shie of Beechworth’.

1972

65km from Beechworth, Lake Benalla is created by damming the flood-prone Broken River.

1972

*16 Camp Street – in the early 1900s the building had been home to* ‘*Alfred Ladson’s Furniture Store*‘ *and, since 1990, it has been the home of Elizabeth Mason’s* ‘*The Finer Things of Life*‘.

Dutch-born Bernard ‘Ben’ and Elly Valkenburg arrive in Beechworth from Croyden with their five children and take over the Beechworth Milk Bar at 16 Camp Street (above) from the Barnes family (who had themselves taken over the shop from the Ellis family). The Valkenburg’s will run the popular Beechworth Milk Bar for the next 18 years, before retiring in 1990 (below).

Elly and her family, the Zwetsloot’s, are one of the first ‘post war’ migrant families to arrive in Ballarat in 1950, while Bernard Valkenburg arrives in Australia with his Dutch family in 1954.

*Ben and Elly Valkenburg upon their retirement in 1990 (from ‘The Ovens and Murray Advertiser’ – Wednesday February 7th 1990)*

1972

After running the Esso Petrol Station on the corner of Ford and Church Streets for almost five years, Graeme and Lesley Smart sell the popular business to builder Kurt Gotsalks and his wife.

1972 – Oct 1

*Bowser Railway Station – formerly ‘Beechworth Junction’ – in the 1960s*

The Bowser Railway Station – formerly known as Beechworth Junction – ceases operating as a stop for passengers and parcels, however, the platform is not removed until July 1976. The station will be completely closed in April 1987 and in September 1987 it is disestablished as a staff station, with the Signal Box, Points and Signals all being abolished, along with the former grain storage facility.

*Bowser Railway Station today on the Rail Trail.*

On January 13th 1987, the line to Peechelba East will be closed, and in February, the standard gauge crossing is dismantled. Three months later the line to Myrtleford – the last remnant of the Beechworth and Bright lines – is officially closed on April 21.

1972

*Ford Street in the 1960s with Warden’s Hotel* *(at right) and the buildings to its left (marked by arrows) that will be demolished to make way for the ‘Golden Era Service Station*‘ *(below)*

Ian and Joan Downs purchase three old buildings in Ford Street (between Warden’s Hotel and Cameron McBean’s Reliance Garage), demolish them, and build a new service station opposite Graeme Smart’s Esso station across the street. They move their BP petrol station from 36 Camp Street and open the Golden Era BP Service Station at 34 Ford Street. In the mid 1980’s the service station switches from BP to Caltex. The site of the Golden Era Service Station at 34 Ford Street had, from 1861, been the location of Cabinet makers and furniture dealers Sengelmann & Reidle, who will trade there for 45 years until selling it in the 1920s, whereupon the building is converted into an Ice Skating Rink, a popular entertainment at the time. It is later the home of Well’s Bakery.

*Looking south up Ford Street in 1973 with Ian Downs new ‘Golden Era’ BP petrol station and Cameron McBean’s ‘Reliance Garage’ next door selling Mobil petrol.*

Another view looking south up Ford Street in the mid-1970s, with the ‘Toys, Gifts and Cycles’ shop on the left run by Leslie ‘Sandy’ Powell and his wife Shirley Powell. (image courtesy: Unique Cars magazine)

From 1965 Ian Downs and his family have also operated Beechworth’s RACV. The iconic yellow RACV vehicles will be a feature of the town for many years.

1973

William ‘Leonard’ Collier and Nancy Collier open their Seagull Cycle Works at 17 Camp Street. Seagull Bicyles have been a popular Australian bicycle since the 1920s when William Leonard’s father started designing and building them in Williamstown. Later, William (known to all as Leonard) moves the business to 142 Station Street in Fairfield. A few years after re-establishing Seagull Cycles in Beechworth, Leonard and Nancy retire and the popular Beechworth shop will be taken over by one of the Collier’s sons, Peter and his wife Lauris and they will run the business until Peter’s death (at the age of 42) from cancer in 1998.

*David Collier at ‘Seagull Cycle Works’ in Beechworth in 1984 (photo Stephen Henderson)*

The shop at 17 Camp Street has been the home of many business over the years including ‘Paul’s Tea Merchants’, Joey Harper’s Shoe Shop and Graeme Smart’s taxi business, before becoming a bicycle shop established by Ebenezer ‘Eb’ Barnes.

1973 – Oct

The Rotary Club of Beechworth is chartered, with Jim Francis as the first president, followed by Charles Mason. The Rotary Club of Beechworth is a part of a worldwide organisation founded by Paul Harris, a Chicago attorney, who created the Rotary Club of Chicago on February 23^rd 1905, so professionals with diverse backgrounds could exchange ideas and form meaningful, lifelong friendships. Rotary Clubs are non-political, non-religious, and open to all cultures, races and creeds. For more one than hundred years, ordinary people around the world have been giving to humanity through Rotary International.

1974

Tom O’Toole – along with his sister and brother-in-law Betty and Allan Friar – purchases Beechworth’s The Ideal Café & Milk Bar on Camp Street (above) which they run for the next three years, turning into a very successful bakery. In 1977 they sell the business and Tom heads to Western Australia where he becomes a successful baker in Augusta … but Tom will return to Beechworth six years later! (see 1984 entry)

*An adverisement for Beechworth’s popular ‘Ideal Cafe’ from ‘The Ovens and Murray Advertiser’ – August 1953*

Dropping out of school at the age of 14, Tom O’Toole first comes to Beechworth as an apprentice baker at the age of 16. When he is 21-years-old, Tom purchases his first bakery in Yarrawonga … which is not a success.

