This week in 1919: December 4

WOMEN’S DRESS REFORM.

The campaign initiated by the Council of Women in Sydney to secure dress reform for women on the lines of decency is extending. A message from Goulburn states that Father O’Reilly, rector of St. John’s College, Sydney University, speaking lately at Bishop Gallagher’s golden jubilee celebration at Goulburn, alluded to the long lists of divorces filed in the court. The dressing of the women of the present day was becoming more and more an intolerable scandal. Many women were anxious to take off as many clothes as the police would allow them to take off. Father O’Reilly, having referred to the pastoral issued by Archishop Vaughan in 1879, in which it was stated that if religion were excluded from the public schools it would tend to lead to a crop of infidelity and immorality, said that what Archishop Vaughan stated 40 years ago had come to pass. The divorce courts were proof of it. A thousand cases had been listed for hearing the other day in New South Wales and the courts were not able to overtake them. Was there any man who pretended to be a good Australian who was satisfied with the present condition of morality in this State as revealed in the divorce courts? We were rapidly becoming a disgrace to modern civilization. He instanced the decline in the birth rate, and the systematic iniquity at the back of it. 

DROUGHT LOSSES.

A member of one of the biggest firms of horse-dealers in Australia stated last week that he estimated that 20,000 horses had been lost in New South Wales during the present drought. In one mob of 1600horses no fewer than 300 had died already. In addition to those that had died of starvation, thousands had been shot because there was no feed, and it was best to put them quickly out of their misery. Scores of stations in New South Wales had shot fifty and sixty horses each and the starvation and the shooting were still going on. 

WATER FOR THE DISTRICT.

To the Editor of “The Leader”

Sir,—I think that the proceedings of the last meeting of the Water Trust show that the commissioners are a kindly, without guile sort of men when dealing with public business, anyway. Discussing the water question, they spoke of the probable shortage owing to the dry season; they instanced through the use of water by several ratepayers the necessity to put on meters; they suggested stopping irrigating small plots of lucerne, and the probable necessity of stopping the watering of fruit gardens, etc. It was shown that the Broken River at Benalla had been flowing at least one inch above summer level for a considerable period, but no water came into the Numurkah territory. It was stated by the engineer that a big pumping plant had been engaged lifting water above Casey’s weir, and also that the Tungamah Water Trust area had interminable channels and swamps to fill, and, the engineer added, with the gracious condescension of Mr Kelly the pumping had been stopped (presumably enough has been pumped for a time) and that now a flow would come in to this territory (if we have a bit of luck); and—mark! the river is now quoted at 6in. above summer level. The commissioners took all this with a sigh of relief—glad to know it might be worse, I suppose. I do not blame Mr Kelly (I think him a good officer) or the Tungamah commissioners, nor do I think the leopard changes its spots. In the past the water has been kept by Tungamah. It is our duty to see that our fair share comes along. That Mr Kelly has had a holiday should not have affected the flow of water in the creek, though it has evidently. I don’t know how many thousands—over thirty, I should say have been expended by the trust, and privately, in weirs and other aids to store water in these districts. On the evidence of the last meeting of the trust, though there should be a flowing stream, the creek in a few days would be dry in long , stretches. In the year 1914-15 at Nathalia the water storage was dry, and practically a dry creek to Barmah, though Com. Ball said, in discussing the question of meters, that there was plenty of water. Surely the commissioners should have put in a vigorous protest and further appointed an officer to see that the Numurkah territory got its quota. There, may be a very long dry time ahead, and every day the creek flows means a supply a month or two longer, besides encouraging all the little industries along its banks.—

Yours, etc. GEORGE STICKELS.

To celebrate the State Library of Victoria’s digitising of the war years editions of the Numurkah Leader, each week we will include the news of the week, 100 years ago.

To view these editions online go to trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/title/591.