100 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK...
Frankston Fire Brigade receives visit Compiled by Cameron McCullough IN connection with his visit to Frankston on 20th June last, Chief Officer Marshall, of the Country Fire Brigades Board, has forwarded the following report to the Frankston brigade. “This visit was paid specially to test the new water supply which has recently been completed in Frankston, and further, to instruct the members of the brigade who had no previous opportunity of working the water from the hydrant. There was a full muster of the brigade, and everything was ready for a test of the water at a fire plug close to the railway station, when I arrived. Using the hose reel, which is rather heavy and antiquated, we ran out 100ft. of hose, and (a) through a ¾ inch nozzle a fine stream was thrown horizontally, 110ft; (b) with 100ft. from each side of the hydrant, two streams, each 80ft. were thown, and (c) utilisng the Y coupling, two streams were also.thrown, each a distance of 80ft. These tests were eminently satisfactory, the volume and pressure being good enough to cope with any fire that is likely to occur within the water area of Frankston. I gave the men instruction in the proper method of coiling hose on to the drum, and I proved to their satisfaction that underoiling was the proper method to be followed with this particular make of hose reel. Since the establishment of this brigade, close on 30 years ago, and up to the present time, the only fighting appliance available was the small manual engine, which on numerous occasions
did good work. As Frankston has now one of the best reticulated supplies in the State, the members of the brigade will have an opportunity of pitting themselves against the more experienced brigades in this class of work at our annual demonstrations. To achieve success, however, earnest and regular practice must be adhered to and systematically carried out under the guidance of the Captain and his sub-officers. To give them a reasonable chance of success, by placing them on an equal footing with other brigades in their own class regards appliances, it will be necessary that local support be forthcoming to provide the brigade with an up-to-date hose reel and other equipment. *** MRS Barclay, of “Osborne,” Frankston, has gone on a holiday visit to Geelong. *** A MEETING of the Frankston H. & A. Association will be held next Monday night. *** IT is understood that Brigadier General (Senator) Elliott has promised to unveil the Honor Board in the Methodist Church, Frankston, on September 25th. *** A MEETING of the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joinners will be held at the Naval Base, Crib Point, next Friday night, to authorise and submit a dispute to the Arbitration Court. *** MR Battye, of Hastings, who recently had his wrist seriously lacerated
through being caught in a cog-wheel, is being treated at St Vincent’s Hospital. The hand was almost severed from the wrist. *** MR J. L. Pratt announces in today’s issue that he has purchased the wellknown grocery business for so long carried on by Mr and Mrs Donald in Young Street, Frankston. Mr Pratt announces that he proposes reducing prices to what may be termed anti-profiteering level. *** MR L. J. Ward, secretary of the Peninsula State Schools Association, has made arrangements for the combined Peninsula schools’ picnic to the Zoological Gardens on Friday November 25th. The Director (Mr Le Souef) has been interviewed and has promised to place the principal keeper at the disposal of the children and show them around. The distinguished Director himself has promised to give the teachers and parents an opportunity of viewing his private collection, whilst he will also give a short lecture on wild animal and bird life. *** THE blind vocalist, Mr Suttcliffe, of the Royal Victorian Blind Institute, will be one of the principal artists at next Friday night’s Scotch concert. Miss Dorathea Macmaster recently gave a recital to the inmates of the Institute, and she was so delighted with Mr Suttcliffe’s vocal numbers that, on her suggestion, he was immediately engaged by the committee. It may be added that Mr Hedger,
Superintendent of the Institute, thinks one of the best ways of assisting the Institute is to give its blind musicians opportunities to appear on the ordinary concert platform. *** THE Roman Catholic Church authorities propose erecting a fine convent at Hastings at an early date. Plans have been drawn out, and the Rev. Father O’Hagan anticipates the cost will run into £1500. The building, which will be erected alongside the School of the Immaculate Conception, will, when completed, in all probability be opened by the Archbishop of Melbourne. *** ONE of the oldest established businesses in Frankston has been sold to a member of one of the oldest families. This is Ritchie’s Stores in Bay Street, the purchaser being Mrs V. Wells. This store, for so long carried on by Mrs Deane, was established over half a century ago – in 1870 to be precise – by the late Mr Thomas Ritchie, and afterwards carried on by his son, exCr Thomas Ritchie, now, residing at “Ramsdale,” Mornington. Mrs Wells proposes re-stocking the store, and hopes thereby to increase patronage by supplying the best at reasonable prices. The wine and spirit department will be, as usual, conducted by Mrs Deane. *** QUITE a jovial gathering took place at the Naval Base, Westernport, on Thursday last, when the anniversary of the opening of the naval base was celebrated in right royal style. A special train was despatched from
WHAT’S NEW...
