An Early Post Office
When Alexander Cameron MacDonald passed away in 1917, local newspapers heralded him as Wangaratta’s first Postmaster. This was not true, as at least two other men acted in the capacity of Postmaster before MacDonald arrived in the infant town and he was never...
Wangaratta Fire Brigade Origins
Wangaratta Fire Brigade had it’s origins in a “Hook and Ladder Brigade” formed in 1872. This was rather late for the organisation of a co-ordinated fire fighting effort, considering that the settlement was over 30 years old. It wasn’t that fire...
Radio 3WR
Wangaratta can lay claim to Australia’s first country broadcasting station, going to air five months before Toowoomba’s 4GR. Stationer and Wangaratta Sports Depot owner Leslie John Leo Hellier commenced radio 3WR in February 1925 in a shed in his backyard...
Trove Tuesday – Wangaratta 1863 – Part 5
Following on from the last Trove Tuesday we continue reading an account of Wangaratta published in the Ovens & Murray Advertiser (O&MA) in January 1863. The progress of the town, although gradual, is very marked, and those buildings in course of erection are...
1856 politics Wangaratta style
The political and social alignments of the early residents of Wangaratta have long fascinated me. Who socialised or was in business with whom, was an indicator of town and sometimes family dynamics. While there were clearly divisions in Wangaratta, they were often not...
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