February 2011 4.5Mb

In This Edition: Page Page Telegraph Bridge 2 Geelong Landmarks Quiz 17 Pink Panther 4 The Port of Geelong 18 Justices of the Peace 5 Black Saturday 20 Zebras 6 Cadel Evans 22 12 Signs of the Zodiac 8 Bigfoot 24 The Ford Ute 9 All Ford Day 25 The Aboriginal Cricket Team 10 Athena 26 Dangers of Over-Drinking 12 150 Years Ago 27 The Great Aussie Dingo 14 Then… & Now 28 The Parker Penny 16 Travelling by train from Geelong to Melbourne, the second bridge travelled under after leaving Geelong Station is the Telegraph Bridge. The present modern concrete bridge was built in 1971, and is a far cry from the original built back in 1854. 1854 was a year of great progress for Geelong, fuelled by the gold rush at Ballarat. Described as “the greatest invention of the age,” a telegraph line was built between Melbourne and Geelong, with the first message being sent on December 6, 1854 from a small “purpose-built” Telegraph Office (in reality, a tiny shed) located at the top of Bellerine Street. In anticipa- tion of this wondrous event, the owners of a new hotel built earlier that same year in Geelong West (then called Ashby) named their establishment the “Telegraph Hotel.” Naturally, to help people locate the adjacent bridge, it was named after the hotel; hence the Telegraph Bridge. Some have asked whether there was originally a level crossing on this site, but the answer is No! The wealthy investors who funded the railway project, based mainly in England, insisted that there be no level crossings the whole length of the railway between Melbourne and Geelong—all roads had to cross the railway by bridge. This condition for a railway line was unheard of before this time, and became extremely taxing on the contractors. They claimed that at many of the crossings, less than five vehicles a day would be expected to cross the railway line. Never-the-less, before the controversial clause in the contract was removed, several bridges were already in place, including the Telegraph bridge. Convict labour was used to build the railway sections and early bridges around Geelong. Since the Geelong Goal (prison) had not yet been built, convicts were housed on the Sacramento, a prison ship moored in Corio Bay. The Telegraph Bridge was completed on December 1, 1854. How- ever, two weeks before its com- pletion locals were already com- plaining that heavily laden drays could not cross it. Perhaps the bridge was not strong enough, or maybe the slopes on either side were too steep. Never-the-less, it was nearly finished and the con- tractor refused to alter it. Works were completed at the Geelong The modern Telegraph Bridge was built in 1971 2 end of the railway by May, 1855 and the official opening of the Melbourne -Geelong line took place with much celebration on June 25, 1857. The poor construction of the original bridge was soon noticed by official eyes. In 1859 a government commission reporting on the state of the Melbourne-Geelong railway described the Telegraph Bridge as being “of the most inferior character.” The report went on to recommend the removal of the existing bridge, and the construction of a new bridge. This occurred in 1862. The new bridge (seen below behind the derailed train) was constructed with iron beams and bluestone abutments. At 11m wide it was much narrower than the original wooden bridge (20m). Due to increasing motor car traffic in the 20th century, the bridge eventu- ally became a bottleneck; so, in 1929 the bridge was widened to 20m, but could still only carry limited weights. Thus, although not with the character of the earlier bridges, but with much more functionality we have the modern Telegraph Bridge of today. The bridge featured prominently in the worldwide broadcast of the World Cycling Championships held last year. Train Derailment: Wednesday, August 20, 1873 11:00am Locomotive 23, a goods train bound for Ballarat, was passing Telegraph Bridge when the boiler exploded. The driver and stoker/fireman both suffered injuries. Six trucks and vans were greatly damaged by the explosion. The initial report from the investigating engineer found that the probable cause of the accident was faulty laminated boiler plates used by the manufacturers in England 12 years earlier. The bridge was the second built on the site by the Railway Department. The Telegraph Hotel can be seen in the background. Photo: Geelong Heritage Centre 2009/00119 3 The Pink Panther is the main character in a series of animated short films that are self-titled. The character originally appeared in the opening and closing credit sequences of the 1963 live-action feature film—The Pink Panther, a comedy featuring Peter Sellers as a bumbling detective. The popularity of the character spawned a series of 124 animated shorts. The first entry in the series, 1964’s The