1974

Jean and Gerry Horne and their sons Jamie and David establish the Beechworth Gallery at 8 Albert Road and it will trade in Beechworth for the next four decades. Constructed in 1857 as a ‘wine and spirit merchant and general store’ by Samuel Shaw and his brother, the historic building has been home to several businesses over the years including Robinson’s Store (below).

*A promotional sticker for the ‘Beechworth Galleries’*

1974

*Geoff Crossman (far left) playing with the ‘Beechworth Concert Band’* *at Mayday Hills.* *The conductor is John Green.*

After Herb Crossman heads towards retirement from the Beechworth Police – and from his leadership of the popular Beechworth Music Group – his son Geoff takes over the orchestra – founded by his parents in 1963 – renaming it the Beechworth Concert Band, along with changing their style of play and music list. With a membership of up to 40 local musicians at any given time, the Beechworth Concert Band play at events like the annual Golden Horseshoes Festival held over the Easter long weekend.

1974 – Jul

*“Little Canton” in the 1860s – home to Beechworth’s Chinese community and Joss Houses* *(photo: Burke Museum)*

The Beechworth Council proposes naming a street ‘Joss House Lane’ as it stands in the area that was once home to Beechworth’s Chinese community – dubbed ‘Little Canton” – and featured four ‘Joss Houses’ (Chinese Temples). When community objections to the name arise, Darryl Higgins – who lives opposite the end of the small street – suggests “China Street”, “Temple Street” or “Harvey Street” (after Burke Museum curator Roy Collington Harvey who had passed away in 1971). Of these suggestions, “Temple Street” is chosen and the name is applied to the street, which runs between Hodge Street and Lower Stanley Road near Lake Sambell.

1974

*Construction underway on the new ‘Beechworth Senior Citizens Club’ building on Harper Avenue (photo courtesy: Beechworth Arts Council)*

The Beechworth Elderly Citizen’s Club (established in 1965) is renamed the Beechworth Senior Citizens Club and they are granted a block of land by the United Shire of Beechworth. Their new permanent home will be constructed on the former site of the large gasometer (gas storage facility) owned by the Beechworth Gas Works at 1A Harper Avenue. The large hole left by the gasometer is filled in by Geoff Lucas and his bulldozer and the new structure starts to go up (above), built with the assistance of The United Shire of Beechworth and Shire Engineer Don Pope; the Beechworth Lions Club and – under the supervision of Joe Chambeyron – inmates from the Beechworth Training Prison. The joinery is by ‘Clayton Joinery’, electricals by Ian McGuffie and plastering by Bill Coe.

*The completed ‘Beechworth Senior Citizens Club’ building on Harper Avenue (photo courtesy: Beechworth Arts Council)*

1974

*The 1856-built ‘Bank of Australasia’ on Ford Street – serving Beechworth’s banking needs for 98 years.* *(photo courtesy: The University of Melbourne Archives)*

The ANZ Bank – which is formed in 1951 following the merger of the Bank of Australasia and the Union Bank of Australia – finally sells the building that houses the Beechworth branch of the Bank of Australasia, ending 98 years of occupancy. The historic 1856-built bank building at 86 Ford Street will go on to become Ross Parkinson’s Silversmith Gallery, followed by the first home of Beechworth’s Buckland Gallery in 1976, then the Australasian Tea-Rooms and Antiques Store, and then Wayne McLaughlin’s The Bank Restaurant & Mews in 1989. Since 2009 it has been the home of Michael Ryan’s award-winning Provenance Restaurant.

1974

*Beechworth Football Club star player – Beechworth Gaol inmate Kevin Rhodes*

The Beechworth Football Club – the ‘Bombers’ – win another premiership, this time beating reigning premiers North Wangaratta by 44 points in the Grand Final at Chiltern. One of the star players on the Beechworth team is Kevin Rhodes who is an inmate at Beechworth Gaol at the time, but is “let out” on game days to play with the Bombers!

*Kevin Rhodes will become a popular and respected man around Beechworth.*

When he completes his sentence at the Gaol, Rhodes stays on in Beechworth and becomes one of the Bombers most dependable players in what is a successful era for the club. They win another flag in 1979 (defeating Whorouly) and contest Grand Finals in 1975, 1976, 1978 and 1983.

1974 – Nov 11

*Young actor Robert Bettles rides his pony ‘Taff’ down Conness Street in Chiltern* *(Australian Lobby Card)*

The Walt Disney feature film “Ride A Wild Pony” commences shooting in nearby Chiltern. Conness Street is altered – modern street signs are replaced, some building facades are changed and the road is covered in earth – to recreate an authentic 1927 atmosphere for the fictional town of ‘Barambogie’ (above and below). As well as Conness Street, local filming locations include the exterior and interior of the Chiltern Courthouse, around Lake Anderson, the old Police Lock Up, and the house at 24 Victoria Street next door to the historic ‘Lake View House’. Based on the 1973 book “A Sporting Proposition” by James Aldridge, “Ride A Wild Pony” has a budget of $1,312.500 – making it one of the most expensive films shot in Australia at the time.

With asphalt covered by red earth, Conness Street in Chiltern becomes the fictional town of ‘Barambogie’ for the film “Ride A Wild Pony” (image courtesy: Chiltern Athenaeum Museum and John Howes)

Actor John Meillon – who plays ‘Charles Quayle’ in “Ride A Wild Pony” – happily signs autographs for young Chiltern fans during a break in filming (image courtesy: Chiltern Athenaeum Museum and John Howes)

‘Brann’s Big Store’ (the fomer ‘*Chiltern* Savings Bank’) on the corner of Conness and Main Streets is used as the base for hair and make-up during filming. (image couresty: Chiltern Athenaeum and John Howes)

Chiltern will go on to be used as a location for the television miniseries “My Brother Tom” in 1986 and “The True Story of Spit McPhee” in 1987 (both based on books by “Ride A Ride Pony” author James Aldridge) and Corey Pearson’s feature film “Cry Baby” in 2023.

