Letters to the editor

Here are the details of the couple: Robert Cook Inglis (b.1882) and Jessie Rennie Cumming (1881-1971).

They used to live in Barkley Street, Ararat. Their children, as far as I know, were Grace, Claude, Hector, Douglas, Norma, Mona, Gloria and Thora.

I am wondering if it is possible to put a notice in the Ararat Advertiser asking for any descendants to contact me.

As a matter of interest Robert Cook Inglis was employed as a warder at the Ararat prison and his grandson told me that he left for work one day in late 1921 and was never seen again.

The family apparently never knew if he deserted them or if he was a victim of foul play.

I assume that there will be something on his disappearance in archived editions of your newspaper.

Regards

MAUREEN GLAZEBROOK

I have enclosed a photograph taken in the 1880s of the little school that existed for a number of years in the once thriving settlement of Eversley near Ararat.

It was once part of this busy little place where only farming land exists now.

The settlement, in the 1950s, was the place where Commissioner Wright, the Commissioner for Lands for the District had a beautiful home.

This home played an important part in the social life of the district and little remains of the property now.

His role was important in the life of the squatters who came to the area to settle.

Eversley was also an important place as it was close to the diggings around Glendhu, Landsborough, Ampitheatre, and many gold prospectors passed through this place on their way to the goldfields.

Eversley was surrounded by two large pastoral estates, Woodlands and Decameron, both playing a part in the development of this tiny settlement.

It was also the home of Mr Armitage's boiling down plant and Mr Little's bone crushing factory.

So that we don't forget the importance of these little places in the history of Victoria, it is important we document as much of Eversley's history as possible.

I have taken up this research project with the aim of preserving what I can for the future.

There are many families who have left the district and I would like to contact some of the descendents.

Some of the names include Mansfield, Armitage, Brierly, Brimmer, Burgess, Clark, Court, Little, Murdoch, Potter, Smith, Simpson, Williamson, Wilson and others I may have missed.

Email beattie@hotmail.com if you have any information about people from Eversley.

Margarat Beattie

BELL POST HILL

I would like to ask council a question.

Can you tell me and the ratepayers how many houses in Stawell do not pay house rates, rubbish rates and most taxes on their house. And this means church groups and government houses.

You have said you have to subsidise the transfer station, that is why your tip fees are so high and you know it. Maybe your over paid staff could have a good look at how much money is going out of the station.

For a good example they charge you $10 to take one piece of steel into the tip.

So maybe this council could take over the station and make some money like Ararat and this might help to cut down the cost.

Also if every house is made to pay all their rates this would also help.

Even the Salvos have to pay to remove what people dump at the shop, and they are trying to help people.

Allan Cooper

STAWELL

I wish to share my frustration regarding the lack of progress with the Western highway upgrades between Buangor and Ararat.

This section of road, especially between where the new section finishes west of Buangor and the Mount Langi Ghiran picnic road turnoff is one of the most dangerous parts of the entire highway between Melbourne and Adelaide.

I know this because we live at Mount Langi Ghiran and parallel to the Western Highway, and risk our lives simply entering and existing the road on a daily basis.

For a small group of locals – they do not speak for all locals – to bring the project to a halt because they have their own personal agendas without any consideration for the safety of thousands of road users who use this national highway daily is beyond reason.

The proposal put forward by Ms MacKenzie does not take into account the fact that apart from destroying a very delicate part of the environment in that area.

There would be much more wildlife roadkill, a healthy sugar glider population would suffer.

The railway overpass at Mount Langi Ghiran suffers from black ice during frost season and anyone who has experienced driving through black ice will agree. It's an uncontrollable and dangerous experience.

I just hope common sense prevails here and no one is injured or killed in a collision while this saga drags on, we just need a safe highway for all road users, designed and built to serve for the next 50 years and beyond.

Roger Louder

BUANGOR