Key events in Stanthorpe, 1946:
January 4
• New Year Welcomed
The only public function to see the old year out and usher in the new was held in St. Joseph’s Hall where over six hundred people danced to excellent music supplied by Smith’s and Jensen’s Orchestras. At 12 o’clock all the lights were extinguished and a sign, “Welcome to 1946”, done in coloured electric bulbs, was switched on.
January 15
• Return to Civvie Street – Capt A. W Joyce: “Throngs of British civilians are awaiting sailings; for Canada 30,000, Australia 10,000, New Zealand 9,000, South Africa 4,000. The figures are only of those ready to move at a moment’s notice. Australian service authorities think they might move most servicemen from Britain by the end of January.
January 22
• Fruit in Perfect Condition – “It was learned this morning that the iced wagon containing peaches, pears, plums, grapes and cabbage which was consigned as an experiment from the “Iona” Cold Stores, Applethorpe, on Thursday last, arrived in Townsville in perfect condition. Mr AR Barlow of “Iona” Cold Stores, who conducted the experiment in conjunction with the assistance of officers of the Department of Agriculture, is gratified with the success of the venture. Departmental officers travelled with the train and keep a constant check on the inside temperatures of the trucks and the lasting capacities of the ice.
January 25
• Flood rains throughout the state – nearly 6 inches fall in Stanthorpe.
February 5
• Governor’s Visit: “Stanthorpe this week is being honoured with a visit from their Excellencies, Sir Leslie and Lady Wilson, prior to their departure for England. Sir Leslie Wilson has served a period of 14 years as Governor of Queensland.”
• Official Opening of CWA Hostel: “The CWA Hostel which was recently purchased from Mr B. Hawker, will be officially opened by the Governor Sir Leslie Wilson, on Friday next at 11 am. Situated on the corner block in Railway Street which overlooks the town, the site of the Hostel is an ideal one. There was great controversy about the purchase of this property, but our representative who inspected it this week is of the opinion that to build and equip a similar Hostel would cost very much more. The property was purchased on a walk-in walk-out basis, and even the pictures were left on the walls. In the next two weeks, 15 children will be accommodated there.”
• News Reel of Stanthorpe: “Mr L. Burns of the Fox Movietone News, will visit Stanthorpe this week and will take important events at the Show, including campdrafting, jumping, bullock riding and trotting, and will visit some of the main orchards in the district, where he will take picture. Mr C. Sourris, of Arcadia Theatre has arranged with Fox to send their representatives to Stanthorpe.”
• Cold Store and Packing House Wanted at Passmore: “At the DSGC Meeting, which was held on Friday last, Mr Tully LPA forwarded a request that the COD be asked to build a Cold Store and Packing House at Passmore. Mr Murden said their LPA had under pressure, voted for a cold store at Applethorpe. Since then, it had been changed to Thulimbah, which was too far away for southern end growers.
• Uranium Oxide Discovered in Stanthorpe District: “The disclosure that Uranium Oxide had been discovered in the Stanthorpe district created great interested at the weekend. The announcement was made from London, where samples had been assayed. The Uranium Oxide was discovered by Mr. J. H. Grant, a mining engineer of many years experience. Border Post, Mr. Grant outlined the story of the discovery.
In an exclusive interview with a representative of the years, he had been developing deposits of mercury, wolfram antimony, manganese and bismuth in a belt from Grafton to the west of Stanthorpe. He said that for the last five this work last April that he discovered what he took to be uranium oxide. Grant held prospecting claims for manganese and he did not bring in the uranium oxide until after the first atomic bomb had fallen. He was not satisfied with these analyses and sought the advice of Mr EJ Maher who in turn contacted Mr Williams, originally of the Commonwealth Department. Mr. Williams made tests in Newcastle which were very satisfactory so much so that he and Mr Maher came to Stanthorpe to inspect the deposit. They took back with samples of canotite, the ore which contains the uranium oxide and forwarded them to London to be tested by the London scientists at the London School of Mines. The scientists cabled back that it was definitely uranium, but asked for three days grace to determine the quality and quantity. They then phoned from London giving the results from ten samples. Each sample showed uranium, the assay ranging from 5 to .3 per cent, which it is claimed in some quarters is the highest percentage in the world. When Mr Grant learned of the use of the oxide in the atomic bomb he took a concentrated sample of uranium to Mr Howe and asked him to try and take a photo with it. Mr Howe placed a pin and nail in his dark room, put a piece of film over them and the concentrated uranium on top of that. When the film was developed the next morning it had taken a photo of the pin and nail. Mr. Grant explained that he was associated with the discovery of uranium in South Australia over forty years ago, when Madame Marie Curie was making her discoveries in radium. Mr Grant is of the opinion that the Stanthorpe deposit, which is situated on the leasehold portion of Mr E.C. Ogg’s Araluen property, near the Foxbar and Pikedale boundaries, is a very large one, and is over 100 feet wide in one sector. It is
absolutely virgin ground and has not been disturbed by a pick. He said Mr Denny Allen first took him to the manganese deposits and Mr Joe Johnston and Mr Jim Mann were also there.”
