Publican Brendan Finn said it would be a sorry day for the district. He said it was a reluctant decision but one he had to make simply on financial grounds.
‘‘You have your good days but unfortunately you have more bad ones. It’s just got too hard,’’ Brendan, who has owned the pub with family and run it for the past four years, said.
The pub has been a district icon since it was built in the late 19th century, being on a main highway and a ‘must’ port of call for horse-drawn travellers in its early years.
Brendan said the original Koyuga Hotel on the same site as the present pub burnt down in 1934 and was rebuilt to what it still looks like today.
‘‘There are five motel units and 20 acres here, which plenty of tourists and truckies have used for overnight stays.’’
Brendan said he would like to thank his loyal customers for their support in the time he had been there and was now looking forward to hitting the road and visiting family and friends spread over Australia in a new journey in his life.
New committee
Rochester Mural Festival is far from done and dusted.
Following a series of meetings, the festival is set to continue next year.
The festival’s committee in January announced it was stepping down after the 2025 event, but a group of other community members has stepped up to keep the popular event going.
Tough day for Strathmerton
It’s not good news at Strathmerton, with the Bega Group announcing last week that it will shut its factory there.
That will mean 300 workers will be looking for another job.
The closure will be done in phases and is expected to last a year.
But Bega will still operate five remaining plants across Victoria, at Tatura, Morwell, Chelsea, Koroit and Port Melbourne.
Runaway cow
Lunchtime shoppers in Deniliquin’s Hardinge St Complex on Monday of last week were confronted by a large cow in the car park.
Nobody seemed to know where it came from or who owned it but a car and a horse trailer arrived to remove the beast, much to the delight of a lot of shoppers.
And more from Deni — four RSL members have had their memberships suspended, including two sitting directors and a financial advisor.
They have been accused of being in receipt of or sending confidential information and attempting to destabilise the board.
Fowl smell
There was literally a fowl smell at Jerilderie West recently when a B-double lost a trailer load of chicken offal.
Nearby residents had to shut windows and doors for the day while the clean-up was made.
But the unpleasant smell did linger for a while afterwards.
Oldest resident remembered
One of the district’s oldest residents died on April 14.
Shepparton’s Beth Chamberlain died at the grand old age of 103.
Her ashes have been spread at Nyah West where she was raised and Cape Patterson where her late husband rests.
Life’s journey took Beth to Melbourne for schooling and then a position with the Swan Hill-based 3SH radio station where she met her husband, journalist Harry Chamberlain.
She earned a Supermum status with her ability to mix her home life with volunteer work.
Girl Guides was a passion for her and she figured in a book celebrating 100 years of Girl Guides Australia.
The Chamberlains moved to Shepparton in 1984 where Beth became involved in her well-known volunteer work with the Girl Guides, Shepparton Heritage Society and Shepparton Probus, of which she was a founding member at Shepparton, the Shepparton Patchwork and Quilters Group and the Shepparton Art Museum.
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