The Ritchies Story THOMAS Ritchie was born in 1834 on the Isle of Man, United Kingdom. On November 25th 1851 he sailed from London, bound for Melbourne on the ship Isabella Watson. The voyage took 117 days. The ship collided with Corsair Rock near Point Nepean at the heads of Port Phillip Bay and Thomas was one of the survivors (minus his cargo of shoes bound for the goldfields). He moved to the small fishing village of Frankston in 1854 and married Margaret Kennedy in June 1856. In 1863, Thomas and Margaret Ritchie’s four children were lost in a house fire, only the baby Rose survived thanks to the local farmers who came to her rescue as the roof caved in. Thomas and Maggie never forgot this support from their community. The Start Of Something Special In 1870, Thomas Ritchie established the first Ritchies grocery store in Bay Street (now Nepean Highway), Frankston. Ritchies was granted their first liquor licence in 1873. On 15th September 1907, Thomas passed away aged 73 and his daughter Rose became the face of Ritchies from this point on. In 1928 Rose retired and sold the Ritchies store to Melville Tomasetti. On October 9, 1933 Melville moved the business across the road
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to 457 Nepean Highway, Frankston. Nelson and Elsie Morris, good friends with Mr Tomasetti, took over the lease of Ritchies Stores in 1945. Ritchies first full self-service supermarket opened in 1956 in Thompson Street, Frankston. The Modern Era In December 1971, Ritchies entered the modern era when a young supermarket professional Barry Cameron purchased the business. His family remain the major shareholders to this day, along with many staff and IGA wholesale supplier Metcash. Barry Cameron passed away in 1984 and Peter Carson took over as managing director. Mr. Fred Harrison took over as CEO in late 1994 and the group has now grown to 76 IGA stores. He still holds this position today. The strength of Ritchies today is its long term, past and present, loyal staff members, some having 20, 30 and even 40 years service with the company. The Future Ritchies is very proud of its heritage and position in Australia as the longest trading licensed supermarket group, celebrating 151 years of continuous service to their customers and local communities in 2021.
Mornington News 14 September 2021
Meet Thomas Ritchie Instore Thomas Ritchie, the founder of Ritchies stores, will be telling his story at Ritchies Dromana Friday 24th September from 2pm - 5pm. Hear about his life in the 1800s Australia and how he started Ritchies stores, the challenges of life and the rewards of hard work that stood the test of time.
* Thomas Ritchie is portayed by an actor
the city to Crib Point, and a general holiday was proclaimed. A couple of aeroplanes from Point Cook were delegated to the picnic, and the pilots thrilled the spectators with a daring display of aeronautics. Sports were conducted during the afternoon, and a spectacular naval ball was the attraction in the evening. It is considered to have been one of the finest gatherings in the Peninsula’s history. *** A READER of “The Standard” has drawn our attention, to a paragraph in “The Age,” which states (so he says) that America possesses a motorboat that travels 80,567 miles per hour, and asks what we think about it. Well, we have heard of the Yank who was fond of joy-riding on comets, but we could hardly be expected to digest a tale like that, for the simple reason that no human being, whirled through space at a rate of over 1000 miles a minute, in a motor boat or anything else, could possibly live. And so we investigated the paragraph and found that our friend had made a slight (?) mistake. What the motor boat did do was to register 80.667 (not 80,567) miles an hour. So instead of travelling 1000 miles a minute, as our friend thought, we were only travelling about one and a third (1.3425 miles a minute), or about 80,485 miles per hour less than our good friend imagined. *** From the pages of the Frankston and Somerville Standard, 9 September 1921