Sitting on the porch with Nana Crane watching the Olympic athletes go to and from the Athletes meet put on for them (1956)
Also, watching the streams of cars leaving the ground after Latrobe Valley football finals.
Watching the huge numbers of people going to and from the Yallourn Pool on hot days. The many buses going to and from the High School.
In the old days, watching horse drawn vehicles return to the stables behind the Scout Hall.
The air-raid shelters behind the Scout Hall.
Sport on the Yallourn Ovals:
Athletics Comps:
Oval 1. Training with Joe Carmody.
Oval 2 – School and Club members – Terry & Mick Larkins met at Yallourn Post Office with Don Duncan to travel to athletics in Morwell, Moe, Traralgon, Warragul and Sale.
Oval 4 Baseball Premiership vs Morwell B Grade 27-6. Bruce Kerr who dropped a few catches during the season caught solidly during the game. (Team members – Greg Ryan (P), Greg Evans (1st), Rod McDonald (Capt), Phillip Ley. I played short-stop. George Evans and Bill Ley (coaching)…Bill also played and Bruce Kerr. Other players at Yallourn Baseball Club – Rodney Hyde, Frank Rushton, Ron McAuliffe, Cole Wale (Coach), ? McLennan & Rod Catchpole.
Yallourn Baseball Club was based at Oval 5 near the Tech.
Saw Winifred Atwell and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra play at the Yallourn Theatre.
In Melbourne Tonight (IMT) at Kernot Hall – watched on TV.
Eddie Simpson on the Wheel that night – he was the brother of Merv Simpson (2nd cousin of mine who was lead trumpeter in the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra)
Athletics Club had to mark lines on No 1 Oval for LV Aths Meet – remember discussing Bob Beamon who had just broken the World Long Jump Record at the Mexico Olympics – could Long Jump further than some of us could Triple Jump.
Our backyard – plum trees, lemon tree, fish pond – over 100 animals including dogs, up to 16 cats, up to 60 white mice, chooks, budgies, canaries, cockatoo, cockatiels, parrots, guinea pigs, a goat. Mum also had at different times tortoises, 2 possums and a joey kangaroo. People, especially kids, would bring stray animals.
Mum tagged Wanderer Butterflies for Sydney University. I think some of the school kids helped, led to the discovery of a wintering area around Lake Eildon I think.
Remember sitting on Hyde’s porch when Harold Holt went missing.
Hopman’s lived in Banksia Crescent near the Primary School.
Yallourn U19s runners-up to Traralgon football – late 1960s – led at ¾ time.
Mr McGregor chasing people across his ovals on his tractor.
Walking home from footy training in thick fog – crunchy with coal dust – near Mr McGregor’s. Someone said “it’s bloody cold”. Out of the fog boomed Mr McGregor’s voice – “it’s not bloody cold – it’s ordinary cold”.
Remember 6-8 of us got sent out of Mis Reed’s in Grade 2. She told us to go home but none of us did, although Irene Rickman was suggesting that we did.
Irene Rickman, Sally Bicknell, Bev Malpass, Mary Vines and I all went from Yallourn to Ballarat Teacher’s College in 1970.
Yallourn Youth Club:-
Played basketball for Spartans
Celtics another team there
Had to leave at ½ time in one match because mum had booked a piano lesson with Mrs Ross.
Also did Judo at the Youth Club - brunt down with huge fire.
Old Pool – one boy broke his neck diving into it.
New Pool – Dominance of Yallourn High School.
Otto Fooks swimming laps after the pool closed at night.
Ovals Drive used for “hot laps”
Cricket and football on the green near the Guide Hall with cricket balls even when heaps of cars at the pool – stopped when we broke two guide hall windows and guides got cuts to the face.
Reggie Ganz showing pictures of the Beatles when they first broken onto the scene, to people, including Malcolm Souter, at the YHS cricket nets.
Massive 6’s hit at YHS from the cricket nets towards the school – with cricket balls (no pads). I can’t remember anyone getting hit – a miracle!
Moaning sessions and locker smashes at YHS.
Assembly and RI at Kernot Hall – remember Ione minister’s story about ways of getting out in cricket and carrying your bat.
Returned once to find a teacher’s car in the corridor at YHS. Mr Chalmers. Also nuts and nails put in his hub caps once.
Dancing teachers – Mrs Huddy and Marie Mordan at Kernot Hall, the Newborough Youth Club and Fire Brigade.
St John’s Ambulance – Mr Winstanley conducted in the Yallourn Fire Brigade hall.
Remember getting back at 9.30pm after being promoted to A Grade in Baseball. Played the RAAF Base in Sale. The boys stayed for drinks but didn’t tell mum. By the time we got back, mu had run every police station between Yallourn and Sale.
Remember the amount of traffic that went through Yallourn while it was still part of the main highway to Melbourne before it was bypassed.
Monash Annual Relays – 8 x 1.2 miles including Ron Clarke, Trevor Vincent (Commonwealth champion) etc. The race came past our front door in Parkway.
I ran once with a temperature of 103o – badly, but ran because there was nobody else. Despite my bad run, Yallourn ran 3rd. I spent most of the rest of the afternoon on the loo. Maybe shouldn’t have run. I now have a faulty heart – may have come from that!!
I worked at Yallourn Post Office.
Chain came off my bike while riding down on of the hills in Yallourn – scary!
Remember formally organised billy cart races in Yallourn – “Back to Yallourn”.
I delivered newspapers for 5 years – cold mornings, freezing hands. Mum made me fox skin hand covers and bought fluid burning hand warmers, as well as making a heat carry rack for the papers.
Mr Bird (Woodwork teacher) didn’t turn up one morning at the Tech School. We all stayed there for the morning. Those who wanted to return to the High School were tied to trees with their school ties.
At one stage, fires were set under the Woodwork room – but not lit.
Wolfgang Wattenburg and Malcolm Souter, I think it was, disappeared for a few days during the East Gippsland fires.
Remember the “ssssssssssssss” sounds at YHS when Mr Hutchinson was coming.
Immediate Neighbours: 8 - Hyde; 4 - Wright
Nearby Neighbours: 2 - Davis; Opposite - Seer & McPhee; 29 Banksia - Gloz (maybe Honor lived there when she first came to Yallourn in 1929; Burrow; Maddern; Frank Hausens; Feeley in Westbrook Rd