1974 – Dec

*Poster for “Ride A Wild Pony”, the first of two Disney movies filmed in Australia in the 1970s. Shot by Academy Award-winning cinematographer Jack Cardiff* *and directed by Don Chaffey, it stars Michael Craig, John Meillon and young Robert Bettles as ‘Scotty Pirie’.*

Filming of Disney’s “Ride A Wild Pony” now moves from Chiltern to locations in the hills around Beechworth and at the school in nearby Stanley (below), as well as on the banks of the Murray River and along the railway track near the Huon Railway Siding. Filming is completed on December 11th. A year later, Beechworth will be immortalised on the big screen again when Dennis Hopper and Jack Thompson arrive to shoot “Mad Dog Morgan” (see further entry below).

*Robert Bettles *as ‘Scotty Pirie’* – by the door of the schoolroom in Stanley – is admonished by ‘Miss Hildebrand’ the schoolteacher, played by Elizabeth Alexander (American Lobby Card)*

Location filming for “Ride A Wild Pony” also takes place in NSW near the towns of Scone, Barraba and Bingara, and at the 40-room homestead ‘Belltrees’ – built in 1907 beside the Hunter River near Newcastle – which doubles as the film’s fictional ‘Ellison Ranch’. Two days before filming, Prince Charles had been staying at ‘Belltrees’.

1974 – Dec

The episode “Dying Deposition” of the popular Crawford Productions television series “Division 4” is filmed in and around the Beechworth Gaol. Written by Ned Kelly expert Ian Jones, and directed by John Barningham, “Dying Deposition” is episode #3 of the popular Channel Nine police drama series’ 7th and final season. The plot description is: “Two attempts on the life of a youth and the subsequent murder of his girlfriend force Det. Snr. Sgt. Vickers (Chuck Faulkner) into visiting Beechworth Gaol in an attempt to get some information from one of the inmates”.

*“Division 4” cast members Chuck Faulkner (Det. Snr. Sgt. Keith Vickers), Frank Smith (Sgt. Scotty McLeod) and Gerard Kennedy (Sen. Det. Sgt Frank Banner).*

1974 – Dec 13

The Governor of Victoria, Sir Henry Winneke (above) travels to Beechworth to officially open the Beechworth Youth Hostel, which is housed in the former 1864-built Star Hotel in the centre of town on Ford Street. The restoration work to the former hotel – purchased in 1972 by the National Trust – has cost around $50,000, with both the United Shire of Beechworth and the Youth Hostels Association making substantial contributions. The building is leased by the National Trust to the Youth Hostels Association.

1975

*The 1940s tower and short spire at ‘Beechworth State School’ will be replaced by a larger spire in 1995, returning it to the origianl look of 1875 when the school first opened.*

Florence Pendlebury is appointed principal of Beechworth State School, becoming the school’s first female principal since it opened 100 years earlier.

1975

*Heather Sparks with some of her artwork (photo: Coral Cooksley, The Ovens and Murray Advertiser)*

Heather Sparks (above) – who had been an art teacher at The Scots School in Albury – moves to Beechworth with her husband Max and establishes the Settlers Art Store in Camp Street – providing art materials for professional artists and schools – which they will run for the next 22 years before selling the business in 1997. Returning to Beechworth a number of years later, Heather continues to paint and has exhibited some of her works – including paintings of Beechworth’s interesting old houses (below), the town, the Gorge, and Beechworth’s fascinating landscapes.

‘*Cottage at Allans Flat*‘ *by Heather Sparks, Oil on Canvas 100 x 75 cm.*

1975

*Warden’s Midland Counties Private Hotel in the 1960s*

After 106 years in business, Warden’s Hotel on Ford Street closes. The building – trading as Warden’s Midland Counties Private Hotel – will be purchased by Paul Conroy (Senior) who will run the former private hotel on the corner of Ford and Church Streets as accommodation for school camps, before it is taken over and refreshed by Paul Conroy Jnr in 1994.

*The side entrance to ‘Warden’s Hotel’ on Church Street (image from the book* *‘Echoes of History: Beechworth 1853-2003’)*

1975 – Jul 2

Beechworth Primary School celebrates its Centenary, having officially opened as Beechworth State School on Friday July 2^nd 1875. To acknowledge the milestone, Geoffrey Graham researches and writes a special booklet – “100 Years at S.S. 1560 Beechworth” – with the Beechworth Primary School Centenary Committee.

1975

Beechworth’s popular and dedicated GP, Dr Edmund Bryant ‘EB’ Collins purchases land – owned by members of the Vandenberg family – on the corner of Camp and Loch Streets (above) and builds the small Beechworth Surgery, directly across the road from his long-serving medical practice and residence. ‘EB’ Collins will soon be joined at the new surgery at 39 Camp Street by colleague Dr Cyrus James Sharpe. Initially with just one consulting room, additions and alterations will be made to enlarge the Beechworth Surgery over the coming years and others to join the surgery partnership include Dr Ross Jenner and Dr Richard Mark Smith. The Beechworth Surgery (below) remains the town’s central medical centre to this day.

1975

*New owner of ‘Murray Breweries’ – Ron Potter with members of staff*. *(Photo features James (Bill) Potter, Bruce Norman, Neil Perryman, Lorraine Beattie, Phyllis Kirkhan, Jeffery Lagoon, Fred Wyatt and Ron Potter.)*

Frank Blair and his company BCX (the Bendigo Cordial Extract company) sell the Murray Breweries to Bendigo’s Ron Potter who refurbishes the buildings and reopens the ‘Historic Murray Breweries Cellars’ to the public. Visitors can taste M.B’s range of drinks at the ‘Cedar Bar’ and view the impressive ‘Beer Label Collection’ (below) and ‘Soda Syphon Collection’. Ron, his wife Barbara and their sons Danny and twins Tom and Bill relocate from Bendigo to Beechworth and the family will operate Murray Breweries on Last Street for the next 14 years before selling the business in 1989.

