History & Headlines PART FOUR 1930-1954 26 JUNE 2014 An initiative of the Mercury in partnership with Norske Skog, Boyer 2 160 Years of the Mercury 1854-2014 First century celebrated A T the height of the Great Depression in 1932, Davies Brothers Ltd announced that work was under way on the construction of a large new paper store and process department and an extension to one of the machine rooms at the Mercury’s headquarters in Hobart. A contract for £3224 had been award to D.R. Tait of Sandy Bay to build the new factory to the design of the local architectural firm of Walker and Johnstone. The project provided months of work for carpenters, bricklayers, plasterers, painters, plumbers and other trades. The three storey building went up behind the original offices on Macquarie St and next to the 1902 premises. The new building’s concrete floors were overlaid with Tasmanian hardwood parquetry supplied by Crisp and Gunn. More than 200 people representing all sections of the staff attended a social gathering for the official opening night in April 1933. Within two years there would be another new building, this time fronting Editor Advertising Production Series Editor Designer Matt Deighton Mike Moffatt John Ralph Damian Bester Travis Tiddy Argyle St, to serve as a paper store and executive garage. The whole company must have reeled in shock when three Mercury journalists were involved in a fatal car crash while driving home from work late one night in September 1934. Senior reporter Jack Judd was killed and two colleagues seriously injured when their car and a truck collided in Argyle St, North Hobart. A returned serviceman, Mr Judd was a prominent member of the Australian Journalists Association (AJA) and the news of his death was carried in newspapers around the country. The Courier Mail in Brisbane and the Advertiser in Brisbane described Mr Judd, 43, as one of the best-known journalists in Tasmania and a two-time president of the AJA. Also injured in the crash were turf writer Roy Kearney, 40, and cadet journalist Lloyd Morgan, 20, as well as the driver of the truck, Leonard Harbach. Tasmania’s two most popular weekly papers, the Illustrated Tasmanian Mail and the Weekly Courier, published their final issues on June 27, 1935. Similar notices published in the Mercury and the Examiner advised that the proprietors of each had decided their weekly journals would cease simultaneously. Both titles had their origins in a time when photographs were rarely used in newspapers, mostly due to the cost and technical difficulty. The weeklies contained extensive pictorial sections lavishly printed using the lithographic method, which was far superior to regular letterpress printing. In the 21st century both titles are prized by researchers for the window they provide into Tasmanian life of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. By the 1930s, photos were appearing in the pages of daily newspapers on a more regular basis and the cost of producing the illustrated weeklies was outstripping their income. To coincide with the demise of the Courier and the Mail, the rival publishers both launched special sections for female readers. In the Mercury’s case this was the Woman’s Realm, a weekly supplement “for all branches of women’s interests”. The pictorial tradition of the weeklies lived on in “Annuals” produced by the Mercury and the Examiner around Christmastime well into the 1940s. From August 3, 1939 page one of the Mercury became the headline news page instead of being the exclusive domain of advertising matter. In an editorial on page three, the Mercury said this was a change Writers Research Special thanks Damian Bester, Rod Boucher, Jarrad Bevan Mike Bingham, Phil Beck, Danielle Wood John Vile, Margaret Vine Hall, Peter Mercer The Tasmanian Archive and Heritage Office, Colin Henry, Mark Stansall, and all at the Mercury demanded by the time and the wishes of readers. It noted that of the 14 metropolitan daily newspapers in Australia, 10, including the Mercury, now featured this modern make-up. After 85 years on the front page, the traditional classified advertising - from births, deaths and marriages to the public notices and the “wanted” ads - was moved well inside the paper. There was still room for display advertisements on the front page and the first of those was from Motors Pty Ltd featuring the latest Chevrolet sedan. Australia’s own car was still a few years away. Another change to the Mercury following the new setup was the end of the Woman’s Realm supplement. Instead, there would be two pages devoted to women’s interests each day. Also included in the first “front page news” issue of the Mercury was a sketch of how the newspaper’s offices would look following their reconstruction. By January 1940 the imposing new office was complete. It was two buildings in one, divided by an internal From August 3, 1939 laneway, with a common page one of the façade encompassing Mercury became the both the new-build and headline news page the 1902 building that remained largely intact instead of being the behind the new frontage. exclusive domain of The design was described advertising matter. as “modern perpendicular style” at the time but it has long since been popularly regarded as art deco. Behind, the new