A new Coles supermarket and shopping complex is planned for the corner of Vaughan and Corio streets in 2011. Greater Shepparton
Reminiscences LOOKING BACK… Lance Woodhouse remembers events from his life working in Shepparton.
Orchard work During the Second World War there was a shortage of manpower to pick fruit in the Goulburn Valley. As a result students from Years 10, 11 and 12 were recruited from Melbourne schools to do the job. I remember many of us sleeping in tents near the railway line at Grahamvale on straw palliasses. I was involved for three years and by the time we returned for the third time a group of us knew enough about orchards to spray and irrigate as well as pick the fruit. I had my trusty “Malvern Star” bike which I used for getting to and from school. Spraying was carried out by a pump on a cart pulled by a horse. “Roany” was the horse’s name and he knew that his job was to “giddup” and stop so that we could spray the next tree. I remember that I felt proud when I nailed together 100 boxes in a day at Feiglin’s orchard.
The Lilley family enthusiastically organised orchestral concerts in the 50s and 60s by the Shepparton Symphony Orchestra. Arthur Lilley was the conductor and violinist, his brother Bill played flute, his wife Mavis and his brother-in-law Alf Probst played second violins and daughter Marjorie played clarinet. The Gawne brothers played euphonium and trombone, Stewart Rose played trumpet. Bruce Wilson was on tympani and I played piano. There was little or no music education in schools at that time and if the bank manager who played the french horn was posted elsewhere, it was almost impossible to replace him. These days almost every school has some form of music participation by students resulting in an adequate supply of musicians for bands and theatre orchestras. The members of the Shepparton Symphony Orchestra formed the orchestral basis for productions by the Shepparton Light Music Company which melded with the Shepparton Dramatic Society to form Shepparton Theatre Arts Group (STAG) as it is known today. Land development I have always been interested in land subdivisions. Almost my first job as a solicitor was to look after the Fairley Subdivision. Sir Andrew Fairley and his family subdivided a large piece of land to form the estate which
By Lance Woodhouse
includes Regent Street, King Street and Gloucester and Princes Crescents. Then a group of us from Maxwell Brown and Mountjoy and Felthams subdivided land formerly owned by Harry Lloyd which resulted in the houses in Batman Avenue, Hotham Crescent, Sturt Street etc. The same group then subdivided the land known as Riverpark Estate, extending from the Goulburn Valley Highway to Archer Street on the north side of the Broken River. Having completed Riverpark Estate, we purchased Scoble’s land on the south of the Broken River and proceeded with Kialla Lakes Estate with over 1000 lots. Being a lawyer Being a lawyer brings one into contact with the complete spectrum of society. I recall acting for a minister of religion who, while hitch hiking a lift to Melbourne, was involved in a car accident and suffered injuries. He claimed that those injuries resulted in his not being able to conduct services which required his leadership as a cantor. He gave his evidence in the witness box and the defence barrister, Norman O’Bryan invited him to sing to the jury. At first he coyly declined but with Norman giving him some encouragement he agreed to sing – and proceeded with a wonderful “O Sole
M i o” w h i c h p a r t l y d e s t r o y e d h i s own claim for compensation. The witness who sang “O Sole Mio” in the witness box was a story that travelled the world. Don and Chris Howe were businessmen who took great practical interest in the welfare of Aborigines living in the Mooroopna area. Jimmy Sharman’s Boxing Troup travelled the shows inviting all comers to take on his boxers. We acted for one of those boxers who was charged with interfering with a young girl and was put up for trial in the Supreme Court. In the first trial the jury could not agree on a decision so he was put up again. The jury in the second trial also failed to come to an agreement and he was put up a third time – a very rare occurrence. At the third trial his barrister decided there was something strange about the evidence given by the policewoman and he subjected her to some of the fiercest crossexamination I have heard. As a result the policewoman dissolved into tears and almost collapsed in the witness box after confessing that she had “manufactured” the evidence against the accused. He was of course acquitted but the memory of that trial has stayed with me. Rotary and Shepparton International Village
Murray, Mark and Mario make a great team After a partnership since 1995, Floorworld co-owners, locals Murray Reid and Mark O’Sullivan made the decision to re-brand their business becoming a Carpet Court franchise in 2003. Joined by new partner Mario Rizzeri, who had previous experience at The Carpet Giants in Shepparton, the business remained at the former Floorworld shop in Wyndham Street and continued to grow to become one of Shepparton’s largest flooring specialists. “We’ve had our ups and downs over the years,” Murray said. “But since around 2002 the local building boom took over and it virtually hasn’t stopped. Things are going well.”
From left, Mark (Doc) O’Sullivan, Murray Reid, Mario Rizzeri
Murray, Mark, Mario and the Carpet Court team, the floor covering specialists wish to congratulate our Town & City founders for 150 years of vision & success. SHEPPARTON
Melbourne Rd, Shepparton
Page 78 – The Adviser – Shepparton’s 150 years of progress – September 2010
Ph: 5823 2600 www.carpetcourt.com.au