50 years ago

The Express, July 2, 1975

Phony phone mystery

HOLD the presses! Doctor Who has landed in Morwell. Or so it seems. This week, a phone box was spotted in the middle of nowhere, or more precisely, behind the sixth hole of the Morwell Golf Course. Braving the possibility of an attack by Dr Who’s Daleks, the Express sought out the course curator, Mike Harrison, who didn’t seem surprised by our news. “It’s a phone box, alright,” Mike stated. “But it’s not operational … at least for telephoning.”

“Actually, we’re going to use it as a toilet; there’s another planned for the eighth hole. We plan to make this course a comfortable one.” The phone (or throne) was installed last Friday; it was the idea of Jack Keenan, who is a member of the greens committee at the club. It was formally cabinet No 3417M2, and it used to stand at the corner of Hoyle and Margaret Sts in Morwell. And don’t worry, ladies, the louvre windows are going to be painted a very dark green.

30 years ago

The Express, July 1, 1995

Moe mobile police set

TWO Moe police officers will soon be seen patrolling the district on bicycles. A grant of $4200 from the Shire of La Trobe will be used to purchase two bicycles and equipment and outfit two officers for a new bicycle patrol. Coordinator and Acting Sergeant Russell Jean, said the officers would cover all areas of the Moe police district, which extends to Yallourn, Erica and Rawson. A similar patrol already operated out of Morwell Police Station, which had on occasion visited the Moe area.

10 years ago

The Express, July 4, 2016

Still missing the target

SIX months of rail service disruptions may have ended, but the pain is not over for Gippsland V/Line. The state’s regional rail was reinstated in full last Sunday following delays since January after a high-speed train failed to trigger a boom gate at Dandenong. At the height of the V/line crisis, Gippsland faced hour-long delays with only four services between Melbourne and Traralgon daily. In a statement to media on 27 June, Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan said the government had restored the funding to V/line and set out a long-term plan for better transport in regional Victoria. Member for Morwell Russell Northe said the ongoing issues remained, with little action taken by the government to address punctuality and functionality.