Drik Drik

It was the in the Portland Observer and Normanby Advertiser that I first found a “They Say” column. It was actually a regular column in newspapers across Australia, offering a snapshot of news and local gossip, often with a humorous tone. Each item always began with “That” and the news reported ranged from local to international. The time period of the following four articles is 1915 to 1917, so Australia was at war.

White boots at a Kentbruck wedding? You probably had to be there. Mouzie is the Parish of Mouzie, near Portland and it seems there had been a sighting of the Tantanoola tiger. Incredible since the legend of the Tantanoola tiger went back 1884, when a Bengal tiger supposedly escaped from a circus at Tantanoola in the south-east of South Australia and was the suspected perpetrator behind mauled sheep through into Victoria. By 1915, the tiger would have been over 30 years old. Regardless, it is an interesting story with a twist that I intend to follow-up for a future Trove Tuesday.

THEY SAY. (1915, January 18). Portland Observer and Normanby Advertiser (Vic. : 1914 – 1918), p. 3 Edition: MORNING. Retrieved June 29, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article88675762

In January 1917, Drik Drik was on the decline and the pressure on men that didn’t go to war was clear.

THEY SAY. (1917, January 11). Portland Observer and Normanby Advertiser (Vic. : 1914 – 1918), p. 3 Edition: MORNING. Retrieved June 29, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article88675585

In June 1917, an Victorian State election was on the agenda, but when would it be? Much like what Australians have endured over the past few days. Again. Australia’s role in WW1 was costly, with the debt out to £130,000,000.

Amusing was the obituary for a sanitary inspector and the crack at the wealthy for not observing thrift, while they and the State expected those at the lower end of the scale to live an austere lifestyle during wartime.

THEY SAY. (1917, June 25). Portland Observer and Normanby Advertiser (Vic. : 1914 – 1918), p. 2 Edition: MORNING. Retrieved June 29, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article88675182

The following “They Say”, has a more serious tone with mostly international news and was possibly written by a different reporter.

https://mywdfamilies.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/ts6.jpg

THEY SAY. (1918, July 22). Portland Observer and Normanby Advertiser (Vic. : 1914 – 1918), p. 3 Edition: MORNING. Retrieved July 2, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article88197409

In contrast to the last “They Say” this edition was very local with much innuendo. Harry, Maude, Tom and Olive, if they were there real names, may have had a few questions to answer. Even if they were false names, Tyrendarra is so small that anyone at the local dance would have known who “Maudie” was. Pity any girl named Olive living in Portland during November 1917.

THEY SAY. (1917, November 15). Portland Observer and Normanby Advertiser (Vic. : 1914 – 1918), p. 3 Edition: MORNING. Retrieved June 29, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article88674176

Why don’t you check out your favourite newspaper at Trove for a “They Say” column. A search of “They Say” will bring to the top all the papers that ran the column. They make enjoyable reading.

Today I planned to write a post about our trip to Nelson in the far south-west of Victoria, that we have just returned from. We drove down last Wednesday, through towns such as Digby, Dartmoor and Drik Drik, tiny communities which feature in my blog particularity the Passing of the Pioneers posts. As we turned into the Winnap/Nelson Road and entered the Lower Glenelg National Park, the beauty of the area was obvious. I was particularly taken by the number of wild flowers on the side of the roads, pink, white and yellow .

THE GLENELG RIVER

I also made a note of the Drik Drik cemetery which I hoped to visit on our way home. Ian Marr on his Cemeteries of S.W. Victoria site describes the cemetery –

“The most notable feature is the rather impressive entrance. On each side of the gates are honour rolls for both World Wars. The graves are mostly centred in one area, with a small grouping in the far right, front corner.

Drik Drik cemetery is the resting place of many of the pioneers I have written about. They include William Mullen and his wife Emma Holmes, Robert Arthur Lightbody, Mary Hedditch and her husband James Malseed and the McLeans. Descendants of these families still live in the area.

The temperature quickly reached 43 degrees Celsius Friday leading to an itinerary shuffle. Friday afternoon, while at Nelson we received a CFA text message warning us that fire was 18 kilometres east of Nelson at Kentbruk.

On Saturday, the fire was still out of control and as we hadn’t made our planned trip to Mt. Gambier, rather than head back toward the fire we would go home via nearby Mt Gambier.

Today, four days after it started, as I sit here at home, smoke from the fire is beginning to become visible to the south. The fire is still out of control and threatening the community of Drik Drik and the town of Dartmoor. You may remember Dartmoor and the fantastic Avenue of Honour I posted on back in April. Again we were going to stop on the way home and take some photos. Also the road that led us into the area, the Winnap/Nelson road is now closed

Instead of posting about our holiday, I would like to wish everyone living in the area well and hope that soon life can return to normal. While they are no strangers to bushfire that never makes it easier to deal with. But they are from hardy stock down that way, it’s in the blood. My thoughts are also with the wonderful firefighters working hard in difficult terrain.

In these times, I also think of the wildlife which is abundant and diverse through the Lower Glenelg National Park and the adjacent Cobboboonee National Park. May serenity soon return to their lives and they can graze again among the wildflowers, pink, white and yellow.

Postscript: Since I started this post, a fire is now burning out of control at Chepstowe and Carngham around 20 kilometres from home. There are reports of homes lost including an unconfirmed report that the historic Carngham Station homestead has been destroyed. I will keep you posted.

Further Update on Carngham Station: Tonight it was confirmed that the homestead at Carngham Station was lost in today’s fire. A photo released on Twitter tonight reveals the devastation. .