Mickle Memories of Koo Wee Rup by David Mickle, is a chronological look at the history of Koo Wee Rup. David starts the 1920 entry with the following about hay stacks. David’s brother, Fred’s diary entry for January 1 recorded that our big hay shed was filled with close to 100 tons. We had to hire a stack builder as we couldn’t manage to build stacks. The leading stack builder, Jack Kelly, was a real hard case, made us drop the sheaves right where he wanted them. Good stacking is a sort of expanding circular procedure lapping the sheaves as you go. In five days we had two stacks with about fifty-five tons up. When Jack received his cheque on Friday or Saturday he rarely had much left Monday morning. He earned £1 a day, well above the rate for other hands. David also wrote that Fred says we killed twenty snakes during harvest.
David wrote that there was a navvies camp in Koo Wee Rup - a navvie was a labourer employed to construct roads and railways - and they were working on the new line that went from Koo Wee Rup to Strzelecki. Fred found 160 beer bottles near the camp. The going rate for the bottles was 6 pence a dozen, which amounted to eight shillings, which was good money as at the time they were getting only 2 shillings and six pence per day picking spuds.
In February, the Koo Wee Rup Sun had this report, with the headline Phone Facilities. It is a surprising oversight on the part of some business people of Koo Wee Rup and Cranbourne who still muddle on without installing a telephone, thus placing themselves and customers at great disadvantage and inconvenience….[they should] keep abreast of the times and not live as in the days of ancient runners that the telephone service has pushed out of work. (Koo Wee Rup Sun February 19, 1920)
Feat of flying
The Herald March 19, 1920 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article242172019
In March, this interesting feat was reported Flight to land sale - a crowded three hours - Flying from Melbourne to Koo-wee-rup, a distance of nearly 50 miles, in 25 minutes, completing a land sale, attending races at Koo-wee-rup, and returning to Melbourne, in a little more than three hours, was the achievement yesterday afternoon of Mr A. F. Witham and Mr B. Kavanagh, of Messrs Witham, Woodman and Kavanagh, land salesmen. (The Herald March 19, 1920) David Mickle also wrote about this in his book - the flight took place on St Patrick’s Day, they flew at 96 miles per hour and landed in what was then a paddock opposite the Secondary College. The pilot, Captain King gave a demonstration for the excited crowd.
John Mickle's Lauriston Park subdivision sale advertisement
Koo Wee Rup Sun, April 1 1920
Also in April the Koo Wee Rup Sun raised this issue - It would be interesting to find out how much money is thrown away by the various Government Departments in the getting of reports. In Koo Wee Rup we have had a large number of reports in connection with railway matters, while last week officials of the Police department went over the same old routine of several months ago in connection with the establishment of a permanent police station here. This repetition of reports…..is a testimony to money and labour being wasted. So, no change here 100 years later. (Koo Wee Rup Sun April 22, 1920)
1920 saw the opening of two local State Schools - Dalmore School was on August 6. The first teacher was Emilie Pitt. According to a report in the South Bourke & Mornington Journal, the school was on a splendid site, had a nice appearance inside and out and had excellent lighting and ventilation. The other school was at Monomeith, which first occupied a room in a house. The actual school building was occupied in July 1924. It was a very short-lived school as it closed in May 1933. The Monomeith building was relocated to Tooradin North in 1935, where it was used until 1970. In 2005 it was relocated again, to the Fisherman's Cottage Museum Complex, on the Foreshore at Tooradin.
Photo of the train wreckage at Koo Wee Rup
Weekly Times August 21, 1920 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article222557562
On August 18, a tragic accident happened at the Rossiter Road railway crossing when a car collided with the express train from Nyora. Two State Rivers & Water Supply Commission men were killed, William Thomson and Allan Deal. The Coroner in his report had a verdict of misadventure. The evidence of the men from the Railways said it was a good level crossing, but evidence presented by the motor car driver, Jack Dalley, and the owner of the car, Andrew Colvin and others said it was a dangerous crossing.
Also in August the Koo Wee Rup Sun reported on the visit of another aeroplane to Koo Wee Rup, this was in conjunction with 2nd Peace Loan. The plane toured the country and people subscribed to the loan (i.e. lent the Government money and they received interest). The money was for the repatriation of the soldiers. The plane landed behind the Royal Hotel on Monday August 23 and appeals were made and in the four hours the plane was in the town the people of Koo Wee Rup signed up for £4,900. The plane had been at Lang Lang on the same day and it raised £1,850. As David Mickle wrote, aeroplanes were No.1 drawcards in those days.
This is a bit out of Koo Wee Rup, but in August 1920 James Lecky of Cardinia Park in Officer South sold their property. Cardinia Park, previously called Gin Gin Bean, had been in the Lecky family since 1846. Perhaps the decision to sell was prompted by the fact that James lost two sons in the First World War - James (the younger) died of wounds on November 14, 1918 and William was killed in action on September 1, 1918.
Christoper Moody (1833 - 1920)
Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society photograph
We will finish this post with another pioneer, Christopher Moody, who passed away November 17, 1920. Moody purchased 1,686 acres of the Great Swamp run in 1875. He sub-divided land in the 1890s in the Koo Wee Rup township - what became Moody, Gardner, Henry and Salmon Streets. In 1902 he moved to Shepton in Rossiter Road. He is also the source of the name of Moody’s Inlet. You can read more about Christopher Moody, here.
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