Shining a light
WHAT, dear reader, do you think three shillings in 1918 would be worth today? According to the Reserve Bank online inflation calculator – so it must be correct – three shillings are now worth $13.51.
Why three shillings, I hear you ask? Well, you will be horrified to know that in 1918, the City of Geelong lost no less than 16 light globes valued at three shillings each from electric light decorations which had been mounted on City Hall in celebration of the end of World War I.
The loss, a total of $216.16 in current day terms, was reported in this very newspaper on November 26, 1918:
“In one night sixteen disappeared. As they cost 3/- each, the loss was a serious one.”
Serious indeed! The City of Greater Geelong is still, to this very day, burdened with $218.16 more debt because of that nefarious act. It is not clear whether the perpetrators were ever apprehended but we can only hope that maybe those light globes enlightened other places around the city until they eventually blew.
How do I know of such an extraordinary story? It’s in the Investiga
tor, a gem of a publication issued four times a year by the Geelong Historical Society.
For only around $30 per year, you can receive 50 A5 pages packed with fascinating stories about many aspects of our town’s rich history, including notable extracts from the Addy a century ago and many historical pieces written by local people.
You may argue that council losing 16 light globes is not exactly riveting, “must know” information – you’ll win that argument! – but many other snippets from our history contained in the Investigator give fascinating glimpses into our community and the origins of our town’s culture.
The same recent Investigator edition that broke the light globe story also gave an insight into the background of a relatively small but iconic Geelong building.
On October 30, 1918 the Geelong Advertiser reported that Geelong Mayor Cr Howard Hitchcock — who in my view created the most lasting legacy of any of our city’s mayors — decided to cancel the annual mayoral dinner, citing “… too much money and time was being spent in feasting”. Instead he had “… determined to absorb the money that would have been absorbed in the luncheon into a kiosk on the Eastern Beach. This would give the city something permanent”. Whether or not the kiosk Howard Hitchcock envisaged to replace the mayoral dinner is the one we have today is probably only known to architectural historians. But what we do know is that Hitchcock was absolutely the driver behind the wonderful, art-deco Eastern Beach precinct that we still enjoy today. In fact, Hitchcock’s mantra was “civic improvement and beautification”, which we still enjoy in so many iconic buildings and places around Geelong, including Johnstone Park, Kitchener House and The Gordon, not to mention his extraordinary achievement in the Great Ocean Road. The Investigator also revealed that the Geelong Football Club’s first ground was the Argyle Paddock, so named after the nearby Argyle Hotel, in an area bounded by Aberdeen, Pakington, Villamanta and Coronation streets, if you can picture that.
The club’s first ever match was played here, against the Melbourne Football Club in August 1860.
The ground was fence-less until 1874, so often only a sole, hapless policeman had the unenviable task to keep the crowd off the playing arena during the game, prompting the Addy sports journalist to report after one match “The crowd got a good deal too much in the way of players, and one policeman is quite useless.”
This issue of the Investigator finished with a fascinating story by Alma Missen recalling aspects of her life in early life in Belmont in the 1930s, ’ 40s and ’ 50s, then an outer suburb but with trams!
“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots”, so said political activist and journalist Marcus Garvey.
The Geelong Historical Society, now in its 75th year, is to be commended for keeping our history, origins and culture before us, through their publications and monthly meetings — a great service to our city. geelonghistoricalsociety.org.au