*Part of the ‘Murray Breweries’ vast ‘Beer Label Collection’ on display to the public*

*A range of ‘Murray Breweries’ cordials*

*The ‘Billson’s Brewery’ building on Last Street with the distinctive ‘M-B’ (Murray Breweries) logos on the exterior.* *Billson’s had been renamed ‘Murray Breweries’ by Albert Michael Zwar in August 1915.*

*A rare souvenir patch for the *‘Historic Murray Breweries Cellars’* in Beechworth*

1975

A gem fossicker from Wangaratta uncovers a ‘Yellow Sapphire’ (also known as a ‘Golden Sapphire’) in Reid’s Creek at Beechworth. Once it is cut and polished, it weighs five carats and is valued at $2,000!

To Beechworth’s early goldminers, gemstones are a nuisance, getting in the way of their ultimate goal of gold. But, with the introduction of electronic metal detectors – and the renewed interest of determined gem fossickers – a number of discoveries are made around the former gold mining areas in Beechworth, the Woolshed and El Dorado. Among those found are rock crystals, agates, sapphires and rubies.

1975

*Beechworths gains a 2nd motel – the ‘Golden Heritage Motor Inn’*

The Golden Heritage Motel opens at 51 Sydney Road, 1.5 km from the centre of Beechworth. Featuring an ‘Executive King Suite’, an ‘Executive King Twin Suite’, a ‘Deluxe Queen Twin Room’ and ‘Deluxe Queen Rooms’, it will be in direct opposition with Beechworth’s only other motel – almost directly across the road – the Beechworth Motor Inn which opened in 1968. The Golden Heritage Motel will later add separate self-contained ‘Spa Cottages’ and change its name to Golden Heritage Accommodation (below).

1975 – Aug 31

*The completed ‘Beechworth Senior Citizens Club’ building on Harper Avene (photo courtesy: Beechworth Arts Council)*

The new Beechworth Senior Citizens Club building (above) is officially opened by Lions Club Charter Member, 50-year-old Ian Desmond McGuffie. The club rooms will be further extended during 1992, including the addition of a new portico and driveway (below), with the $42,000 extension officially opened on February 24, 1993.

*The Beechworth Senior Citizens Club building* *on Harper Avenue, featuring the front portico added in 1993.*

Four years after the ‘Senior Citizen’s Club’ is opened, the ‘Beechworth Senior Citizen’s Croquet Club’ will be initiated on vacant land two doors along from the ‘Senior Citizen’s Club’ building on Harper Avenue.

1975 – Nov-Dec

*Jack Thompson as Detective William Henry Manwaring in front of Beechworth’s distinctive granite walls.* *(Australian Lobby Card)*

*Daniel ‘Mad Dog’ Morgan on trial, filmed inside the old Beechworth Courthouse*

Filming takes place in and around Beechworth for the Australian feature film “Mad Dog Morgan”. Starring Oscar-nominated American actor Dennis Hopper as bushranger Daniel Morgan along with Jack Thompson, Frank Thring, David Gulpilil, Bill Hunter and many others, locations used for the film include the Woolshed Falls (below), the old Stone Police Lock-Up on the Police Reserve, Ingram’s Rock, the Gunpowder Magazine and the 1858-built Beechworth Courthouse (above). The conclusion of the film – the shooting of Daniel ‘Mad Dog’ Morgan – is done at Peechelba Station, 45 km from Beechworth, where Morgan bailed up the MacPherson family at their Peechelba Homestead on the evening of April 8th 1865, before being shot dead the following morning. The budget for “Mad Dog Morgan” is $450,000, with Dennis Hopper receiving a fee of $50,000.

*Stuntman Grant Page’s famous ‘fire fall’ from the top of the Woolshed Falls in ‘Mad Dog Morgan’* – see the stunt at **www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXRU4pJd5Io**

1976

*Beechworth’s third motel, named after the popular ‘Carriage Museum’ tourist attraction which had opened on Ford Street in November 1969.*

Australia has begun a major growth in the spread of ‘motels’ and ‘motor inns’ in country towns (to compete with ageing country hotels) and the quick expansion will last from 1975 to 1985. Beechworth follows the trend and gets its third motel when the Carriage Motor Inn opens for business close to the centre of town at 44 Camp Street, right opposite the once thriving 1859-built London Tavern hotel (which is now closed and rather dilapidated). With 27 rooms – including an ‘Executive Twin Room’, a ‘Family Suite’ and standard ‘Queen Rooms’ – plus a swimming pool, the Carriage Motor Inn follows the opening of the Beechworth Motor Inn (1968) and the Golden Heritage Motel (1975), both located on Sydney Road almost opposite each other.

The ‘Carriage Motor Inn’ is built on the large corner block that for many years had served as Beechworth’s wood yard. The ‘Carriage Motor Inn’ soon takes over adjoining shops next door – formerly the ‘Taylor & Skidmore” Grocery, Bakery and Sweet Shop – and convert them into the motel’s ‘Lantern Room Restaurant’ and breakfast room (below).

*The two buildings next door to the ‘Carriage Motor Inn’ will be converted into the ‘Lantern Room Restaurant’*

*1990 advertisement and menu for the ‘Carriage Motor Inn’ restaurant – the ‘Lantern Room’*

1976

Solicitor Graeme J. Bailey joins David McKenzie-McHarg O.B.E. at his legal practice at 22 Camp Street, with the firm renamed McKenzie-McHarg & Bailey Solicitors. The historic building has been operating continuously as a Solicitor’s Office since 1861.