edifice was connected to the various factory buildings associated with the printing of the newspaper and myriad other activities from the production of cigarette and chocolate wrappers to the assembly of cardboard boxes. World War II was under way by the time the new building was occupied and so the usual celebrations that would have been expected seem not to have occurred. As with World War I, the company was soon farewelling staff who had joined the army, navy or air force. On September 29, 1942, it was reported that Lieutenant Keith Bruce, formerly of the Mercury’s Launceston office, had been killed in action. His father was also on the newspaper’s northern staff. Australian Newsprint Mills Ltd (now Norske Skog) started producing the first locally-made newsprint at Boyer in 1941. Locally-made paper had been the aim of Australia’s newspapers for many years and major publishers including the Mercury were part-owners of the new factory near New Norfolk. Despite the advent of this new industry, paper was soon in short supply as imports dried up and newspapers around the country were told to trim their sails. In October 1942 the Mercury changed to a tabloid format as part of the war effort. A month after the D Day landings in Normandy, the Mercury centenary magazine cover, 1954. (Cover) Tasmanian opposition leader Henry Baker (left) and Premier Edmund Dwyer-Gray inspect the first issue of the Mercury featuring front page news in 1939. 160 Years of the Mercury 1854-2014 Mercury paused to reflect on the march of progress on the occasion of its 90th birthday on July 5, 1944. With newsprint still being rationed, the paper allocated just two pages to its birthday, including a photo of the Scott multi-unit octuplet printing press that was soon to be installed. The Scott press had landed from Sydney in 168 cases weighing about two tonnes each. It was installed under the supervision of W J Forsythe, the company’s mechanical superintendent, who had installed the Hoe press in 1922. Powered by 14 electric motors of up to 80hp, the press could print a newspaper of up to 64 pages in normal running. It could print, fold and count up to 30,000 newspapers an hour. Mr C.B. Davies, chairman since 1921 and managing director since 1931, retired from Davies Brothers Ltd in 1946. Under his leadership the number of employees had more than doubled and the circulation of the Mercury had risen from 11,000 to 33,000 daily. Following his retirement, managing editor C.E. Davies junior became chairman of directors. Paper was still being rationed in 1947 and readers were advised that the space devoted to Letters to the Editor would be reduced. Correspondents were asked to keep their letters to 120 words. In 1948 the first issue of Davies Brothers shares to the public was made of 60,000 preference shares at £2, bringing the issued capital to £280,000. The remaining £160,000 represented £1 ordinary shares. In 1952 the company was reorganised with Davies Brothers Ltd becoming the parent company of three subsidiaries — The Mercury Newspaper Pty Ltd, Mercury Press Pty Ltd and Mercury Board Containers Pty Ltd. In 1953 the Mercury opened a new building in St John St, Launceston, on the site of its earlier premises which Within a couple of were badly damaged in the years, the Mercury Ludbrook’s department would be eyeing off store fire of December 1950. The façade of the the most advanced new building resembled printing press the head office in Hobart. in the world. Damage to Ludbrook’s, the Mercury and adjoining buildings was estimated at £300,000, or about $14 million today. The Examiner had immediately offered office space to the Mercury’s northern staff, but the reporters opted to bunker down in the Launceston Hotel and later moved to temporary quarters in the Quadrant. The year 1954 was a massive one for the Mercury, but it was not without tragedy. With the newspaper’s centenary, a royal visit and a new evening paper to launch, the year started with a jolt when the young chairman of directors and managing editor, M C.E. Davies junior, died at 39 years of age. Tasmanian Harold Gatty and American Wiley Post make record round-the-world flight 1931 3 A trained journalist as well as a company executive, Mr Davies was a grandson of the founder, John Davies. He had served as a captain in the army in World War II and was an associate director of Australian Newsprint Mills, Boyer. At the next board meeting Mr G.F. Davies was appointed chairman and later, managing director, and would be the last member of the Davies family to hold those positions. Special issues of the Mercury were published in February 1954 when Queen Elizabeth II spent several days in Tasmania during her tour of Australia – the first by a reigning monarch. On the day of her arrival in Hobart, extra editions of the Mercury were issued at 6pm and 8pm. A new paper, the Saturday Evening Mercury, had its debut on July 3, 1954, and the centenary of the founding of the Mercury was celebrated with the issuing of a 160-page magazine on July 5. The centenary magazine was the largest job printed on the Scott press. Within a couple of years, the Mercury would be eyeing off the most advanced printing press in the world. The Mercury building under construction in May 1939. University of Tasmania