50 years ago

THERE will be no shortage of glamour over the next two or three days of the Yulunga Showtime Festival in Hamilton. With he parades of German wool fashions tomorrow and the Miss Showgirl judging on Saturday, it is quite an “eye-catching” program. The German fashion collection, valued at a cool $25,000, will be featured at three separate parades tomorrow. There will be parades at 1:30 and 3:15 tomorrow afternoon at the show and a further parade in conjunction with the Hamilton Grange Red Cross branch in the VRI Hall at 6:30pm. Local models will be featured in all the parades. The panel of models will include Margaret Meagher, Elizabeth Cross, Elizabeth Sefton, Cynthia Betts, Pam McIntyre and Diana Young.

THE Koenig clearance fiasco becomes even more ridiculous with the latest revelation that it appears the HDCA has acted unconstitutionally in rejecting an application by the Hamilton Cricket Club for the case to go before a Disputes’ Committee. Hamilton District Cricket Association delegates last week rejected an application by the Hamilton Cricket Club that a clearance by St. Mary’s player Neville Koenig, be referred to the association disputes’ committee. There is no rule in the constitution which states that the delegates can vote on an application to the executive for a Disputes’ Committee hearing. However, it is clearly spelt out in the constitution that any dispute arising out of an association matter shall be determined by the disputes committee.

25 years ago

HAMILTON Skate Park was officially opened on Thursday by former Davis Cup tennis star, Frank Sedgman, and Balmoral resident and district benefactor, Helen Handbury. The name of the park, which was a secret until the unveiling of the sign, is Helen’s Park, after Mrs Handbury. It was a well-kept secret because Mrs Handbury did not know until the unveiling, and she was overwhelmed. She said: “My husband doesn’t believe it, but I’m just speechless. It’s a great honour, but it will always be Jenny’s Park to me.” She was still stunned after the ceremony when she had cut the ribbon to the new playground, reiterating that it would always be Jenny’s Park and “I’m not used to surprises.”

ONE of Australia’s tennis stars of the 1950s, Frank Sedgman, has turned to helping with community projects. Sedgman was in Hamilton for the official opening of the Skate Park playground on Thursday afternoon as part of the Tooheys Community Support Committee with Victorian Premier’s wife, Felicity Kennett, former Premier, Sir Rupert Hamer, and Tooheys managing director, Peter Reidie. While it may be a long way from centre court at Wimbledon, Sedgman said that he was quite happy to help distribute money through the committee to projects like the skate park (now Helen’s Park) in Hamilton. He said that cricket, tennis and other sporting clubs had benefited from funds from the committee, particularly those in the country.