Pink Phink, featured the panther harassing a little white moustached man who is actually a caricature of Fitz Ferleng (The Creator of the Pink Panther). In an early series of Pink Panther cartoons, the Pink Panther generally remained silent. Rich Little provided the panther’s voice in the latter shorts. All of the animated Pink Panther shorts utilized the jazzy theme music composed by Henry Mancini for the 1963 feature film. The Pink Panther won the 1964 Academy Award for Animated Short Film. In the fall of 1969, the Pink Panther cartoons made their way to NBC television, shown Saturday mornings via The Pink Panther Show. A number of sister series joined The Pink Panther on movie screens and the airwaves, among them The Ant and The Aardvark, The Tijuana Toads, Hoot Kloot and Mister Jaw. In 1978, after nine years on NBC, The Pink Panther moved to ABC, where it lasted one season before leaving the network realm entirely. A Pink Panther comic strip was started in 2005. The Pink Panther is associated with a number of Cancer awareness and support organisations. The Pink Panther is the mascot of the New Zealand Child Cancer Foundation and for a line of clothing to promote Breast Cancer Awareness. 4 HISTORY – [from England] In 1195, Richard I (“the Lionheart") of England commis- sioned certain knights to preserve the peace in unruly areas. They were known as "Keepers of the Peace". An act passed in 1327 referred to ‘good and lawful men’ being appointed in every county in the land to ‘guard the peace.’ These individuals were first referred to as “Conservators of the Peace,” or “Wardens of the Peace.” The title “Justice of the Peace” dates from 1361, during the reign of King Edward III Plantagenet. The Municipal Corporations Act of 1835 stripped the power to appoint normal JP’s from those municipal corporations that had it. This was replaced by the present system in England, where the Lord Chancellor nominates candidates with local advice. Until the introduction of elected county councils in the 19th century Justices of the Peace also administered the county at a local level. They fixed wages, regulated food supplies, built and controlled roads and bridges. Women in Britain were not allowed to become JP’s until 1919, the first woman being Ada Summers, the Mayor of Stalybridge. In Geelong A roster for Justices of the Peace was arranged for the Corio Police Station (in the foyer) since May 2006 to witness documents for people in the community. This service was instigated to relieve Police of these duties – Witnessing certified copies Statutory Declarations Affidavits All other forms where an authorised witness is required This service is available at the Corio Police Station: Monday’s & Fridays 9.30am to 1pm This service is also available at the Geelong Police Station: Monday to Friday 9.30am to 1pm. The ‘Royal Victorian Association of Honorary Justices’ Celebrated 100 years in Victoria in 2010. 5 Zebras are African equids (horse-like) best known for their distinctive black and white stripes. Their stripes come in different patterns unique to each individual. They are generally social animals and can been seen in groups ranging from small harems to large herds. In addition to their stripes, zebras have erect, Mohawk-like manes. The Plains zebra is the most common, and has about twelve subspecies distributed across much of southern and eastern Africa. The unique stripes and behaviour of zebras place them among the most easily recognised of animals. They can be found in a variety of habitats, such as grasslands, savannas, woodlands, thorny scrublands, mountains and coastal hills. However, various factors have had a severe impact on zebra populations, in particular hunting for their striped skins as well as habitat destruction. Unlike their closest relatives, horses and asses, zebras are wild animals. They have never been truly domesticated. 6 A zebra foal is brown and white There are 3 species of Zebra with the Grevy’s instead of black zebra and Mountain zebra being endangered, and white at birth and the Plains zebra being much more plentiful. It was previously believed that zebras were white animals with black stripes, Embryological evidence, however, shows that the animals’ background colour is dark and the white stripes and bellies are additional. With each stripping pattern unique to each individual, zebras can recognise one another by their stripes. Like horses, zebras walk, trot, canter and gallop. They are generally slower than horses, but their great stamina helps them outpace predators. When chased, a zebra will zigzag from side to side, making it more difficult for the predator. Zebras also have excellent eyesight. The zebra has its eyes on the side of its head, giving it a wide field of view.

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