EXCURSION TO MORWELL WEST

Mr. Meredith led the procession of cars from Morwell, along the road that many of us remember travelling in the days before the Morwell Bridge area was taken over for brown coal, and the Princes Highway re-aligned.  We were shown the site of the Morwell Bridge School that was burnt in the 1944 bush fires and here Mrs. Dot Bartlett and Mrs. Lois Starkey, who had both lived in the district, amused us with tales of their school days, their Christmas Tree, and hot cocoa at lunch time in the winter while they attended the Morwell Bridge School.

We saw a list of early residents of Morwell Bridge and of the more recent settlement of Morwell West and later on we were shown the site of the Morwell West school that was built after the Morwell Bridge school was burnt. Mrs. Jesse Cafiso, a past teacher and a member of the Morwell Historical Society, was able to give some added information. The place where the bridge had spanned the river was pointed out.

Mrs. Bartlett gave great praise to Mr. Joe Kaye who had helped new settlers to get established in their own homes on his land during the Depression days.   If anyone was unable to pay they were never sent a bill.  Mr. Kaye delivered milk from a large billy and those who asked to buy a quart always received far more than that. Those who couldn't pay never went without milk.

Mrs. Bartlett recalled how her father, who worked at Yallourn, would walk up to his block after he had finished his shift and work on their house.  When they moved in, it was still unfinished - the children's bedroom floor was only made half way with bare earth on the other half.

Mr. Meredith showed us the quarry where his father had worked, and told us about the people who had been employed there, also about the great amount of stone taken from it.  Unfortunately, on one occasion there was a tragic accident when the stone face suddenly collapsed.  He also pointed out other sites of interest.

We wound up the day enjoying our afternoon tea in the shade of the beautiful trees on the roadside close to Morwell, and Mrs. Plant, on behalf of the Society, thanked all those who had contributed to its success.