1970
Gail McDonald and Glen Underwood were the major fund raisers in a Kyabram Football Club Footywalk initiative, with $240 raised by the pair in a walk that attracted 49 men, women and children.
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Wet weather didn’t dampen the spirits of the group, led by coach Fred Wooller, with only four failing to complete the out and back course from Kyabram Recreation Reserve to Merrigum.
Leaving at 8.10am in the morning the 25 mile course was completed by all participants by 4pm that afternoon. Ian McKenzie was home first, taking two hours to complete the distance.
– Twelve Apexians from Kyabram and Tongala attended the national convention Tasmania.
They had a goal of campaigning to have the 1972 convention hosted by their clubs. The plan was for the event to be held aboard a P&O liner while it made a return trip from Sydney to Hayman Island during Easter.
Two other clubs, Scarborough (West Australia) and Maryborough (Queensland) were also vying to host the convention.
– Kyabram Senior Citizens Club building in Lake Road was receiving the finishing touches and was expected to open within a month.
Minister for Health W.O. Dickie was named as the official to open the new building, which was still having funds raised to offset the cost of its construction.
– A pair of Kyabram brothers were pioneering a novel retail venture in the town, a market planned for establishment in the commercial centre on vacant land between Knights Fashion Girl and the Kyabram ANZ bank.
Stall space was being advertised for $5 a day, with Brian and Ian Hilton behind the concept and confident it would succeed.
The plan was to run a market day every Friday and follow the trend set by Melbourne suburbs Prahran, Preston and Lilydale.
1980
A 25 tonne crane was assigned to the task of lifting a rusted ladder from the storage section at the top of the 110 foot high Kyabram Water Tower.
The mobile crane was the largest of the Shepparton Mobile Cranes fleet and was lifted into place where workmen (at the top of the tower) attached the ladder to the crane.
– After several years of delays work was about to start on the $316,000 Day Hospital at the Kyabram Memorial Community Hospital.
The board was pressing the state government for finance now that it had raised the $250,000 required for the project to start.
Hospital manager, R.J. Thrussell said he was waiting on written confirmation and once received the project could be completed before the end of the year.
Next on the list was a 20 bed nursing home with a kitchen and laundry, a project pencilled in for 1982-83.
A deputation including Lesley King, Tom Tehan, Mr Thrussell, Bruce Ruid and John Radford was campaigning for the funds to be made available immediately.
– Merrigum’s Pauline Howley beat two other contestants to be named the Merrigum Lions Club representative in the Youth of the Year competition.
She beat Robyn Brett (Lancaster) and Andrew Bear (Kyabram) to claim the title after they were all questioned about their leadership, academic record, sporting and cultural interests and general knowledge.
They also delivered a presentation on a subject they chose for themselves, Pauline speaking on child abuse. The HSC student at St Joseph’s College in Echuca then represented Merrigum at the regional final in Numurkah.
– A remarkable example of community co-operation was how Director General of Education Dr L. Shears described the swimming pool complex at Ky Valley School.
The “school with a pool” officially opened the new pool, with Kyvalley School Council president Richard Isaac welcoming several officials to the site.
He praised Deakin shire engineers Terry Alford and Ralph Kop for their work and the Mothers’ Club which fund raised for the pool. There was a total of 623 volunteer hours given in the construction of the pool.
School principal Paul Rowe was a major reason for the project becoming a reality, as was John Malley and David Boble, a past president of school council who instigated the hay carting phase of the fund raising initiative.
The complex cost $31,000 to build.
2000
Kyabram’s new Councillor, John Elborough, was pushing for the completion of the town drainage project - to prevent flooding during times of heavy rainfall - as his major election promise.
He was also planning to meet with the Kyabram Lancaster Advisory Committee and the Development Committee to establish working relationships.
Cr Elborough won his seat by a big margin, beating Mary Bowman and Carol Howell. He polled 2205 votes to Mrs Bowman’s 791 and Mrs Howell’s 684.
He and his wife Lorraine were celebrating the result with campaign manager John Neale.
Cr Elborough was a former Town of Kyabram Councillor, and former Mayor.
Cr Neil Repacholi won the Eastern ward election, along with David Jones.
– A petition against a new petrol station and convenience store proposed in Kyabram’s main street was gaining momentum.
Thirty people gathered on the corner of Allan and Unwin Streets to protest the threat of losing a historic landmark in the town. They said the project was also too close to the Unwin Street kindergarten and concerned that it was a waste of time as two petrol station outlets had closed in Kyabram in recent years.
– Girgarre’s Peter “Stan” Varcoe took on the challenge to raise funds for a Girgarre Recreation Reserve tractor and with 18 community contributions had achieved the feat.
With support of the Girgarre Football Club and Girgarre Cricket Club the secondhand Zetor tractor was purchased and with a donation by Russell and Barry Wheeler of a slasher the project was complete.
Ground curator Reg Ramage said the tractor meant a lot to the town as the Campaspe shire once a week service did not always have the ground in the best condition.
2010
Michael Griffiths featured on the front page of a March 2010 edition after surviving an early diagnosis of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and going on to excel in his chosen fields.
He had two goals as a student, eight years before he told his story to the Free Press - become an Industrial Designer and get involved in speed car racing. He had achieved both and had recently been a star at a Bendigo Speedway event.
– Long time Kyabram Doctor Peter Tisdall said Kyabram Hospital should resist amalgamation with Goulburn Valley Health, while speaking at the hospital’s 50th year celebration in Fenaughty Street.
With 200 people listening he implored the community to continue the vision and passion of the hospital’s original committee and townspeople who built the facility.
He said learning from communities such as Benalla and Yarrawonga was important, explaining since he came to Kyabram from Melbourne in 1966 he had seen some wonderful people involved in the hospital’s development.
Later in the year the hospital’s major 50th anniversary celebrations took the form of a reunion and open day.
– A two year sponsorship deal was announced between Fishers Supermarket Kyabram and the Kyabram Football netball Club.
Bombers president Tony Hansen said the deal was a very healthy one and a real coup for the club.
Kyabram Free Press and Campaspe Valley News editor