IT seems incredible, but never-the-less, it is true, that in this great continent of Australia with its scanty population and its wide reaches of good pastoral and agricultural land and a climate unsurpassed in the world for its mild range of temperatures, that the products of the soil should practically be out of the reach of most people by their excessive cost.
Perhaps in no other country is it possible to keep stock during the winter without hand-feeding and housing, but, despite that great advantage arid the benefit of large stations, some of which in area approximate the size of a principality in Europe, we find today that meat is dearer than in any other country in the world.
The whole of the population of Australia amounts to about two-thirds of the population of London, but though so many thousands of miles distant, London citizens purchase the pick of Australian grown produce at cheaper rates than what we pay for the second-class goods not up to export requirements.
This also applies to all our produce, and if we export all our best hides, wool and grain, we can only expect that to get a good article of clothing or boots we ask for an English made article.
Should people in England today be asked to pay prices at present charged for fresh meat they would be astounded, and well might they be.
At present charges a working man, to keep in bodily condition, must consume a certain amount of meat each day; the cost of this necessary sustenance means that not much less than one pound per day must be paid for labor.
If much less is given then the working class must either become less efficient through lack of proper sustenance, or drift back financially.
There can be no other outlook. A working man requires so much meat daily that at his present daily wage he cannot afford this meat, which from being a common necessity, has now become a luxury; yet, why should it be so when in Queensland fat cattle are worth less than what fat sheep are worth here at present?
Why not send Queensland frozen meat here instead of to London? This is where politics and the Navigation Act comes in. However the Commonwealth Government are giving a bounty of up to £160,000 on export meat, while a wide awake citizen of Melbourne, like Mr. John Wren, imports thousands of fat cattle from New Zealand to help the butchering trade of Melbourne to carry on in a almost critical situation.
Where is the statesmanship that controls the destinies of this great Commonwealth – a continent that should be self-contained, but which in a period when peace has full sway, and no untoward circumstances have happened to unduly disturb local production, we find meat unobtainable, and yet in Queensland unsaleable?
In a future contribution I may deal with matters relating to the fat stock markets half a century back, when shipping facilities were not obtainable.
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MR. Wickes, of Langwarrin, rode into Frankston last Saturday night and attended the pictures in the Mechanics’ Hall. He tied his horse to a pine tree in the hall yard.
Some hours later he found the horse lying dead at the foot of the tree. It had apparently been strangled. The top portion of the tree to which the horse was tied had snapped off and fell near the horse.
It is surmised that the frightened beast in its efforts to obtain release, strangled itself.
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LAST Monday night a large number of ladies formed themselves into a committee to assist in carrying out the children’s fancy paper dress ball, to be held in the Palais de Danse on Thursday, 16th August.
They were welcomed by the president of the A.N.A., Mr. W. Lind, who expressed pleasure, on behalf of the branch, for the interest shown.
Mrs. Lind, wife of the president, was voted to the chair, and good progress was made.
Family tickets may be procured at 5/- each, and these will admit any number of one family to the dancing floor.
The proceeds of the ball will be devoted to the Frankston soldiers’ hall.
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A NOVELTY golf match was played on Tuesday, 7th inst., from Mentone to Mordialloc golf links, between Frank Dempsey and the Mordialloc golf club’s champion, Fred Lording.
Dempsey started off by putting his ball into a house just being built.
Lording found a drain which, cost seven strokes to get out, and further on Dempsey got into a cabbage patch and after a great effort succeeded in getting out, but not until he had knocked the hearts out of a few cabbages.
On again, Dempsey had the misfortune in hitting a cow which resulted in the animal badly straining its milk.
Next episode was when Lording played his ball into someone’s back yard, which finished in the dog kennel and had much difficulty in extricating it, as Dempsey had to keep the dog off while he played his stroke.
The play was very even up to this, Lording had played 40 strokes and Dempsey 37.
Approaching Pt. Nepean road, Dempsey’s ball finished in a motor car that had been abandoned on the road, and being afraid of doing damage they agreed to lift the ball out.
Both players, after leaving the road got into a fowl yard, and after damaging the wire netting managed to get out without any foul strokes.
The play then found the open country, and with the exception of a few water holes and rabbit scrapes the game ended in favor of Lording, who did the full journey in 61 strokes against Dempsey’s 81.
The loser has issued a challenge for a return match, which was agreed upon to take place next week from Dandenong to Mordialloc.
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MR. Meredith, who has acquired the news agency for so long conducted by Mr. J. O’Donoghue, was compelled to return to the city on Saturday last, owing to thieves having broken into his house at Caulfield.
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MISS Ivy Pepper, assistant in the Frankston school, has been selected by the Education Department to proceed to England as an “exchange” teacher.
The idea of this interchange of teachers with the mother country and the Dominions, is to widen the experience of teachers, exchange ideas, and knit the bonds of Empire more strongly together.
Miss Pepper was enthusiastically farewelled by the pupils last Monday, under the chairmanship of Master Roy Salmon.
A wonderful programme of music, songs, recitation, dialogues, character sketches and dances were presented in very fine style and frequent flashes of brilliancy were observable.
At the conclusion the head master (Mr. J. D. Jennings) thanked Miss Pepper for the fine work she had done, especially in the teaching of swimming and life-saving, and expressed regret at her departure and congratulations on her preferment.
On behalf of the pupils he then presented her with a unique carry-all, a hot water bottle, and another small, but appropriate, present.
After Auld Lang Syne was feelingly sung, Miss Pepper departed amid cheers and with a numerous escort.
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FRANKSTON and Somerville is to be visited next week by the great Arnold Villiers, magician and illusionist, with his company of entertainers, and the following dates are advertised:
Frankston, Wednesday August 15; Somerville, Monday August 13.
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From the pages of the Frankston and Somerville Standard, 8 & 10 Aug 1923