1976

*The 1856-built ‘Bank of Australasia’ on Ford Street* *closes in 1974* *and becomes the ‘Buckland Galley’ in 1975 (photo courtesy: The University of Melbourne Archives)*

Susan and Allan Fox take over the Buckland Gallery at the old 1856-built Bank of Australasia building at 86 Ford Street. It had been established the previous year by Ross Parkinson who has been running his silversmith business and gallery from the historic property. A destination for art and craft connoisseurs, the Buckland Gallery sits in the grand building which features 6 metre ceilings, ornate rosettes, arched windows, and a large bank vault, built with thick granite blocks.

*Newspaper advertisement for the ‘Buckland Gallery’ featuring Susan Fox at right*

When Susan and Allan Fox move ‘Buckland Gallery’ to 31 Ford Street in 1983, the historic building is converted to the ‘Australasian Tea-Rooms and Antiques Store’, followed by Wayne McLaughlin’s The Bank Restaurant & Mews’ in 1989. Since 2009 it has been the home of the ‘Provenance Restaurant’ (above).

1976

*The Psychiatrist Superintendent’s Residence as demolition begins, to make way for the new ‘Kerferd Clinic’ (photo: Don Hayes)*

The 1907-built Psychiatrist Superintendent’s Residence at the Mayday Hills Asylum is demolished to make way for a new building – the Kerferd Clinic. Standing at 22 Oak Avenue on the Asylum grounds, it will function as a psychiatric treatment centre. The 1976 Kerferd Clinic building later houses the George Kerferd Hotel (below) before becoming the Grand Oaks Resort in 2023.

*The former ‘Kerferd Clinic’ building later becomes the ‘George Kerferd Hotel’.*

1976

Wal Larsen releases his book ‘The Mayday Hills Railway’. The 75-page paperback book details the history of the Victorian Railway’s branch line from Wangaratta to Beechworth and Yackandandah. Larsen will follow this with the books ‘The Ovens Valley Railway’ (1983), ‘Change Here’ (1985) and ‘Watching Trains’ (1987).

1976 – Dec 30

*T Class Locomotive No. 333 Goods Train towards Beechworth – 4th September 1973*.

After rail traffic between Wangaratta and Beechworth is reduced to just two trains a day in the mid-70s, the Victorian Government undertakes a program of regional branch line closures across the state. The Beechworth branch line is officially closed at the end of 1976, however one last train trip – an enthusiasts’ special – runs on January 3^rd, 1977 (pictured below).

*Sign at Wangaratta Railway Station in September 1976 (photo courtesy: John Thompson)*

*Michael Elkins, one the last Station Masters at* *Beechworth Railway Station*

*The final ‘Enthusiasts Special’ train departs Beechworth Railway Station on January 3^rd, 1977* *(photo: *Geelong & South Western Rail Heritage Society* Collection)*

The ‘Railway Enthusiasts Association’ organise a ‘special’ train to mark the closure of the line. The final rail trip runs from Everton to Beechworth and then back to Everton, where the enthusiasts hold a final ceremony and celebration. After 101 years of service, the rails are almost immediately pulled up after the special train clears the points at Beechworth.

1977 – Jan 29

In the midst of six-month long drought, in a blistering summer, a series of bushfires break out around Beechworth, destroying over 1,000 hectares of land. 40 fire units arrive from around the district to fight the fires, along with personnel from the Forestry Commission and inmates from the Beechworth Training Prison. Fortunately, the fires do not result in any loss of life or serious destruction of homes or major buildings.

1977 – Jan

A Public Swimming Pool for Beechworth! After first being proposed by the Beechworth and District Progress Association and its President Roy Collington in 1953, construction finally begins on a heated ‘half-size’ Olympic Swimming Pool on Harper Avenue beside the Wallace Park Reserve. The work is carried out by members of the Beechworth Community, members of the combined Beechworth Social Clubs and inmates from the Beechworth Training Prison. It will be completed by the beginning of December 1978.

1977

*The newly completed ‘Rosa Vardon Library’ at Beechworth High Schoo*l *(image from the book* *‘Echoes of History: Beechworth 1853-2003’)*

A Library is completed at Beechworth High School. The Rosa Vardon Library (above) is named in honour of popular teacher Rosa Vardon who will go on to become Principal of the school from 1993 to 1999. Beechworth High School will officially be renamed Beechworth Secondary College in 1986.

*The building as it looks in the 2000s – now known as ‘The Hub’*

1977 – Jun 22

After more than 20 years of negotiations, Australia’s Methodist Congregational and (the majority of) Presbyterian churches merge, and the ‘Uniting Church of Australia’ is officially formed as a national body. The now united congregations of Beechworth’s Methodist and Congregational Churches agree to meet at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church – a Uniting Church- at 115 Ford Street, on the corner of Ford and Williams Streets. With the closure of these two Beechworth churches, the Beechworth Shire Council will eventually purchase the two disused and now empty churches.

*Beechworth’s new ‘Uniting Church’* – *St Andrew Presbyterian Church (built in 1857)*

1977 – Jul 9

*Fire at St. Joseph’s Church. The Parish Priest is Father Leo Lane*.

St. Joseph’s Catholic Church is badly damaged in a Saturday morning fire, with the Lady Chapel being the worst affected. Father Leo Lane temporarily moves his church services to the Anglican Christ Church next door. An appeal is quickly launched, and restoration work begins. St. Joseph’s finally re-opens on 19 November 1978 and is blessed by Bishop Bernard Stewart from Bendigo.

*Father Leo Lane salvages the ‘Our Lady of Perpetual Succour’ painting – the only item undamged in the ‘Lady Chapel’ after the fire at St. Joseph’s Church.*

Around the same time, a separate fire also causes damage at the Beechworth Training Prison, but the repairs to fire damage will lead to several improvements.

