October 17 2017

We have four new questions for our readers to consider over the next fortnight.

Questions Asked

1. Should Coles Deniliquin have Online Ordering?
2. Will the close Murray By-Election benefit Deniliquin?
3. Should the Community Centre be resurrected?
4. Do you support Working Bees?

Online ordering is something locals want after many Supermarkets around the nation offer the service of picking your shopping online, some people do feel that online ordering may cost jobs.

With the Nationals losing around 19% of their election margin to the SFF in the Murray By-Election, the seat of Murray has moved from safe seat to marginal seat and could change hands in 2019 if the Nationals don’t lift their game.

The change usually means the Government will be very interested to give the area what it wants to ensure it stays in their hands but some are skeptical the Government cares what happens outside of Sydney.

The Community Centre is sitting in End Street, filled with materials and broken glass and it has broken the hearts of many locals who go on by and see the fall of a building that once was the RSL Club and then the place of joy for many of Deniliquin’s youth.

People would love to see the Community Centre resurrected or at least have something important in that building.

Working Bees, they are becoming important to the town and we like to know how many people like being part of them as the town has been doing several this year and will be doing more in the future.

Polls will remain open until Tuesday October 31.

October 16 2017

The voters in the seat of Murray spoke loudly on Saturday after the Nationals lost almost almost 20% of their voters to the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party (SFF).

As of 11:07am this morning, a total of 43,286 votes have been counted with 16,857 votes to the Nationals Austin Evans and 13,317 to the SFF’s Helen Dalton.

On the two candidate preferred count it is 53.1% to Austin Evans and 46.8% for Helen Dalton.

Michael Kidd from the Country Labor Party currently has a total of 8,630 votes which shows the main opposition in NSW still has a lot of work to do to secure rural seats if they want to overtake the Coalition in 2019.

The Greens are heading for last place with Deniliquin resident Pete Robinson staying 127 votes ahead in fifth whilst Brian Mills is sitting in fourth position but his vote count is down .8% on the previous election.

The Nationals have so far lost of those who voted for them in the last election and when factoring in preferences the total balloons out to 19.5%, a total that usually is fatal in most seats but not in the case of the seat of Murray.

Helen Dalton was the most popular candidate in Deniliquin after topping polling at Deniliquin North, Deniliquin High and the Deniliquin Dental Clinic, this is significant due to the Nationals traditionally being a Deniliquin favourite.

Whilst the Nationals were kicked around on Election Day, some experts believe that things are getting better for the Party and the local area may be the big winners as the Government now knows it must do more to keep the people of Murray interested in keeping them around.

October 14 2017

Super Saturday kicked off with the opening of the Polls for the Murray By-Election, a large chunk of the electorate voted barely a month earlier to elect the first Edward River Council and so election fatigue was all around.

At Deniliquin Cemetery, A working bee was starting to get to work pulling out the weeds that started to make the tranquil place for our fallen friends and loved ones a mess, this was the second working bee

At the RSL Club, The second day of the Family History Expo was underway, patrons got to see 40 exhibitors and 10 speakers from 5 of our States and Territories.

Down at McDonalds, McHappy Day was underway and the Ambulance Service and the Fire Brigade had tours of their vehicles which delighted the kids, lots of Big Macs were sold to help aid Ronald McDonald House

The Deniliquin Naponda Farmer’s Market was on and the ERC made an appearance as well as the Edward River Sustainability Group.

The benefits of Cow Manure as a fertilizer was on show and Strawberries made a triumphant return as visitors checked out the many stalls and brought fresh produce and other materials.

The above is just a small look at what was happening in a busy day around town on Super Saturday.

October 13 2017

Prices of Deniliquin postcards have gone up in recent weeks though the age of them were the major selling point as postcards from the early 20th century were fetching prices of $40 or more on eBay.

Two of the high selling postcards were of the Waring Gardens from around 1910 featuring the gardens in a configuration not resembling what we know it to be today.

The two cards were in colour and appeared part of a series of town that included the shops in Napier Street at a time the Dublin Hotel was still in operation, these postcards are identifiable by ‘H. Gillespie, Publisher’ on the lower right corner of the card.

The strange thing about the above linked postcard is that it says Hapier Street, the postcard makers must of mistaken the N for a H in the instructions.

