Who is he?
He is one of Kyabram’s legendary residents who ran Kyabram’s most famous business in the first half of the 20th century when his influence continued the development of the town.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
He came to Kyabram as a boot repairer in 1909 from Eaglehawk aged 18 and went on to purchase a Kyabram landmark business in 1928 from Edwards and Co.
He became famous and revered for not dismissing his workforce during the Depression but insisted his employees had to be prepared to do any work to survive. Which they did.
When World War II broke out, all of his male staff except for one elderly gentleman enlisted and left him with women to control all departments of his business.
He died in 1955 and one of the biggest funerals in Kyabram’s history gave him the farewell he had earned and deserved.
An estimated 1000 mourners attended his funeral at the Kyabram Methodist Church and Sunday school, with many mourners spilling out into the nearby streets.
With a 250-strong cortege of vehicles to the Kyabram Cemetery, people were still arriving to pay their tribute at his final resting place as the service concluded.
His name: William ‘Henry’ Wood — founder of Knights Big Store.
His teammates were: Ted Doidge, Tom Crawford, Alf Cummings, Roger Bolger, Alf Cummings, George Hargreaves, W. Fischer, Hiram Outram, Bob Haslem, Bert Dawes, Wally Thomson and Dr Clive Harcourt.
Proud as punch
Kyabram couple Peter and Bev Lyon have had every reason to feel proud over the past couple of weeks.
One of their sons and a grandson have played key roles in the telecasts of two of the world’s most watched sporting events.
One of their sons, Chris, has been Melbourne-based but has still been pulling the strings in the production of the coverage of the Winter Olympics in Italy.
Peter and Bev’s grandson Ben, the oldest of three boys of another of their sons, former AFL star son and football media guru Garry Lyon, was involved with media star Gerald Whateley in the covering of last week’s Super Bowl in California.
Chris runs his own promotional business called ‘Serge’ in Melbourne these days and has been involved in similar work for many years in Channel 7 sports productions.
‘‘Yes, we are pretty proud of them (Chris and Ben),’’ Peter said.
“It’s a pretty good effort for Kyabram to have a connection with the coverage of two of the world's biggest sporting events.”
You certainly won’t get any arguments on that score, Peter.
And congratulations, Chris and Ben — Kyabram is proud of you too.
Monster cannabis crop
Police last week seized a cannabis crop with a potential value of $10 million north of Deniliquin.
The crop was in bushland and 5000 plants were seized.
Four people were arrested and refused bail.
Songs at the Silos
An impressive list of performers is booked to appear at Rochester’s annual Songs at the Silos on March 7.
Entertainment under the Rochester art silos will showcase acclaimed performers such as Michael J, Lapina, Julie Allsop, Alex Pokyryshevsky, Eleanor Blythman and emerging artist Evie Scoble.
Entry is free.
Reeling in the region
Fishing competitions in the Riverina of late have hooked a lot of anglers — and fish.
Competitions at Deniliquin and Darlington Point raised quite a few fish from the Edward and Murrumbidgee rivers, respectively.
Deniliquin’s annual Edward Kolety Fishing Challenge was a sellout, with a total of 107 native fish landed by 350 anglers, with a 95cm Murray cod grassed under the catch-and-release rule of the competition the largest catch of the competition.
Money raised will be used to purchase 30,000 golden perch and eel-tailed catfish fingerlings to go with the 30 mature Murray cod released in December in streams in the Deniliquin district.
The Riverina fishing competition at Darlington Point on the Murrumbidgee River lured 900 entrants who caught a total of 1260 fish.
The good news for fishers was Murray cod made up 1007 of this total catch.
Then followed European carp (161), silver perch (61), golden perch (22) and trout cod (9).
The biggest Murray cod landed measured 117cm and the largest golden perch (yellowbelly) 62cm.
Searching for information
If you have ever had an association with Benalla and district, the Benalla Family Research Group would love to hear from you.
Particularly if you have old photos of original or replaced buildings or any examples of change for an exhibition to highlight the town’s past and present.
The exhibition is planned for April and anyone who may be able to provide any memorabilia is asked to contact 0429 947 696.
And while on Benalla, the 8m tall rocket in its botanical gardens has been recommended for an historical listing.
Square dinkum
G’day.
I bought a raffle ticket at a fundraiser to support the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds ... first prize was a frozen turkey?
Hooroo!