students marked the end of the Illustrated Tasmanian Mail in their annual commencement parade in 1935. Joseph Lyons becomes prime minister, only Tasmanian to reach that rank Lyell Highway opens, linking Hobart with West Coast 1932 4 160 Years of the Mercury 1854-2014 Our last man hanged T ASMANIA’S Fred Thompson is not as notorious as Ronald Ryan, but they both shared the same fate and a link in Australia’s history. On February 14, 1946, Thompson, 32, was the last man hanged in Tasmania after being found guilty of murdering an eight-year-old girl, Evelyn Mary Maughan. In Melbourne two decades later, Ronald Ryan walked calmly to the gallows in Pentridge Prison, sentenced to death for killing a prison officer during an escape from the jail. On February 3, 1967 Ryan was the last man hanged in Australia. The day after Thompson’s execution in Hobart, the Mercury reported that he had gone to the scaffold calmly without making any statement about the murder. Despite receiving a deputation from Hobart church leaders asking for a reprieve, the Labor Government under Premier Robert Cosgrove decided not to intervene. Frederick Henry Thompson had murdered a child and public opinion was against him. After the hanging, the Mercury editorialised that the exaction of the full penalty had removed one menace but had done nothing to prevent similar crimes in the future. “On two previous occasions Thompson had been convicted of sex offences. Whether he ever came under medical restraint has not been disclosed. If he had been so detained and treated by psychiatrists until his taint were removed, or if the taint could not be removed, he had been placed under permanent restraint, Thompson would not have died shamefully and the victim would still have had her life before her,” the Mercury said. It took a further 22 years from Thompson’s execution for the death penalty to be abolished in Tasmania. Thompson was only the third execution in Tasmania in the 20th century but an estimated 540 were hanged during the 1800s - even crimes which nowadays might lead to little more than a work order could lead to the scaffold. Such was the case with Thomas England, executed in 1806 for allowing people to break into a government store at Port Dalrymple in the north of the colony. In 1826, Scottish settler George Farquharson, who was considered to be from a highly respected family, was hanged for stealing 400 sheep. The first woman executed in Tasmania was Mary MacLauchlan who killed her child at the Mercury erects a large new building to house paper store and printing presses 1933 women’s penitentiary at South Hobart in 1830. Author Richard P. Davis says in his Study of Capital Punishment that in the 12 years between 1824 and 1836, when Colonel George Arthur was Governor, there were more than 250 executions – almost half the total in Tasmania’s history. Governor Arthur believed strongly in the death penalty as a deterrent. Until 1855 the hangings were in public and sometimes bodies were left on the gibbet or ordered to be dissected. In 1857 the gallows were moved from the original Hobart jail on the corner of Murray and Macquarie Sts to the Penitentiary on the corner of Brisbane and Campbell Sts. In 1859 five men were hanged together, standing on the trapdoor with their feet tied to prevent mishap. They were the convicted murderers John King and William Davis, and bushrangers Daniel Stewart, William Fearns and Peter Haley. The Mercury reported the next day: “The arrangements being at length concluded, the bolt was drawn and the unfortunate culprits were launched into eternity. Haley Holyman Airways plane Miss Hobart disappears over Bass Strait with loss of 12 people, including proprietor Victor Holyman and King struggled for a few moments, but the others appeared to have been instantly deprived of life.” Davis documents that executions virtually stopped in the 1890s, but it would take three more hangings before the penalty was removed, largely due to the reformist zeal of Roy Fagan. A successful barrister and law lecturer, Mr Fagan was elected to State Parliament the year Thompson was hanged and was immediately taken into the Cosgrove Cabinet as Attorney-General. Mr Fagan was a staunch opponent of capital punishment and in 1955 he introduced legislation to abolish capital punishment for all crimes except treason. The legislation passed the House of Assembly, but it was rejected by the Legislative Council as was similar legislation two years later. It wasn’t until 1968 that Mr Fagan achieved what he considered his most important contribution to public life. In a stirring 80-minute speech to the House of Assembly, Mr Fagan described capital punishment as a barbaric anachronism. Members sat in silence as Mr Fagan said he had recommended “eight or 10” convicted murderers for parole and “none has ever been in any trouble, major or minor, since.” “This penalty is not necessary, it is morally wrong . . . it offends the spirit of the age,” he said. Mr Fagan said serious and sustained opposition to capital punishment dated back to the 18th century when a man could be hanged for more than 100 offences, including chopping down a tree. In spite of every conceivable legal precaution, it was still possible for an innocent man to be sentenced to death, he said. In