THE small town of Gunbower celebrated two big milestones at the weekend – the centenary of the Soldiers Memorial Hall and 150 years of the township.
From Thursday to Sunday, the community celebrated with high teas, bush dancing and extravagant displays of dresses and cars.
Event organiser and co-owner of the The Gunbower Butter Factory, Letitia Edwards said the community had been looking forward to celebrating the hall’s centenary and looking back on the town’s history together.
The official celebration took place on Saturday with a night of bush dancing.
“Gunbower is a great community where everyone just jumps in and gets on board,” Ms Edwards said.
“The hall is a place that’s always been integral to our community and it’s where the get-togethers happen.”
The celebrations started with a high tea on Thursday, which was attended by 140 people.
“All of the events were really successful,” Ms Edwards said.
“It was a hive of excitement and really nostalgic as well.
“On Friday, vintage dresses once worn by local people were displayed at the Soldiers Memorial Hall.
“We had about 30 dresses, consisting of beautiful wedding and debutante ball dresses.
“We had many elderly ladies of the community who came and saw their dresses being displayed or if they didn’t have their own dresses, they saw their friends’ dresses there.
“It was just beautiful going back through the photos of their wedding day, hearing their stories, and experiencing that nostalgia.”
On Sunday the celebrations officially ended with a tree-planting ceremony.
“We’ve been here for 150 years, but now we’ve planted something that we can watch grow for the next 100 years,” Ms Edwards said.
Classic cars lined up on the main streets over the weekend as Gunbower welcomed Kerang and District Vintage Motorclub, and Moama Historic Vehicle Club.
“We have displayed some vintage cars, tractors, trucks and farm machinery that used to operate in Gunbower, but we’ve also invited car clubs from out of town as well,” Ms Edwards said.
“We invited them over because they have supported the town a lot.”.
For more photos of the celebrations, pick up a copy of next Tuesday’s Gannawarra Times.
