History snippets

As discussed in the last snippet (Evolution of Club Newsletter) most articles reported upon were serious or informative. However, right from earliest editions humour and ‘scuttlebutt’ was included. This took on a more regular format in 1989 when there started to be some more light-hearted content included, with cartoons, gossip (not always politically correct) and humorous anecdotes beginning to appear more regularly. By 1994, there was a special place reserved for these titled “Under the Yarra”.

A few examples of the content follows.

As part of the FCC History Group’s activities we have been endeavouring to track down all the old club newsletters. In the first two decades of our history, it seems that club activities were reported in the press of the day rather than a club generated product., FCC activities are regularly found reported in ‘The Age’, ‘The Herald’, the ‘Argus’, the social newspaper, ‘Table Talk’, and the local ‘Hurstbridge Advertiser’. In addition, our Club Secretary published regular FCC and VACA reports in the USA magazine – ‘Water Sports’ (see History Snippet 19) through the 1920’s.

The story so far………..

Photo top: Bill Purves, Melva’s husband, took this photograph. Keith is on the far right, together with Glen and Tom Ohman in Victorian State colours.

I recently had the great privilege to interview Melva, who with her husband Bill Purves, were members of FCC from 1948 to 1952. They then married and moved to Deer Park.

Richard Tracey, the then Commissioner of the Royal Commission into Aged Care, died 11thOctober, 2019.

There was great excitement for cyclists recently as the upgrade of the old Chandler Highway bridge was completed and the opening of the new multi-lane bridge brought a smile to the faces of many motorists. All good so far……….until a gentle paddle upstream just before Christmas revealed….NOTHING!

All the accumulated history of cavalier paddlers and their Yarra floods that had been ‘beautifully’ documented on the northern pylon over at least 50 years had been cleaned-off!

 

Recently hung in the clubhouse is this iconic photograph of the foundling Fairfield Canoe Club gathered at their “home” at Willow Dell (Fairfield Boathouse). We do not know the names of those photographed, other than the little girl framed by the lifebuoy and the man seated behind her. The girl is Kathleen and the gent, her father Alfred (Alf) Otto Lucke.