The H. Gillespie colour postcards seem to be ones postcard collectors are going for so if you ever bid for them be prepared to spend some serious coin on them.

So far we’ve noticed that postcards have been the Rose Series (example below), Valentines Series, Ajax Series and H. Gillespie, the former three series seem to be the easiest ones to obtain as collectors seem to let them go by.

We’ll keep readers updated on the eBay market as news comes to hand.

October 12 2017

The 2nd Deniliquin Cemetery Clean Up Day is on this Saturday from 8am.

The first Clean Up Day back in September was a major success with a large section of the Cemetery made weeds free.

There has been a lot of interest in this second Clean Up Day with 15 people currently indicating they are going and another 21 have indicted that they are interested.

Shovels, Rakes, Gloves and other tools to remove weeds are a must and any spares of each brought along are always welcome.

Refreshments will be provided and these include Tea , Coffee, Cold Drinks, Slices & Cakes and a Sausage Sizzle.

A 25 degree day is currently expected with some clouds and 25km/h winds that are expected to slow down during the day.

If you are interested in helping out, please express your interest by visiting the event page.

October 12 2017

Halloween is coming up at the end of this month and unlike last year things are pretty quiet at this time of year.

Halloween is a topic of mixed opinion as many believe it is an American tradition and should stay over there though its origins started in the UK and slowly transformed to what it is today.

The benefits of Halloween are largely that kids get to have a night of fun as they get to dress up and get lots of treats and some residences are happy to provide their joy.

Hopefully we will see some action happening on ‘Halloween In & Around Deniliquin‘, we are happy to compile a list of Halloween friendly homes so people will know where and where not to go so everyone is happy on the night.

We’ll keep readers updated as further news comes to hand.

October 10 2017

The Murray By-Election is getting closer and here is some of the latest going ons.

Pete Robinson (Independent) has released 10 policies and reaction to them have been mixed though some may like the idea of making MP’s use Public Transport where possible and giving thought to reopening the Narrandera-Tocumwal line.

There is some good news for the Deniliquin candidate and that is one Helen Dalton ad has him at number 2 preference.

Michael Kidd‘s (Country Labor) platform is for things such as better health services, Investment in Rural NSW and Investment in TAFE and maternity services returned to Leeton

Helen Dalton (SFF) who is leading our poll and polls in other publications is being targeted by the Nationals in ads that are considered to be ‘nasty smear campaigns’, Helen wants Police returned to Yenda and adequate staffing and rural incentives for nurses in rural areas.

Austin Evans (Nats) has been touring the electorate making stops in places like Barham, Deniliquin, Griffith, Moama and Hanwood and wants the Murray Valley National Park de-gazetted for the timber industry as well as a path built between Griffith to Hanwood and bullbars to be saved.

Ray Goodlass has been somewhat a mystery as The Greens don’t seem to be paying much attention to the Murray area.

News from Brian Mills appears hard to find but he does have a website that has not been updated for some time.

That’s the latest going ons from candidates on social media, don’t forget to check out and vote on our Murray By-Election poll, so far Helen Dalton leads with the Donkey Vote 2nd.

October 9 2017

The Ricegrowers’ Association of Australia Environmental Champions Program (RGA ECP) will be holding a bus tour this Wednesday to highlight the cultural heritage of the region as well as encourage community members to learn about and connect with the Yanco and Billabong creeks.

The tour leaves from the Deniliquin Tourist Information Centre at 8:30am sharp and an hour later will be out the front of The Willows and the Ned Kelly Post in Jerilderie and the tour returns to Deniliquin at 5pm.

The cost of this tour is free and it includes lunch but bookings are essential and can be done by contacting Erika Heffer on 0438 719 628 or emailing eheffer@rga.org.au.

This project was developed and delivered in partnership with Yarkuwa Indigenous Knowledge Centre as well as YACTAC (Yanco Creek and Tributaries Advisory Council Inc) and it involved collaboration and sharing to facilitate community connections to the local area.

The project is also supported by Murray Local Land Services through the Billabong Yanco Project with funding for the project received from the NSW Catchment Action and the Australian Government’s National Landcare Programme.

Additional information can be found on the event page  which is also located on the Ricegrowers’ Association of Australia Facebook page, both locations can be visited by clicking on the links.