What was the talk of the town in 1930s Bundaberg?

FOR today’s Hindsight we’re going back to the news of the early ‘30s, from 1931-32.

Back: Unknown, Ray Howard, Keith Naumann and Dorothy Savidge, Reg Naumann. Front: Ivy Howard, Unknown, Jack Knights, Gertrude Drinkall, Dulcie Lievesley, Unknown, Connie McKenzie. Circa 1932. Photo submitted by Rod Savidge. Picture: Contributed

FOR today's Hindsight we're going back to the news of the early '30s, from 1931-32.

The snippets come from old papers that were recently handed over to the NewsMail by a reader.

DSM Finemore, president of the RACQ who extolled the beauty of the Hummock. Picture: File

Hummock meeting

In 1931, visitors attended the first picnic outing of the Bundaberg branch of the RACQ on top of the Hummock.

Visibility was said to be splendid except for some haze caused by bushfires, but it didn't bother the 250 happy attendees with their 50 vehicles.

Activities were held including a hill climb for adults and running races for boys and girls.

Plans were made to plant couch grass on the summit and 100 ornamental trees were donated by Mr Langbecker.

Crowds on Neilson Beach at the 1931 Railway Picnic. Photo courtesy of Picture Bundaberg. Picture: Contributed

Mysterious crash

Modern day readers may not be aware that olden time papers often carried a mix of local, national and international news and quite often the non-local news was most prominent.

One of the more curious stories in the paper was about a strange plane crash in Sydney.

Passengers of the crashed plane gave wrong addresses, and couldn't be tracked down when needed.

The plane, Curtis Meteor, was considerably damaged when it crashed upon take-off at Mascot.

The pilot, L Mall and his two passengers were thrown out of the crashing plane, but all survived.

The pilot said he did not know who they were.

In 1930s Bundaberg you could by a "Marlene Dietrich" style hat to wear to the show. Picture: Crystal Jones

Dressing fancy

Adverts in the old papers showed just how much people looked forward to getting all dressed up for the local show.

Local stores advertised hats modelled on famous actresses of the day including Marlene Dietrich and Carole Lombard, while Mr Que Hee, a prominent local, offered "cheap fancy work" with a selection of "Shanghai handicraft" needlework available at their show display.

The Que Hees were well known locals and a street in Bundaberg carries their name to this day.

The Carole Lombard style hat. Picture: Crystal Jones

Spooky travels

Another non-local but quirky story carried in the local paper was of novel author Helen Simpson and her quest to find vampires and stories of the supernatural.

The paper wrote she had gone on a "strange holiday" for a "queer study" of such things and had travelled as far as Hungary and Austria.

She'd also collected a large amount of data on demonology, according to reports.

Her book, As Long As Boomerang, was released in 1933.

Ice chests

Ads for ice chests talked up the benefit of cool treats in summer.

Designs included silky oak models and those lined with enamel.

Doug crook submitted this pic of the Olympia Airdome in 1957.

Popular activities

There was plenty to do in Bundy around 1931.

If you were a local you would most likely be attending a "flannel dance" with refreshments and an orchestra, or attending a canegrowing meeting or mini golf, which seemed to have been a big hit with locals.

At the theatre

The Olympia Airdome, now the Moncrieff, screened Anbody's War and Murder Will Out, while the Paramount Theatre, between Tantitha and Walla Sts offered a screening of Sunny Side Up.