1977

With almost 40 years experience in the ‘shoe trade’, Jim and Veronica Matassoni (above) establish their Matassoni Footwear shop at 20 Camp Street. They will run the popular shop for almost two decades and, when they decide to retire in 1995, Elaine Stevens (one of their longtime employees) takes over the business and, in partnership with her husband Rob, begins trading as ‘Elaine & Rob’s Beechworth Shoes’.

The shopfront at 20 Camp Street is unusual in that – unlike nearly all of Beechworth’s other shopfronts – it features a modern glass front. This came about when previous owners John Maher and David McCarg replaced the original, traditional wooden framed windows with the modern look when the shop was being run as a pharmacy. John Maher later sells the pharmacy to Gwynn Morris who, after a short time, moves to new premises on Ford Street, leaving the shop at 20 Camp Street empty for 18 months.

1977

*The Administration Building at May Day Hills with rose bushes as it looks in 1980*

Beechworth’s Mayday Hills Mental Hospital is proclaimed under the ‘Mental Health Act 1959’ and the Kerferd Clinic – for the short-term psychiatric care of distressed people – will be added the following year at the same time as the hospital is renamed the Mayday Hills Psychiatric Hospital. However, by the late 1980s and early 1990s the development of other residential options – day placements, education, employment, and recreational opportunities – mean the Asylum now has fewer clients/patients. By 1992, all intellectual disability patients have been removed from the Asylum and placed in other forms of accommodation, and by 1993 the Mayday Hills Psychiatric Hospital has a capacity for 130 beds, with only 20 available of acute adult patients and more than 70 geriatric patients.

At its peak 100 years earlier, the Beechworth Lunatic Asylum had been home to over 1,500 patients and 750 staff.

1978

*69 Ford Street as it looks in 2024 – ‘White Star Dry Cleaners’ stood where ‘Beechworth Pizza’ operates today.*

Douglas Brockfield takes over the long-running White Star Dry Cleaners shop at 69 Ford Street from Betty Hornsey (nee Borschman). The business had been established by Jimmy and Grace Wells.

1978 – Jun 13

Michael ‘Micky’ Isaac Freeman passes away aged 83. Born Michael Friejman in Poland in 1894, Freeman made a big impact on Beechworth after establishing his original Freeman’s Bargain Draper store on Ford Street in 1938. Over the years the Freeman’s Store (below) becomes one of Beechworth’s biggest and most reliable retail shops.

Michael’s wife Herta Freeman works for some time as a psychiatric nurse at Beechworth’s Mayday Hills Hospital before going on to establish an art gallery. When she decides to extend the gallery’s opening hours to include weekends – which is frowned upon by some – she will become the first person in Beechworth to have a business open seven days a week, paving the way for a shift in opening times that will have long term benefits for the whole of Beechworth.

*Micky Freeman’s large retail store* *on Ford Street, with the State Electricity Commission of Victoria’s shop next door on the right (image from the book* *‘Echoes of History: Beechworth 1853-2003’)*

1978

Designed for the short-term psychiatric care of distressed people from North-East Victoria, and at a cost of over $1 million, the Kerferd Clinic becomes part of the newly renamed Mayday Hills Psychiatric Hospital.

1978

Anthony McNeil purchases the building at 55 Ford Street which has been operating as a café. He converts the ground floor of the two-storey building – built in 1865 as Gammon’s Medical Hall – into the Beechworth Laundromatt (above).

*The building at 55 Ford Street in 1897 when William Johnston Bowen is running his Chemist Store from the former ‘Gammon’s Medical Hall’*

1978

With the encouragement of John Brown Jr of Brown Brothers, Pete and Di Smith establish a new 3.3 hectare vineyard in Beechworth, planting Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. The Smiths Beechworth Winery and Vineyard is at 27 Croom Lane, off Diffey Road.

In 2003 the winery and vineyard is taken over by their daughter Sarah and her husband Will Flamsteed. Will and Sarah make their first Beechworth Shiraz in 2006, while their Heathcote Shiraz is a response to the smoke taint and frost damage of 2007. Smith’s
Vineyard will be acclaimed for its chardonnay as well as cabernet, merlot and shiraz. The vineyard is predominantly chardonnay (1.8ha), with some cabernet sauvignon (1ha) and merlot (0.5ha), which make the estate wines.

1978

*Cover of the well researched 580-page book by Beechworth’s Catholic Priest, Father Leo Lane*

56-year-old Father Leo Lane – Parish Priest of Beechworth’s St. Joseph’s Church – releases the book ‘The History of the Parish of Beechworth 1854-1978’. Published by the Parish of Beechworth, the 580-page hardcover book details the story of the Catholic church’s background on the Ovens Goldfields and delves into the history of Beechworth, as well as genealogical material and numerous photographs and reproductions of historic documents.

*Father Patrick Leo Lane (born in 1922 – died in 2016)*

Born on a farm at the small settlement of Yangery near Warrnambool in 1922, Patrick Leo Lane is ordained to the Priesthood at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Ballarat in 1948. He will be sent to Bendigo to serve as Assistant Priest, followed by Shepparton, Wangaratta, Numurkah, Cohuna, Elmore, Euroa, Yarrawonga and Beechworth. In February 1966 he is appointed Parish Priest of Corryong. Seven years later he will return to Beechworth when he is appointed Parish Priest of St. Josephs Church in February 1972. With a keen interest in history, Father Lanes dedicates himself to researching the history of each parish in which he serves, leading him to write his history of the Parish of Beechworth, which contains many details not found anywhere else. He will move to Rushworth in June 1979, followed by Chiltern in 1982 and then his last parochial appointment to Pyramid Hill in January 1986. Upon his retirement Father Lane lives at ‘St Catherine’s Home’ in Wangaratta and then privately in Wangaratta before returning to his home territory of Warrnambool in 2006 to be amongst his family and friends.

