The Riponshire Advocate declared the Back to Beaufort Centenary weekend a resounding success. All but one page of the 9 January edition of the newspaper reported the homecoming celebrations and sporting events.
Approximately 200 people visited the town. Some Beaufort residents would have noted that the number was well down on the 1,000 visitors who attended the previous ‘back to’ in 1927. But the Riponshire Advocate was certain that it was quality, not quantity, that was the measure of success.
The consensus of opinion among the visitors was that the whole of the celebrations were really delightful and thoroughly enjoyable, and they were loud in their praises of the excellent work done by the organising committee and its secretary and president.
Riponshire Advocate 9 January 1937
As secretary, Andy Duncan must have felt gratified by the response.
Andy set up a display of old photographs of Beaufort, and also a fine collection of walking sticks made from Mt. Cole forest timber, belonging to local forester Mr Thomas Derham Bailes.
Mr Duncan also displayed a fine inlaid wooden box and tray, made by him while a patient at the Caulfield Military Hospital
Riponshire Advocate 9 January 1937
Andy Duncan’s “fine inlaid wooden box”, made while an inpatient at the Caulfield Military HospitalAndy’s wooden trayWhile Andy Duncan received special mention for his work on the Back to Beaufort homecoming, his wife Jane would have to make do with being one of the Committee’s ‘loyal ladies’. Riponshire Advocate 9 January 1937
Andy’s work as honorary secretary had proved his bona fides to his new home town. In the next few years he would be nominated for committee positions at the Beaufort Mechanics’ Institute, the Cemetery Trust and the Thistle Club.
Sources
Riponshire Advocate (Beaufort, Vic.: 1874 – 1994) 9 January 1937. State Library of Victoria
1927 ‘”BACK TO BEAUFORT” CELEBRATIONS.’, The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), 16 April, p. 11. [ONLINE] Available at http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3849478 [Accessed 17 July 2016]
Featured Image: Riponshire Advocate front page 26 December 1936. State Library of Victoria
In 1936 the town of Beaufort prepared for a Back to Beaufort Centenary Homecoming. It was the centenary of explorer Major Thomas Mitchell‘s expedition passing through the district, although the township itself was somewhat younger, built after the discovery of gold at nearby Yam Holes Creek in 1854.
Homecoming events came into fashion in Australia at the end of the First World War. By then many towns were old enough that their residents could look back to pioneer days and celebrate how far they had come, but were still young enough that original settlers or their children could attend the festivities.
Despite their retrospective nature, “back to” gatherings were considered innovative and progressive. They could raise a town’s profile, boost the local economy and draw former residents back “from every state in the Commonwealth”, as the Geelong Advertiser put it. Victorian towns embraced the trend with great enthusiasm.
Andy Duncan was a member of the Back to Beaufort committee, and instrumental in organising the event. As honorary secretary he wrote to former residents, inviting them to return for the Christmas weekend. He was in touch with the Beaufort-in-Melbourne Club about arrangements for their 91 members to join the celebrations.
‘Back to Beaufort.’ The Argus, Melbourne, 20 October 1936, p.10. Reproduction of newspaper article found in Trove. Courtesy of the National Library of Australia.
Andy also managed the homecoming budget, which included seeing what might be donated or discounted. It kept him busy:
liaising with the Railways Department on sharing the costs of promotional posters for display in metropolitan and Beaufort district stations;
developing an advertising plan and keeping tabs on revenue generated from advertising in the souvenir booklet;
negotiating truck rental to transport visitors to the picnic ground at Mount Cole;
borrowing flags and decorations from Melbourne using his Returned Soldiers and Sailors Imperial League connections, then seeking council approval to decorate the town.
A letter was read from the Ripon Shire Council, stating that they had no objection to flags and welcome home signs being hung across the main street, but would not allow any sign to be placed on the band rotunda
Riponshire Advocate 5 December 1936
At the start of December preparations gathered momentum. Andy’s wife Jane joined the committee. She helped arrange a social for Christmas night, and hem the welcome signs Andy had organised for each end of town, the main street and the railway station.
Riponshire Advocate (Beaufort, Vic.: 1874 – 1994) 5 December 1936. State Library of Victoria
Riponshire Advocate (Beaufort, Vic.: 1874 – 1994) 12 December 1936. State Library of Victoria
Riponshire Advocate (Beaufort, Vic.: 1874 – 1994) 19 December 1936. State Library of Victoria
Riponshire Advocate (Beaufort, Vic.: 1874 – 1994) 26 December 1936. State Library of Victoria
Riponshire Advocate (Beaufort, Vic.: 1874 – 1994) 9 January 1937. State Library of Victoria
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1937 ‘”Back to Orbost”‘, The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), 27 February, p. 20. [ONLINE] Available at: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11974087 [Accessed 17 July 2016].
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Clark, I, 2015. Yam Holes to Beaufort. Ballarat, Victoria, Australia: Waller & Chester.
Featured image: Beaufort railway station 2015. From the author’s collection. Copyright Andrew Palmer.
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