What happened in Garfield in 1922

 This is a look back 100 years at what happened in Garfield and surrounds in 1922. 

The year started on a sad note with a report in February of a death -  Man’s lonely death - While looking for a cow at Garfield, Mr. R. James found the dead body of a man lying on an unused road near the 14-mile. The body was that of Mr. Patrick Hanna, who until recently had been employed by Mr. Stacey, of Bunyip. Hanna was more than 50 years old, and had been a resident of the district for many years. (The Argus February 20, 1922, see here)

There was news about the Garfield State School. In April it was reported that Miss Lindsay, who has been first assistant at the Garfield school for 4½ years, has retired. She was entertained at a social, and presented with a silver and oak tray from the scholars, and a silver biscuit trough from the parents. Her successor is Miss Honig.  Owing to the crowded state of the Garfield school, an agitation is on foot to obtain increased accommodation. The agitation paid off as, in November, the Public Works Department accepted the tender of Mr. J. Saville for additions to the school. The contract price was £540. In June it was reported that Miss D. Chappell has been appointed to the staff of Garfield school, to fill the vacancy caused by the transfer of Miss McKinnon to Yarragon. (The Age, April 25, 1922, see here; The Argus June 1, 1922, see here and The Argus, November 8, 1922, see here)

While we are on the subject of local schools The Argus reported in September that before her departure from Tynong Miss Giles, sewing mistress at the State school was presented with a gold wristlet watch by parents and residents, and with a leather suit-case by the pupils. Also in the September a concert was held at Garfield North, in aid of the piano fund of the School. (The Argus September 7, 1922, see here and The Argus, September 26, 1922, see here)

In May, a fancy dress ball was held in the Nar Nar Goon Memorial Hall by the Cora Lynn branch of the Returned Soldiers' league, The proceeds from the ball went towards the new library at Cora Lynn. The Library would have been in the Hall. (The Argus, May 2, 1922, see here)

In May there was also a report in The Age about criminal activity in the local area. These cases were heard at the Bunyip Court - For stealing a blanket from the clothes line at the Iona Hotel, Garfield, a young man named John Gilbert Drum was sentenced to ten days imprisonment. Arthur Wilson received fourteen days for stealing a hat and overcoat from a motor car at Cora Lynn on Easter Monday night. A young married man named Flynn was fined £20 for being in unlawful possession of a bag of sugar, alleged to have been stolen from the Tynong railway station. The accused denied the charge, and said the bag of sugar was given to him by the assistant at the station for some potatoes. S. Synot was fined £2 for allowing a cow to wander on to the railway at Tynong, and Jos. Hart £5 for using obscene language at Bunyip on 18th inst. (The Age, May 2, 1922, see here)

In November there was more criminal activity at Garfield when it was reported that - a large show window in the lockup shop of Mr J. W. Betts, bootmaker, was shattered on Wednesday night. A pair of men's boots is missing. The police are following a clue. (The Argus, November 11, 1922, see here)

The Pioneers' Hall at Iona (which was the public hall) opened in 1895 and was enlarged and renovated in 1922. In May, the Catholic newspaper, The Advocate,  reported - The Pioneers' Hall, which has been completely neglected for years past, has undergone a complete transformation and it is somewhat difficult now to identify the old building with the present imposing edifice. In the early days of the swamp the Government provided a very small piece of land for recreation purposes, and miserly assisted the pioneers in erecting some sort of a building for the purpose of holding meetings. The building until recently in evidence in one of the richest places in Victoria has sustained the storms for almost 30 years, and whilst other halls were erected in the adjacent townships, substantially assisted by Iona, their own hall was neglected. Some six months ago Mr.Peter Grummich, secretary of the Pioneers [Association], convened a public meeting,at which five new trustees were appointed who also are guarantors. They succeeded in obtaining £500 from the London Bank, Garfield, and immediately prepared plans, etc., for additions and renovations. Mr. J Grummich was the successful tenderer, and the committee are highly gratified at the splendid work performed by the contractor. A new light will be installed during the week, and the hall will be opened about 11th inst. All the money has been spent, apart from work computed at £100 done by the local residents.(The Advocate, May 4, 1922, see here).  

The Age of May 2, 1922  (see here) reported that the Hall opening took place on May 13 by Mr. F. Groves, M.L. A. It also said that the old hall was originally built by the settlers on the swamp. Messr J. Dowd and J. Curtain donated portions of their property to the committee for the extension.
The Hall was on the north side of the Main Drain, east of St Joseph's Catholic Church. I have written about the Hall, here.

The last day of June in 1922 was very cold and The Argus reported with unexpected snow falls throughout the State - Bitterly cold weather was again experienced throughout the State yesterday, and heavy falls of snow occurred at many places. The minimum temperature recorded at the Weather Bureau was 32.7 deg. early in the morning, and the maximum reading was 46.0 deg. at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon..... Snow fell at - Bunyip, Pakenham (only fall remembered by residents for 40 years), Mount Cannibal (near Garfield), Nar Nar Goon (first for 30 years), Tooradin, Koo-wee-rup (first time on record) (The Argus, July 1, 1922, see here).
32.7 degrees Fahrenheit is about 0 degrees Celsius and 46 degrees is about 8 degrees. 

The Advocate of October 5, 1922 (see here) had some interesting local news - Representatives from the parishes of Lang Lang, Kooweerup and Nar-Nar-Goon and Iona recently met and decided to purchase a four-cylinder Buick car for use of the priests and the Sisters. The necessity of the action has been apparent for some time, owing to the distance the priests have to travel. The sisters from Iona, who also teach at the convent school at Cora Lynn, invariably depend on the neighbours to take them to school, but the parish car will suffice for all purposes.

The Convent at Iona. I wonder if that is the new Buick car purchased for use of the Priest and the Sisters?

The Advocate November 16, 1922 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page20363246

The same paper also reported on the Garfield Recreation Reserve - The committee of the Garfield Recreation Reserve is to be congratulated for the improvements effected on the grounds. A few years ago it was completely neglected, but at a public meeting new trustees were appointed, who are responsible for collecting over £400 and spending same on improvements, with the result that two semi-final football matches have been played on the ground by visiting teams, with a possibility of a grand final. (The Advocate, October 5, 1922, see here)

Eggs were a staple diet in Hospitals in years past and they relied on the public to donate eggs. Local schools donated eggs to Hospitals and in October 1922 it was reported that Garfield State school had donated 300 eggs to the Warragul Hospital. The same report had a list of how many eggs had been donated in 1921 and Garfield State School had sent 720. Overall local schools had donated 18, 682 eggs in 1921. the eggs were preserved with Ovo, apparently a well known egg preservative. (West Gippsland Gazette, October 10, 1922, see here)

The Argus of November 11, 1922 (see here) had this news about the telephone exchange - Farmers on the Swamp are making arrangements for telephone connection with Garfield. The deputy postmaster-general is being petitioned to allow the telephone exchange to remain open to 8.pm. daily. There was also this weather and crop report in the same edition - During October nearly 4in. of rain fell, and the record for November is 206 points. Owing to floods farmers on the Six-Mile Drain have had to replant potato crops. - Cherry yields promise to be good. Loquats are a complete failure. Large consignments of asparagus are sent weekly from Garfield to a Melbourne jam company.
Four inches of rain is 100 mls. There are 100 points of rain to the inch.