The flag returns home
SHORTLY after 5pm on Thursday, March 27, 1975, (Good Friday eve), the Australian flag that flew daily on the Bank of New South Wales building on the corner of Morago and Carne streets was taken down as it usually was at the end of each business day.
Responsibility for the lowering and storage of the flag was given to a bank teller on his last day at the Moulamein branch.
The flag, however, didn’t make it into the bank branch.
In the 50 years since the flag “disappeared” from Moulamein, it has had an eventful time.
Firstly, used as a bedspread in a Holden Sandman panel van, the flag has resided in many towns including Parkes, Ardlethan, Wantirna South, Hawthorn, South Yarra, Ascot Vale, Moonee Ponds and, since 1995, in nearby Balranald.
As the statute of limitations may be up after 50 years, the flag has now been returned to the community of Moulamein.
The former bank teller never had any feelings of guilt because a good story surpasses any regret.
The journey taken by the flag over the 50 years has included a VFL and a VFA grand final, Test cricket at the MCG and Adelaide Oval, a Melbourne Cup and a Cox Plate.
So, Moulamein, the flag is yours once again.
Regards, Bill the Bank Teller – Moulamein branch 1974-1975.
This is the letter that came with our 50-year missing flag.
The flag and the story will get a spot in our Heritage Village in Moulamein.
Thank you for bringing it back to us, Bill. Even the presentation does not reveal your true identity.
Big Easter for Moulamein
WITH a few thousand at the Confest out the road, yabby races in town, a two-day bowls tournament, just the usual campers as well as Moulamein Angling Club’s fishing competition on Sunday, it was a ripper weekend.
Good luck making a phone call or getting onto the internet, but that is what happens when a s***load of people turn up to our little town on the same weekend.
Because of Confest, the police also turned up in force just to keep them honest.
There were plenty of cops, drug dogs and tests done in town as well as out the road from Moulamein.
Let’s hope everyone behaved themselves.
Two spots remain
THERE is a Lifetime Ewe Management course being run in our district this year.
The course starts in July.
I did this course a few years ago and it is well worth doing even as an old bloke.
This would be an even greater course for our younger generation that want to learn how to condition score, or how to prepare ewes for joining.
Many other things as well as how to set targets for condition score, conception rates, lamb survival, ewe mortality, lamb growth rates as well as feed on offer.
As I said, I did this course a few years ago and found it well worth doing.
There are subsidies to help cover the cost.
If you are interested, call Nathan Hall on 0488 984 420.
You are never too old to stop leaning or too young to pick up a few hints that will well and truly cover the cost of this great course.
River levels
AT the time of writing, Edward River is sitting about level at around 1.8 metres and just below 1700 megalitres per day.
Below Stevens Weir got to over 2000ML a few days ago so we might see a bit of a rise here this weekend to get the fish biting.
