Jeparit: The quiet charm of a town you've probably never heard of
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- Опубліковано 1 жов 2024
- I love visiting small towns you've probably never heard of. Jeparit, in the Wimmera wheat belt, is a great example of an Aussie bush town that has maybe seen grander days. But it has charm, a beautiful river and lake, and is the birthplace of Australia's longest-serving Prime Minister, Sir Robert Menzies.
My dad was born in Jeparit in 1928. My grandparents had a barbershop. Dad is still alive at the great age of 96 and when you mention Jeparit his eyes light up and he brings back the past.
That’s awesome. Good on your Dad 😀
I love the wide streets in Victoria and South Australia. They had some forethought in those places.
Jeparit and Rainbow are also know for being settled by German Lutherans who travelled across from South Australia.
I was filming near there about 25 years ago for the Australian National Museum in Canberra. We were making a story about a farmer who kept a diary for most of his long life. He used exercise books and would record each day’s activity, so it’s something of a history of the place. However, being a farmer, each day’s activities were very similar so it’s pretty boring reading. Occasionally there was a special day, one of which read something like “ Moved 100 sheep to the south paddock at dawn, plowed part of the east paddock, got cleaned up, put on my suit and went to town at noon. Got married”.
That’s a great story. Thanks 😊
Another interesting small town. I'll go there one day soon I hope but definitely not in summer !!
PS
I thought the name Jeparit sounded familiar and a quick search reminded me why - it was the name of a ship that was involved in supplying our troops in the Vietnam war. It was often mentioned on the news back in the day.
Was it really a bad thing for the missionaries to have educated the aboriginals ? Imagine if they didn't bother, can you really think it would be right to have a stone age society living in parralel with a modern one ? You and I know what the end result would be.
I love your videos.
Thank you
Being from Warracknabeal I had defiantly heard of never been but always wanted to know what it looks like looks very peaceful.
i was there for a while in the 70's. lived at the hindmarsh hotel when mr & mrs Lamb owned it. there was a haunted room there upstairs they never rented out. the hotel as changed owners a lot, even closed down at one point and here it looks quite run down.
An interesting video , about a rural town in the mallee, and Sir Robert Menzies , gives it some notoriety, so when the local pub closes, & or the local milk bar that’s when you know its going downhill, so many towns across Victoria are going out of business, and no doubt across Australia as a whole, at least the traveler gets to give some business to these small community, cheers from Downunder ❤️🦘🦘🦘🇦🇺
Many of these towns are in decline. But that doesn’t mean they’re doomed. Have a look at my Dimboola video to see an example of a town being revived by art.
Jeez, you missed the Pioneer Museum, you must have driven right past it as it's on the Dimboola road.
Church street has all the churches, rather aptly named. I didn't know the pub had closed, celebrated the old man's passing in there, but that was 30 years ago. 😇
4 mile beach (where you stayed) is alright, but there are a couple of other campsites around the lake worth visiting. Yep, getting bogged out there is as easy as anything.
But a reasonably good view of the town.
It was closed the day I was there otherwise I would definitely have dropped in 😊
You don’t know why The Liberal Party is called The Liberal Party. You’re not alone. Very few people understand this.
The Liberal Party is named after an economic political theory known as ‘Liberalism’, that embraces the concepts of Capitalism. Concepts like the free market, supply and demand economics and competition. It also promotes ‘small’ government, lower taxes and a few other things. The ‘Liberal’ term is misleading as it has little to do with progressive policy.
Menzies was a master politician. John Howard idolised Menzies, even using Menzies old desk when he was Prime Minister. Howard tried to emulate Menzies but the Australian electorate had become far more politically savvy since the Menzies era and Howard, even with the assistance of a majority right-wing media failed in concealing his political strategies in the same manner Menzies had.
Driven through there at least once in life but never seen Lake Hindmarsh so was good to see what it looked like from that side.
Yeah, most of these towns are virtually ghost towns. Especially ones off a main highway. It is hard to imagine that at one point they were busy towns with a real lifeblood. But suspect it had to have been in late 1800's and first few decades of 1900's when they were at their peak town life. Before cars became common I assume. The hotels are the sign they once had people live there and a big enough community and activity for younger people to live there. But in last few generations, unless someone loves isolation it hard for young people to make a life out there , I imagine. Sea Lake up near Lake Tyrell seems to have found a way to still kick on a bit but think that because it on a highway to Mildura and has the appeal of the salt lake not too far away. Minyip had that tv show the Flying Doctors based there in the 80's but when driven through there in last couple of decades in truly looking more like a ghost town.
It’s the transition from former glories to today that makes these small towns so interesting. Thanks for your comment 😀
I have been living in Jeparit my whole life and at timestamp 2:20 the big red house was built by Erwin Stanley Schmidt, he built 7 identical houses in Jeparit all different colours 5 in town and 2 on farms the big red one was the main homestead he lived in.
That’s awesome. Thanks for sharing 😊
I worked with a young bloke from Jeparit, at Alcoa in Geelong, I think his name was Tony Farmer, memory for names isn’t good though, 😊
Plenty of Rocking chairs and banjos, but Lake Hindmarsh is special
Great video Terry. It's certainly a wake up call for city slickers.
I remember doing a small High School project concerning Sir Robert Menzies. Much of information came from a Herald newspaper article (before it became the Herald Sun).
Sir Robert was introduced to three Russian diplomats with unpronounceable names ending with "vitch" or "vich".
No worries here but the razor sharp Sir Robert (like Sir Winston Churchill) said something to the effect of
"Vitch Vitch is vitch?".
Country Victoria and the rest of Oztralia is a goldmine for unknown history. The backbone of Oztralia but many don't know.
A rich goldmine awaits in every small country town in Oztralia.
Cheers!
Thanks 😀. Glad you enjoyed it. I love small Aussie towns
Ha ha you Vitch story reminds me of another trure one.
At a political rally a heckler shouted to Menzies.."we know what dark forces control you"...Menzies replied...
YOU LEAVE MY WIFE OUT OF THIS...😅
This is where Robert Menzies who created the liberal party to serve Western district farmers hailed from.
Cladded and Toofed Homes here in 83/84 Beautiful Part of Victoria
I had wondered about jeparit after seeing cheap adverteded homes there many years ago but not so cheap today i think . Along that freight railway there's a few other towns perhaps similar story going up tp rainbow i think. A town with a Dutch name too , can't remember.
I was born in Jeparit. 1957.
Interesting that you do so much research when doing a video about a town. Nice video
Thanks. I hope it makes for a more interesting video 😀
Thanks again for sharing. Subbed to Chanel
Jeparit never had more than 1,000 people - even in its heyday.
great video Terry!
Thanks 🙏
Jeparit has a Vintage Machinery Rally every year
Been there Did roads surfacing there Local copper didnt like me stopping him I was a flaggie
😂
My mum was born in Jeparit in 1923. I've always wanted to see it, so thankyou!
That’s great. Now you have to visit one day 😊
The tragedy is that as those beautiful old houses decay, they are slowly being replaced by revolting bland souless buildings, eventually the process will kill of tourism...
Once it was a good place for Saturday night at the pubs. I installed the automatic telephone exchange there
I'm assuming that would have been around 1984/87 ish. My twin brothers at one point in the early 80's were running the telephone exchange, mainly on the night shift.
@@allanhugh2044 It cutover abont 1982 the last manual exchange in victoria Murtoa cutover in 1984
Great video👍👍
Cheers 😀