the Legislative Council the mood had changed from when the matter was last debated and capital punishment was removed from the statute books. The last man to be sentenced to death – Peter Kingsley Cassidy, 22, who had pleaded guilty to shooting his wife – had his sentence commuted to life imprisonment in December 1968. Frederick Henry Thompson was the last man hanged in Tasmania – article from the Mercury of January 18, 1946 announcing the date for the hanging. Election of government led by Albert Ogilvie starts 35 years of continuous Labor governments 1934 Five die when Holyman Airways plane Loina crashes off Flinders Island 1935 Now and Then HOBART, TASMANIA Digital composite image of WWII peace celebration in Macquarie St, Hobart, created by Carolyn Docking and Richard Jupe based on an original image from the Mercury Newspaper Collection. Old Office at 147 Elizabeth Street John Lennard Hans Waldhoff Marnie Ralph After 60 years we’re still growing strong! Julian Stepik Ed Podolski Tracey Boyden The New Office at 141 Murray Street Racquel Cleaver Jason Bird Sue Hansson Staying true to our unshakeable belief in Hobart property, we have continued to out-perform the majority of agents throughout the last six decades. We are here to stay! NOW AT 141 MURRAY STREET, HOBART Ph 6231 0400 Tony Dion (Home Loans) Brown &Banks www.eldershobart.com.au 6 160 Years of the Mercury 1854-2014 War and peace A FTER initially being overlooked as a defence supplier during World War II, Tasmanian premier Robert Cosgrove eventually broke through the wall of resistance and contracts started flowing to the state. A booklet titled Tasmanians at War, published in 1946, lists the state’s considerable contributions to the war effort Perhaps the most outstanding of these was establishment of the Optical Annexe in Hobart which, starting from scratch, made prisms for sights and other military equipment vital for use at the front. Staff grew from six to 200 in one year. An ammunition factory established on the former Ascot racecourse at Derwent Park had a peak employment of 1350 in December 1943, 850 of them female. Shells were made in Launceston where the Alexander Patent Racket Company changed from making sporting equipment to military equipment. An extension to the Henry Jones factory in Hobart was dedicated to making bolts and primer shells for 25-pounder field guns, and the Purdon and Featherstone shipyard at Battery Point built three hospital ships and three harbour defence launches for the war effort. Precautions against air raids started in earnest 1941 when the Hobart Regatta was cancelled and all road signs giving away the names of towns, municipalities or travelling distances were removed. In 1940 Premier Robert Cosgrove had formed a War Emergency Committee and 5000 Tasmanians were recruited into the Civil Defence Legion. At the end of 1940 the Port of Hobart was closed to shipping when German mines were detected close to the entrance. Then, at the same time as the Japanese made their first bombing raid on Darwin, a giant Japanese submarine was lurking off Tasmania’s East Coast. A floatplane carried in a waterproof compartment in the submarine was assembled by the crew, flown south, skirting the Tasman Peninsula, and then approached Hobart. This pre-dawn “raid” on March 1, 1942 was the closest most Tasmanians got to being involved in action, but it struck fear into the hearts of many and exposed just how vulnerable the island was to attack. Children returning home from school that night were told to sleep under their beds, and a senior army official’s In 1940 Premier wife caused great scandal Robert Cosgrove by fleeing to Bothwell. had formed a Premier Cosgrove War Emergency announced that in view of the serious risk of attack by air, Committee and 5000 Tasmanians arrangements had been made for continuous manning of all air were recruited raid posts by skeleton staffs. into the Civil The premier’s statement, Defence Legion. reported in the Mercury on March 2, was the closest thing there was to any official announcement of the Japanese presence. But the threat of attack was so real that schools throughout the state were ordered to dig trenches in preparation for possible air raids. Several students from Fahan School were sent to Interlaken where they spent two terms before being recalled. Two massive airstrips were built in the state, one on the Annandale and Cheam grazing properties west of Tunbridge and another about 5km east of Campbell Town at Quorn Hall. The Annandale airstrip had two runways and paths leading into the bush to hide planes, but it was never used for any serious military purpose. Three massive underground fuel dumps were built just east of Ross on the Tooms Lake Rd, and a military hospital was established on the Merton Vale property near Campbell Town. A spur was built off the main north-south rail line to take fuel to the dumps. There was a camp for Italian prisoners of war at Austins Ferry, with many of the prisoners being put to work on farms. Germany’s surrender in May 1945 brought peace to Europe, but it would take another four months of fighting before there was peace in the Pacific. The catalyst was the atomic bomb, first used by the American Air Force on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on