Serving The Community
Those who worked in the forest industries in and around Rushworth have had a long history of serving their communities. As a group, they would often provide their labour and equipment free of charge to support some worthwhile cause. This was often done by providing wood directly to a person or organisation in need. Alternatively, the wood might be supplied for a community event where it was auctioned off with the proceeds going to a particular cause.
Early in World War 1, the wood cutters and carters of Rushworth combined to bring in 35 loads of firewood, which were auctioned off. The resulting cash went to a fund for wounded Australian soldiers, who at the time were still engaged in the Gallipoli campaign. According to the local paper, “this speaks well for our local wood men, and shows what can be accomplished by concerted action.” Two local saw millers, Colliver and Anderson, and William Curtis cut up the wood free of charge. There was a community event with a procession of the vehicles loaded with wood, led by the town band, from the Masonic Hall up High Street to the band rotunda, where the band played, and the auction took place.1
Wood Day Carnival
Rushworth’s Wood Day Carnival commenced in 1916 or 1917, ostensibly to raise funds for the Mooroopna hospital. The hospital dated back to the 1870s and later became known as the Goulburn Valley Base Hospital. Many patients from Rushworth spent time in this regional medical facility. One of those was a young Ron Risstrom, who was there for a lengthy stay when he had polio.
In 1925 it was claimed that the amount raised for the hospital in Rushworth was the largest amount raised by any town in the Goulburn Valley for that year – 550 pounds, or over $55,000 in 2024 money.2
In 1926, a member of the hospital board, Mr Brown, summed up the magnificent Rushworth contribution to the hospital over ten years. He stated that “In Rushworth, every man taking part in the wood day effort undertook to perform a certain task and carried it out according to promise, some cutting the wood, others carting it and so on. In Rushworth, they never met any trouble with their wood day.”3
There was a committee which ran the carnival. In 1930, the office bearers were J Howe, President, James Wall, Secretary and J Connelly, Treasurer.4 The following year it was noted that since its inception, the Rushworth Wood Day Carnival had raised a total of 4195 pounds (over $400,000 in 2024 $A) for the hospital.
Colbinabbin also got into the act. In 1929, the people of Colbinabbin combined to cut, load and transport 25 dray loads and two truckloads of firewood, which was auctioned off for 80 pounds. Proceeds were sent to the hospital.5
Wood Supply
Apart from the fund raising at the carnival, sometimes Rushworth people assisted in directly supplying wood to the hospital, which used large quantities of firewood. In 1942, local Forest Commission staff, timber workers and saw millers cut and stacked 700 tons of firewood, then co-operated with fruit growers from the Shepparton area to transport the wood to the hospital by truck. Apparently, this constituted about four months’ supply for the hospital.6 They followed up the effort in December that year with another 500 tons.
A year earlier, they had also co-operated with the fruit growers to deliver 215 tons of firewood to the SPC factory in Shepparton, an important industry during the time of the second world war.7
In 1951, when Dhurringile mansion was being set up as a home for orphaned Scottish boys, the Rushworth community cut and transported a large amount of firewood to the mansion as a measure of support for the new institution.8
Today
It is gratifying to see that in the present day, the tradition of the Wood Days has been re-born. For many years, the Lions Club ran an auction of donated wood as part of the Rushworth Easter Festival until the demise of the club. Proceeds were distributed to various worthy community groups and causes. Now the mantle has been taken up by the amazing group that has for many years been raising funds to support and try to find a cure for cancer for young children, Shearing for Kids with Cancer. What a wonderful legacy of something that had its origins over 100 years earlier.
References: 1 Murchison Advertiser 22/10/1915; 2 Weekly Times 20/6/1925; 3 Kyabram Free Press 3/8/1926; 4 The Age 17/3/1930; 5 The Age 6/5/1929; 6 Shepparton Advertiser 17/4/42; 7 Shepparton Advertiser 18/6/1941; 8 Shepparton Advertiser 1/6/1951