February 8
• Statement in Sydney – Huge Uranium Deposit Here: “The largest deposit of uranium (atomic energy source) in the world has been found near Stanthorpe, Queensland, general security of the AWU, Mr. T Dougherty, said in Sydney on Friday last. The AWU conference to which Mr Dougherty made the statement carried a motion urging the Commonwealth and State Governments to develop Australia’s uranium deposits. Mr Dougherty said, “These deposits were found on the holding of Mr EJ Maher of Sydney, by Mr JH Grant, an engineer. They contain the highest percentage or uranium of any deposit in the world. Samples sent to Britain yielded up to 3 per cent uranium. Tests were made at the BHP laboratory and when an electric current of 8000 volts was applied the uranium samples exploded into dust. That indicates that there is something worthy investigating.”
February 19
• A case of infantile paralysis has been reported to the authorities from Stanthorpe. The child, a girl aged 9 years, was in residence at the CWA Hostel.
February 26
• Soldiers Memorial Community Centre Agreed on: “The public meeting held on Thursday evening last under the auspices of the Returned
Soldiers League Sub-branch fully endorsed the building of a memorial community centre as outlined by Cr. C. F. Hecker on behalf of the League members and elected a committee to investigate all aspects of the project, including the site for the building and the constituents of the centre.”
March 5
• Electricity from Toowoomba for Stanthorpe: “Negotiations regarding the extension of transmission lines from Warwick to Stanthorpe by
the Toowoomba Electric Light company has been completed between the Company and the State Commission. An agreement had been reached and arrangements made to extend the supplied as soon as labour and supplied permit.”
March 29
• Shortage of Staff, Private Wards at Stanthorpe Hospital May Close: ” The staff position at the Stanthorpe Hospital is, if anything, in a worse position today than at any period during the war. Out of trained staff of eight, there are only three left of whom it is understood that two will be leaving in the very near future. Of 24 trainees, only 14 are now on the staff and two of these will complete their training in a few days and will be leaving. Unless the position improves immediately, there appears to be no alternative but for the Board to close the Private Wards altogether and only take extremely urgent cases in the Public Wards. An appeal is now made to all residents to canvass their friends
in the district and other parts of the State for nurses in an effort to keep the Hospital functioning in every department.”
April 2
• OBE Awarded to Lieut Col W. N. Less, Texas, for service in France, Belgium, Holland and Germany
• Shire Council Elections – Candidates Policies (J.B. Ferris & H.V. Howe)
April 16
• Texas Airman awarded Military Medal (F/Sgt Harvey Besley, of “Kenilworth”). Besley, whilst a prisoner of war in Japanese hands, worked as a medical assistant in a POW Hospital. His reliability in handling various situations that arose in the hospital was exceptional and his cheerfulness in difficult and trying conditions was of immense value, calling forth the admiration of all ranks. In April, 1945, the Japanese began to evacuate all fit prisoners of war from the Rangoon area. Taking advantage of an air raid, F/Sgt Besley and five others made their escape. They travelled for seven days before meeting the British forces and during this time, Besley made many reconnaisances, showing skill and a complete disregard of danger. At the time of his discharge, he held the rank of Flight Lieutenant, dating back to the 11th March, 1943.”
• Shire Council Election
April 9
• Office of the District Inspector of the Agricultural Bank to be moved to Stanthorpe.
•Stanthorpe Aerodrome to be opened at an early date
• Private Wards at the Hospital to Remain Closed: “Owing to the shortage of trained nurses and trainees the Stanthorpe Hospitals Board has
been compelled to close the private wards at the Stanthorpe Hospital until a suitable staff can be procured.”
May 21
• Conflicting Opinions on Uranium – The Minister for Mines (Mr. Gair) said that tests were made of the ore at South Kensington and these tests confirmed that the samples were not uranium ore and not of the slightest interest as a source of uranium.