August 6. Hiroshima and its population of 400,000 was turned into a nuclear desert. Virtually all buildings within a 2000-metre radius of the centre of the blast were destroyed. The death toll within a 1km radius was 90 per cent, between 1.1 and 1.5km it was 45 per cent and between 1.6 and 2.5km it was 22.6 per cent. While a milestone for science, it was a milestone many wished had never been reached. But the alternative, according to other military leaders at the time, was to sacrifice another 1,250,000 lives in invading Japan. (Left and right, and opposite) Street victory scenes in Hobart in September 1945. Hobart gets first electric trolley buses Legislation for three-year state parliamentary terms 1935 SS Paringa sinks in Bass Strait, 31 die 1936 Last known Tasmanian tiger dies at Hobart’s Beaumaris Zoo Submarine telephone cable service begins between Tasmania and Victoria via King Island First two area schools (renamed district schools in 1973) open at Sheffield and Hagley 160 Years of the Mercury 1854-2014 7 Three days later another atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, and Japan surrendered on September 2 aboard the battleship Missouri in Tokyo Harbour. It was six years to the day since Britain had declared war on Germany. The days following the surrender were bitter-sweet for Tasmanians awaiting news from prisoner-of-war camps. Lists of names were published by the Mercury as the camps were liberated, bringing enormous relief to many families but ending hope for others. Returning troops were demobilised at the Brighton Army Camp. Tasmania had contributed about 29,000 men and 2300 women to the armed services. About 1100 were killed, considerably fewer than in World War I. Poliomyelitis epidemic 1937 Opening of Mt Wellington summit road, built as Depression relief work project Work begins on floatingarch bridge across Derwent in Hobart Production starts at the Burnie pulp and paper mill 1938 Death in office of prime minister Joseph Lyons World War II begins 1939 Now and Then DELORAINE, TASMANIA Digital image of Deloraine created by Ross Marsden based on an historical image courtesy of the State Library of Victoria. Royal Hobart Hospital opens on present site Introduction of “front page news” in the Mercury 1939 Tasmanian soldiers leave for North African campaign with Australian 6th Division 1940 German naval raiders lay mines off Hobart and other Australian areas; Hobart closed to shipping because of mine threat; Bass Strait closed after mine sinks British steamer Cambridge Tasmanian soldiers leave for Malaya with Australian 8th Division Australian Newsprint Mills’ Boyer plant becomes first in world to produce newsprint from hardwood 1941 January-March daylight saving introduced as wartime measure 1942 Women 18 to 30 called up for war work Size of the Mercury reduced to tabloid format due to wartime paper shortages 10 160 Years of the Mercury 1854-2014 Reaching the summit The Pinnacle Rd up Mt Wellington provided muchneeded employment for several years during the Great Depression. Heavy snow interrupted the roadworks – and continues to frustrate motorists on occasions – but the task was completed in about two years in a joint effort by the State Government and the Hobart City Council, with the official opening being performed by Governor Ernest Clark in January 1937. Opening ceremony on Mt Wellington, January 1937. (Left to right) Pinnacle Rd under construction at Mt Wellington. (Right) A snowblower clearing the Pinnacle Rd. Hobart floatingarch pontoon bridge opens 1943 Enid Lyons elected first woman member of House of Representatives, winning seat of Darwin (now Braddon) Japanese torpedo HMAS Hobart in Solomon Islands waters University of Tasmania begins transfer to Sandy Bay site State Library established 1944 160 Years of the Mercury 1854-2014 Rani wins the first Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race Last horse-drawn Hobart cab ceases operation 1945 1946 War-affected migrants begin arriving from Europe to work for Hydro-Electric Commission, with “displaced persons” (refugees) coming the next year 1947 ABC forms Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra on permanent basis 1948 Poliomyelitis epidemic 1949 11 12 160 Years of the Mercury 1854-2014 ADVERTORIAL Engineering firm’s strong foundations E NGINEERING, architecture and environmental consulting company GHD continues to build on its proud history in Tasmania, having provided 77 years of continuous service to clients and the community across the island. GHD has played an instrumental role in delivering vital infrastructure for the state, dating back to the opening of the Hobart office in 1937. Designing many of the state’s early dams and water schemes, the company made a big contribution to securing safe and reliable drinking water supplies for Tasmanians. In the post-war period, despite shortages of materials, equipment and qualified people, GHD continued to grow the breadth of its offerings, serving both government and private sector clients from Hobart and Launceston to the most remote corners of the state. By the 1950s GHD was working extensively on the rapid expansion of Hobart’s Eastern Shore, including town water supplies and sewerage systems, roads, drains and residential subdivisions. In