1978 – Dec 2

At a final cost of $160,000, the Beechworth Public Swimming Pool is completed on Harper Avenue, beside the Wallace Park Reserve, and officially opened by Brian Dixon M.P. the Victorian Minister for Youth, Sport and Recreation.

1978

Christine Dormer and Judy Dabbs establish the New Edinburgh Dining Rooms at 52 Ford Street, next door to Tanswell’s Commercial Hotel. The New Edinburgh Dining Rooms will become the first dining business in Beechworth to offer service to tables and chairs on the footpath in front of their café.

1978 – Dec 17

The Chapel of the Resurrection is officially dedicated at the Mayday Hills Asylum. The building had originally been built as the Asylum’s Morgue! (below)

*The interior of the Chapel today, a popular place to hold small weddings.*

*The building in its original form as the Morgue, before being restored and adapted into the ‘Chapel of the Resurrection’.*

1979

*A range of John Harvey’s detailed* *‘Brigadier’* *toy soldiers*.

After purchasing centrifugal casting machinery, schoolteacher John Harvey and his business partner Marshall Clark begin making their ‘Brigadier’ range of 54mm traditional military figures and toy soldiers (above) in Wagga Wagga. John will eventually buy out his partner and move into making the soldiers and other metal castings full-time. His wife, Maria, joins the business in 1988 and then John and Maria move to Beechworth, opening their ‘Brigadier’ shop on Camp Street in 1991. By May 1994 their ‘Brigadier’ toy soldier range has grown to include at least 83 individual military figures and 20 boxed sets, each of which contains five figures.

*The 1984-5 catalogue of the ‘Brigadier’ toy soldier range.*

American-born John Harvey has a life-long involvement in pipe bands (as a drummer and drum major). For several years he makes badges, buckles and buttons for Australian civilian and military bands, including a lot of work for the pipe bands of the Australian Army at the time of the Bicentennial Tattoo in 1988.

1979

The Beechworth Senior Citizens Club (BSCC) purchase the bingo licence and bingo equipment from the Beechworth RSL and will run the popular ‘Beechworth Bingo’ on Friday nights for many years to come, becoming a mainstay of the BSCC fundraising efforts. Other regular BSCC activities include euchre (its longest running activity), hoy, carpet bowls, flower shows, art exhibitions, afternoon teas, along with Christmas and other party events. Their various fundraising events will finance four croquet greens ($27,000), a billiard table ($2,000), furnishings, equipment and two small buses.

1979

*The ‘WAW Credit Union Co-Operative Ltd*‘ building at 19 Camp Street *as it looks in 2022. Under a range of different names, the credit union has been serving North East Victoiria since 1956*, *hence the sign at the top of the building says ‘established 1956’)*

Having been operating at a shop on Ford Street, the new purpose-built Beechworth and Ovens Credit Union Co-Operative Ltd is completed at a cost of $250.000 and opened at 19 Camp Street (above).

‘Beechworth Credit Co-Operative Ltd‘ is founded in October 1971 for the male nurses and domestic staff at the ‘Mayday Hills Hospital‘. On July 1^st 1998 the ‘Beechworth and Ovens Credit Union Co-Operative Ltd’ will become part of the ‘WAW Credit Union Co-Operative Ltd’. In March 2022 the ‘WAW Credit Union Co-Operative Ltd’ rebrands as ‘Bank WAW’. W.A.W stands for Wangaratta, Albury and Wodonga.

1979

*The ‘Beechworth Singers’ leader for many years – David Carolane in 2014 upon his retirement aged 84 (photo: Tara Goonan)*

The Beechworth Singers is established by Father John Stockdale of Beechworth’s St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, with the reins soon handed over to Ian Hyndman (below) who will direct the Beechworth Singers for the next few years before Albury pharmacist David Carolane (above) takes over the baton. Carolane – who will receive an Order of Australia Medal for his service to music (particularly choral music) – leads many choirs in the district over the years, including the Murray Conservatorium Vocal Consort, Murray Conservatorium Choir, the Wangaratta Choristers, the choir of St Matthew’s in Albury, as well as establishing the Tudor Choristers (in 1962) and Three Choirs Festival Australia. The Beechworth Singers continue to perform concerts and recitals to this day.

*Beechworth’s Ian Hyndman, the second director of ‘The Beechworth Singers’*

David Carolane OAM dies peacefully at home on Friday 28 January 2022 at the age of 91.

1979 – May 1

*A view of the Burke Museum’s ‘Street of Shops’*

Rupert ‘Dick’ Hamer, the Premier of Victoria, arrives in Beechworth to officially open the “Street of Shops”, a new permanent exhibit at the rear of the Burke Museum that has been funded by over $300,00 in grants from the State and Federal Governments. The vision and creation of late curator Roy Collington Harvey, the 16 recreated shopfronts and the authentic products and artifacts displayed in their windows, many donated by the Beechworth community, “reflect another period in museology”. It continues to be one of the most popular attractions for visitors to the museum.

*Some of the 16 shopfronts in the ‘Street of Shops’ exhibit.*

*Roy Harvey with his youngest daughter Nola on her wedding day – January 9 1971 at Beechworth’s Christ Church*

Curator Roy Collington Harvey passes away in 1971, never getting to see the completion of his “Street of Shops” concept. A true lover of Beechworth’s history, Harvey had complied the book ‘Background to Beechworth from 1852‘ for the celebration of 100 years of European settlement in Beechworth in 1952. The book has since been reprinted numerous times.

