50 years ago
WOOL and beef industry price slumps have made it more important for Western District farmers to support the Hamilton Show tomorrow and Saturday. Hamilton Pastoral and Agricultural Society president, Mr. Allen Diprose, of Cavendish, made the point in a show eve message yesterday. “The slumps make it essential for graziers to breed top quality stock,” he added. “The show is a means of assessing the standards of stock,” Mr. Diprose said. Hamilton Showgrounds took on new life early this week as society officials and side-show people moved in with their truckloads of equipment. Mr. Diprose was preparing for his first Hamilton Show as society president after joining the society in the early 1960s.
OFFICIALS of Hamilton Junior Football League are still waiting on Hamilton Under 18 Football League’s decision as to whether it will go into recess. Officials associated with junior clubs said yesterday they were disappointed at the failure of the secretary and president of the Under 18 league to honor a promise made a month ago. The promise was the Under 18 league would decide within a week if it was to go into recess. If it does, the junior league will immediately work towards starting an under 17 competition for Hamilton. Under 18 league officials are adamant there is no chance of their league continuing, but they have made no real move to give this officially to the junior league.
25 years ago
OBJECTORS against a proposed large service station on the corner of Ballarat Rd and Hamilton Hwy, Hamilton, seem set to continue their fight by appealing against Southern Grampians Shire’s decision to give it a planning permit. The shire on Wednesday night unanimously agreed to give the service station the green light – although it did impose a massive 32 conditions on the permit. However, this didn’t satisfy the lessee of the nearby Grange Burn Motor Inn, Michael Boyd, who found council’s decision “disappointing”. “I thought the council might have appreciated there was obvious impact (on his business) before 7am and after 10pm,” he said after the meeting. The Grange Burn has 11 units on its eastern side facing the service station site.
RECENT rain has left the Dunkeld track in perfect condition for the running of today’s 125th annual Dunkeld races with huge crowds expected to attend. Dunkeld Racing Club secretary, Bill Picken, said on Thursday morning that after initial concerns over the track owing to the recent dry spell, good rainfall had left the track in magnificent condition for the meet. According to Mr Picken entries for the races had been “absolutely sensational” with 98 entries and 86 acceptances to date making it one of the most keenly sought after meetings in years. “To have 86 acceptances at this stage is just brilliant and easily bigger than last year’s meeting,” he said. A full field for the feature race, the Dunkeld Cup, will feature in the family orientated day, while the maiden race for three-year-olds had to be divided into two races because of high entry numbers.