the 1960s, the company designed the electrical and mechanical services for the Royal Hobart Hospital, and designed and supervised construction of the Risdon Brook Dam, Australia’s first concrete-faced rolled rockfill dam. The iconic Wrest Point Casino benefitted from GHD’s structural, civil, electrical and mechanical engineering services. While these historic projects have underpinned Tasmania’s growth and prosperity to this day, GHD continues to deliver leading-edge technical solutions. The company has developed a unique design for McGee’s Bridge east of Hobart. Other recent highprofile projects include the Craggy Ridge ecotourism and residential development, Margaret St Detention Basin in Launceston and the Brighton Bypass (North). “We are a people business and the key to our long-running success has been our business model of employee ownership that facilitates our ability to employ and retain highly skilled people,” said GHD’s Tasmanian manager Rob Lowther. “Some of our people have been with us for over 40 years. Combining this experience with the skill and enthusiasm of younger employees allows us to provide the range and quality of services we do today,” Mr Lowther said. Today GHD employs 5500 people across five continents, serving clients in the global markets of water, energy and resources, environment, property and buildings, and transportation. In Tasmania, GHD numbers more than 110 people with offices in Hobart, Launceston and Burnie. “We are proud to be a leading consulting company in Tasmania. We are here for our clients and our community,” Mr Lowther said. “As part of our connected global network, we are bringing the right skills and capabilities wherever they are needed. At the same time, we provide opportunities for committed people to develop their careers on challenging projects around our state and around the world.” The Mt Paris Dam construction in 1936. Gordon Gutteridge of Launceston put the G in GHD! He started more than three quarters of a century of tradition in the design and construction of major dams, water supply and civil infrastructure Local offices – Global support Burnie Launceston Hobart WATER | ENERGY & RESOURCES | ENVIRONMENT | PROPERTY & BUILDINGS | TRANSPORTATION 160 Years of the Mercury 1854-2014 13 History and headlines 1930-1954 A dark era starts THE 1930s saw the Nazi Party start its rise to ascendancy in Germany, with Adolf Hitler becoming Chancellor of Germany in 1933 and beginning his rule as a dictator. One of his first acts was to round up tens of thousands of opponents and Jews and put them in Dachau, the first of many concentration camps. A dark new era had started for Europe. Temperance movement HUNTING game for the fur trade, and food, provided many Tasmanians with a good income during the 1930s. That game was plentiful can be seen from figures supplied by the Fauna Board in 1932. The figures showed the average numbers killed annually in the previous four years were: black opossum, 14,497; grey opossum, 23,693; ringtail opossum, 576,707; kangaroo, 62,974; wallaby, 91,032. Gustav Waldheim THE Mercury of May 7, 1932, carried a report of the death of Gustav Weindorfer, the famous botanist and bushwalker who built and lived in Waldheim chalet near Cradle Mountain. Three days later it was reported that “his burial was at the scene of his life’s work, which was peculiarly appropriate”. A replica Waldheim Chalet today houses a display for tourists. Fire in an adjoining building severely damages the St John Street, Launceston, offices of the Mercury 1950 A SEA lion was captured at New Norfolk in 1934. Its visit was attributed to the large number of bream and mullet in the river. Century milestone Monkeying around Hunting season ONE of the longest obituaries in the Mercury during 1932 was for the turf legend Phar Lap. Bred in New Zealand, Phar Lap was first seen in Australia in the 1928/29 season and was unplaced in a nursery handicap at Rosehill at his Unusual capture REACHING 100 years of age was still something of a rarity for Tasmanians in the 1930s, which made the Reverend C. L’Oste, of St Helens, a remarkable man. A retired Anglican minister, Mr L’Oste, celebrating his 105th birthday, attributed his longevity to the beauty of the area around St Helens. ON April 14, 1931 the Mercury dedicated a page to the centenary of the state’s temperance movement founded by two Quakers, James Backhouse and George Washington Walker. Since 1856 the population had increased from 76,490 to 222,481, yet the number of publicans licences had fallen from 383 to 291. The report said that when the movement was founded men were in the habit of selling their wives and farms for a few bottles of grog. Phar Lap first start. It took four more races before Phar Lap won his first race, after which he rewrote the record books. A GREAT engineering project of the time, the floating pontoon bridge across the Derwent was designed by Allan Knight of the Public Works Department. The bridge was officially opened on December 22, 1943 and carried a toll for the first five years. On opening day several residents of the Eastern Shore used their cars for the first time to travel to work, one resident telling the Mercury it had taken him five minutes instead of 35 minutes as it had for the past 20 