1979

*The* *former* ‘*Brigidine Convent of Mt St. Joseph’* *becomes ‘Th*e *Old Priory Guest House’*

Having been run since 1887 as a convent, girls’ boarding and day school, and later as the co-educational Delaney College secondary school, the Brigidine Convent of Mt St Joseph at 8 Priory Lane closes in 1978 and is now renamed The Old Priory and begins operating as a guest house and reception centre.

1979

*One of ‘Taylor’s Transport’ trucks at the Diffey Road depot (photo: Shaun Taylor)*

Starting with one truck, Evan Russell Taylor establishes Taylor’s Transport at 5 Loch Street. As the business expands and he adds to his fleet of trucks, in 1989 Taylor will move his trucking company depot to a large area at 1617 Diffey Road. At the same site he will later add additional businesses – Beechworth Concrete and Beechworth Sand & Soil, supplying the town with gravels, rocks, stones, pebbles and soils.

*The ‘Taylors Transport’ and ‘Beechworth Sand & Soil’ depot at 1617 Diffey Road*

1979

The original ‘Beechworth Theatre Group‘ plaque that sits above the stage at the Beechworth Servicemen’s Memorial Hall on Ford Street

The Beechworth Theatre Group is established. In 1984 it will be incorporated and become known as the Beechworth Theatre Company. The amateur ‘BTC’ will put on a number of productions over the next two decades but support will eventually dwindle and the company ceases operations in 1991 (before a ‘re-birth’ in November 1996 – see entry further below).

The first ‘Beechworth Dramatic Society’ is founded in May 1866 with their inaugural production being John Maddison Morton’s “All That Glitters is Not Gold” followed by the one-act farce “Ici on Parle Français, or Lodgings to Let” by Thomas John Williams. It is staged at the ‘Star Theatre’ on Ford Street on Thursday June 28th with all funds raised donated to the ‘Ovens District Hospital’.

1979

*Valerie Mason (left) Beechworth’s first female Shire President.*

Valerie (Val) Mason becomes the first female President of the United Shire of Beechworth and will serve two terms in the position. A local sheep farmer and businesswoman, Val became concerned with improving infrastructure and developing economic opportunities in the region and stood for local council, winning her seat of South Riding in the United Shire of Beechworth, becoming one of the first women to broach the traditionally all-male Beechworth Council Chambers. She will serve as a councillor for nine years before being elected President.

With her husband, Charles Mason, Valerie developed and manages the Big Valley farm estate at Everton and is instrumental in introducing a ‘paddock to plate’ philosophy and business model, opening a butcher shop on the farm in 1973. Val is a member of the local Business and Professional Women’s Club for 37 years.

Alan J. Dunlop (older brother of Sir Edward ‘Weary’ Dunlop) presents Shire President Valerie Mason with a 2.86-gram solid gold nugget found in the Beechworth area more than 100 years ago. (photo taken on May 14th 1979)

1979 – Jun 3

*Official opening of the Beechworth Ambulance Station at 73 Finch Street.*

The new Beechworth Ambulance Station is officially opened by Dr John F. Wiseman, Chief Medical Officer (Hospitals Division) of the Health Commission of Victoria. Standing on the corner of Finch and Fredrick Streets, its official title is North Eastern Ambulance Service – Beechworth Branch.

The ‘Victorian Civil Ambulance Service’ (VCAS) is established in 1916 after ‘St John Ambulance’ separates its roles. The VCAS relies on public donations and municipal councils for funding, as the state government does not provide financial support like it does for police and fire services.The Victorian Civil Ambulance Service (VCAS) is now known as Ambulance Victoria (AV).

*The Beechworth ‘Dodge’ ambulance outside the ‘*Victorian Civil Ambulance Service*‘ headquarters on Lonsdale Street in Melbourne in 1935 (photo: Michael Taylor)*

1979

‘*Warner’s Hardware Store’ (orange verandah at left) on Camp Street in the 1970s*

After 24 years running Warner’s Hardware Store at 24 Camp Street (in the 1870 building that began as The Post Office Hotel), 58-year-old Ernie Warner retires following the sudden death of his wife Eileen and sells the business to John and Margaret Brunken. Under the Brunken’s ownership, the large store will continue to trade, initially as ‘Beechworth Hardware’, before reverting to its original name – ‘Ovens Hardware’ – in 1983. It will finally close in early 1991 and the Beechworth Emporium will then establish itself in the former hotel building in September 1991 and still trades at 24 Camp Street today.

*Ernest Wellington Warner’s Hardware Store, two doors down from the Post Office (photo from 1964)*

In 1992, Jim McCormack will construct a new hardware store on land at 4-6 Camp Street. The ‘True Value Hardware’ store will be operated by Simon Turnbull. It remains Beechworth’s central hardware, timber and garden centre today.

1979 – Oct 7

After attending (as guests) a meeting of the North Eastern District Croquet Association (NEDCA) earlier in the year, the Beechworth Senior Citizen’s Croquet Club is officially formed, with Marjorie Fagan as President, Molly Dennett as Secretary, Jean Mosbey as Treasurer and 17 foundation members. Annual Membership Fee is 50c, with a Green Fee of 30c. The new club’s official opening and first social will be held on January 20^th 1980 on a newly created green on former railway land (leased to the local Council) two doors down from the Beechworth Senior Citizen’s Club building on Harper Avenue and across the road from the recently opened Beechworth Swimming Pool.

The former railway land is leased to the new club for a period of 45 years for a yearly rental of around $120 for the first 3 years. The Croquet Club will use the rear of the Senior Citizen’s building as their clubhouse. The ‘Beechworth Senior Citizen’s Club’ also lease the Council-owned 1876-built ‘Gang Player’s House’ (next door at 1b Harper Avenue) for use as a ‘Caretaker’s Cottage’, with Robert Bell employed as Caretaker.

THE STORY CONTINUES IN THE 1980-1999 TIMELINE