• Snow in the Granite Belt Portions of the Northern and Southern ends of the district on Saturday night and Sunday morning last experience the heaviest fall of snow for 20 years. The fall in the Northern end extended from Thulimbah to Applethorpe where it snowed from approximately 6.30 on Sunday morning to 8 o’clock. At Wallangarra, where the fall was even heavier, especially in the ranges, the snow began to fall at 9 pm on Saturday night.
June 18
• Greenlands State School Victory and Arbor Day
• Shooting tragedy at Stanthorpe
June 21
• Snow in Southern End of District 30 consecutive frosts in Granite Belt. The Granite Belt is experiencing one of the most consistently cold winters for many years. The weather is bitterly cold and more snow is expected. In the Granite Belt, there have been 30 consecutive frosts from May 30.
June 11
• Electricity for rural Areas: “Toowoomba Electric Light Co will take over Council’s Undertaking Power for Dalveen and Ballandean Soon.
In a report read at the Council meeting on Friday on a conference he had with the manager and a director of the Toowoomba Electric Light Co, the Chairman of the Shire Council said that a franchises has been granted to the Company up until February 1, 1954. It is the intention of the company to extend quickly to pick up the load and it is anticipated that the area from Dalveen to Ballandean will be linked up very soon. The matter was considered to be most urgent as the supply of electric power to the COD Cold Store to be Build at Thulimbah is asked for by next October.”
• Tenders for Thulimbah Cold Store
June 25
• Curtailment of Rail Services: “Due to the coal shortage caused by the strike in the coal mines, the mail train from Brisbane to Wallangarra will run on three days a week only Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from next Tuesday. Trains will leave Wallangarra for Brisbane on the same days. Other passenger and mixed train services will be reduced from Wednesday next. On Mondays and Wednesdays the mail train will terminate at Toowoomba and on Fridays at Warwick.”
July 9
• Glen Aplin Service Personnel Welcomed Home
• Council to borrow £1600 to repair Broadwater, Eukey, Ballandean-Eukey Roads
August 2
• Stanthorpe Red Cross – £23,607 raised by Stanthorpe District during War Years.
September 13
• Water Supply For Wallangarra: “After a long discussion, the Stanthorpe Shire Council has decided to take up with the Department of the Interior the matter of the military dam at Wallangarra and to press for the handing over of the dam free of charge to the Council for the purpose of supplying water to the towns of Wallangarra and Jennings.”
• Mr Edward John Mahon and DR C Hecker refused mineral leases for the purpose of the mining of manganese and uranium.
October 29
• CWA Annual Meeting
• Hostel for boarding country children inaugurated in January, 1946
November 12
• Stanthorpe Aerodrome to be Opened on Saturday.
November 19
• The Stanthorpe aerodrome, which has now been granted a B Class licence, was officially opened by the Chairman of the Stanthorpe Shire Council, Cr. J.B. Ferris, on Saturday. Four small planes of the Moth class were present for the opening ceremony and gave joy rides to members of the public.
November 29
• Film Celebrity (Charles Chauvel) visits Stanthorpe: “Mr Chauvel is visiting Brisbane in connection with the technical aspect of the film industry and is arranging for the transport of material for the filming of “Sons of Matthew”.
December 17
• Devastating Hail Storm in Cottonvale Area: “As a result of one of the worst hail storms in the history of the Cottonvale district, thousands of cases of fruit and large quantities of vegetables will not be marketed this season. The hail on the average was as large as golf balls, and windows in many houses were broken. It is the most disastrous hail storm which has ever occurred in this area. About 40 growers in the Cottonvale area were affected. It is estimated that approximately 100,000 cases of fruit will be lost.”
• Cottonvale Queensland Tourism Development Board Visit to Stanthorpe: (Accommodation for tourists is limited because licensees of hotels are short of staff – O’Mara’s Hotel, Country Club Hotel, Commercial Hotel, Sheahan’s Hotel, Hotel Stanthorpe, Moiominda Guest House).
• Produce in Iced Wagon arrived in Charleville in Excellent Condition: “Continuing its series of experiments in consigning pre-cooled fruit in iced wagons to various centre in Queensland, the COD recently considered in an iced and ventilated wagon three tons of fruit and vegetables from The Summit to Charleville. The lines included in the consignment, which was the first of its kind sent to the west, were cabbages, beans, peaches, apricots and plums.
• A New Industry for Stanthorpe: “Mr Sam Cook has acquired plant to manufacture concrete blocks for building houses, sheds, fences. In his spare time he built a house on the North Stanthorpe Estate and it is a credit to his skill and enterprise.”