years. The bridge was replaced in 1964 but the abutment for the lifting span can still be seen on the western side of the river. Prime Minister’s death Picture this Premier’s death JUST two months after the death of Tasmanian-born Prime Minister Joe Lyons in 1939, the state was again in mourning at the sudden death of Labor Premier Albert Ogilvie. Ogilvie was just 48 when he suffered a heart attack on June 10, 1939. A lawyer, he was regarded as one of the most outstanding political minds of his era. His lasting legacy to Hobart is the road to the pinnacle of Mt Wellington. War heroes THE names of two Tasmanian war heroes who died in action are very much alive today, commemorated in the names of two Collins class submarines. Ordinary Seaman Teddy Sheean, an 18-year-old from Latrobe, died fighting, strapped to an anti-aircraft gun as the corvette HMAS Armidale sank off Timor in 1942. Tasmania’s other navy hero recognised in the Collins class was Captain Emile Dechaineux, commander of the flagship HMAS Australia when it was hit by Japanese kamikaze planes 1951 Bridging the Derwent OUR prime minister died in office during World War II when the popular John Curtain died of a coronary occlusion on July 5, 1945. He had been prime minister since October 1941 and is revered in Labor ranks as one of the all-time great leaders. In 1917 he had married Tasmanian Elsie Needham, who survived him with a son and daughter. A VISIT to Wirth’s Circus in Sydney proved painful for 23-year-old Tasmanian Charles Alfred Broomhead in 1935 — he was shot in the back by a monkey. The monkey, known as Tarzan, was doing an act with a .22 calibre rifle when the accident occurred. Brighton army camp gets first intake of national service trainees during the Allied invasion of the Philippines in October 1944. Government ends free hospital scheme THE state treasurer revealed in 1945 the average Tasmanian went to the pictures 14 times a year or once every 27 days. ��Tasmanians are not nearly such keen picture fans as people on the mainland for they go 20 times a year on the average,’’ the treasurer said. Leaving school age IN 1946 the State Labor Government led by Robert Cosgrove lifted the school leaving age to 16 and a compulsory X-ray program was introduced to combat tuberculosis. Our worst air accident ON March 10, 1946 an DC-3 airliner crashed into the sea off Seven Mile Beach, killing all 25 people aboard. It remains Tasmania’s worst air accident and the third worst in terms of people killed in Australia’s aviation history. It was a Sunday night and the plane had taken off from Cambridge aerodrome for Essendon Airport just before Mabel Miller becomes first woman elected to Hobart City Council 1952 Tasman Limited diesel train service begins between Hobart and northern towns 1953 14 160 Years of the Mercury 1854-2014 9pm when it plunged into the sea about 200 metres from the beach. There were no survivors and a subsequent inquiry left an open finding on the cause of the accident. Spectators killed ALONGSIDE the front page report on the plane crash was another horror story of how 33 spectators were crushed to death at a soccer match at Bolton in England. “Within seconds bodies were piled four deep. The referee 26 minutes later took a heroic decision and decided to resume the game to distract the crowd’s emotions,” the report said. HEC golden era DESPITE shortages of many items, the post-war babyboom era was a time of great development for Tasmania. Leading the charge was the Hydro-Electric Commission which entered a golden era under Allan Knight who became the most powerful public servant in the state. The same period saw the escalation of strikes, usually blamed on the growing Communist movement. Cosgrove’s charges PREMIER Robert Cosgrove was the subject of bribery allegations and stood down from December 1947 until February 1948. The charges centred on allegations that private transport operators had paid him £5400 ($11,000) over three years in return for a promise that he would protect their businesses from being taken over by the Transport Commission. A Royal Commission found there was a case to answer, but Cosgrove was acquitted by a jury and resumed his record-breaking term as Premier. Housing Department created to manage public housing First female Legislative Councillor Queen’s visit MARGARET McIntyre made history in Tasmania in May 1948 when she became the first woman elected to the Legislative Council. Four months later she was dead, killed in a plane crash in New South Wales. She had been elected to the seat of Cornwall by male voters and female nurses only, as full adult franchise for the Upper House was still 20 years away. The Mercury reported that her death brought a tragic end to a life of outstanding community service. THE 1954 visit by the Queen for Tasmania’s 150th anniversary celebrations was the first by a reigning monarch. While the crowds were huge, The Mercury’s Royal Tour reporter may have been somewhat carried away in the euphoria as he estimated that the Queen had been “hailed joyously within an hour by almost two-thirds of her Tasmanian people.” About 30,000 people had lined the docks to see the arrival of the royal yacht Gothic. “The fashionable crowd in the stands was overawed by the occasion. There was a feeling of tenseness in the air as the time for the Queen’s landing approached,” the Mercury reported. Menzies’ momentum WHEN Robert Menzies led the Liberal-Country Party coalition to victory in the 1949 federal election it marked the start of 23 years in the political wilderness for the Labor Party nationally. THE post-war decade was the height of the Cold War between western powers and the Communist countries behind the Iron Curtain. Australians also went to war again, this time in Korea after the Communist north invaded the south in 1950. The war lasted three years and created fears of World War III. WHEN Mrs E. Rainbird, of Launceston, celebrated her 90th birthday in 1954 she received as presents many packets of cigarettes. Mrs Rainbird said she smoked a good many cigarettes in the afternoons when she finished work. She had smoked for 25 years and started as a precaution against diseases at the suggestion of her husband. The Mercury described her as ��a bright, alert, little woman who has many interests in life. She does her own housework and the garden, and cares for her fowls.’’ Tiger cat Gambling move WHILE it is generally recognised that the last Tasmanian tiger died in captivity in 1936, Mr B. Maher, of Scottsdale, believed he had caught one in a rabbit trap near the town in March 1953. Not that Mr Maher would have been any help in reviving the species as he killed the animal first before taking the carcass home. Subsequent examination by fisheries and game inspectors identified the animal as a large tiger cat. THE year 1954 saw Tattersall Lotteries move its headquarters from Hobart to Melbourne, costing the State Government considerable revenue. Cold war Beaconsfield becomes first Australian centre to get fluoridated water 1953 Healthy smoking Queen Elizabeth II becomes first reigning monarch to visit state 1954 Schoolchildren wave to the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh as they pass through Hobart in 1954. Metropolitan Transport Trust formed (now Metro Tasmania) First issue of the Saturday Evening Mercury published ADVERTORIAL 160 Years of the Mercury 1854-2014 15 Freemasons Homes looking to the future F OR more than six decades the Freemasons Homes of Southern Tasmania Inc has provided a home for Tasmania’s frail elderly and for those of limited means. Chief executive Greg Burgess said the not-forprofit charitable organisation remains focused on providing the highest quality care and services that are dignified and respectful for their residents. He said the board had recently committed a substantial amount to improving and extending its operation in Lindisfarne. “Our 40 wing extension commenced in April and is due to be completed in late July, 2015,” he said. “It will allow us to consolidate an external site - Bowditch Hostel - into our main facility and add six new beds.” The development was designed to improve operational efficiencies while also providing a safe, modern environment for the organisation’s residents. The organisation was established in 1951 when four “memorial cottages” were constructed at their Ballawinne Rd site. At that time Freemasons Homes offered accommodation only, but over the years the concept has grown to include care. Today Freemasons Homes provide residential care for 165 frail aged people and supported retirement village accommodation for 50 people across three sites. The organisation employs about 180 staff to provide 24/7 care and services for residents at its facilities. Its commitment to excellence has been recognised in receiving the maximum accreditation period for each facility following audits by the Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency in 2012. The hard work and dedication of the organisation’s staff has been noted with awards for its innovative programs, such as the Supporting the Dementia Community through Fun & Games award which was presented to the organisation at last year’s Dementia & Recreation National Conference. (Left) The Freemasons Homes at Lindisfarne. (Right) Laying the foundation stone for the Freemasons Home in 1958. Freemasons’ Homes of Southern Tasmania Inc 7 Ballawinne Road, Lindisfarne Tas 7015 INDEPENDENT LIVING UNITS Enquires Welcome: Ph 03 6282 5200 Fax 03 6282 5266 Email: [email protected] Website: www.fmhtas.com.au The Home offers a range of modern 1 and 2 bedroom independent living units in the Lindisfarne area on Hobart’s Eastern Shore. Safe, secure and relaxed environment coupled with independence, in the company of others enjoying a �retirement village’ lifestyle Weekly rental and 49 lease arrangements available. Full building and garden maintenance included. Prices range from $170,00 to $185,000 for one bedroom units and $280,000 to $430,000 for two bedroom units. TAKE A LOOK AT THE BIG PICTURE. bigpicturetas.com.au You may know these people, or you may know someone who knows them. They are proud to work for some of Tasmania’s largest employers, producing products that may surprise you. Big industries are important to Tasmania. They employ a lot of people, use a lot of local contractors and suppliers, and put a lot back in to the community. Take a look at the big picture. Visit this website for more: bigpicturetas.com.au Or visit us on Facebook: facebook.com/BigPictureTas
© Copyright 2024 Paperzz