A History of Marrar and District, 1979. Researched and Compiled by Mr Alby Armstrong 8. Some Stories Including mouse plague, dust storm, skeleton weed, sub clover, forty years of stud breeding, Prescott's mill, the hawkers and Jazz Friends.
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Mouse Plague
Writing in the 'Back to Coolamon Week' souvenir of 1934, the Late W.A. Thompson gives a graphic description of the great mouse plague.  This was an experience never before known, and, fortunately, never since, to the extent of 1917.

About Easter of that year the mice began to assume serious proportions, and then, almost- overnight, they overran everything in countless millions.  At night time, the ground appeared to be moving with them.  After a while, dogs and even cats would allow the mice to crawl over them without taking any notice.  Stocks of grain and hay were riddled and collapsed before their relentless onslaught and the farming community suffered heavy losses as a result of their depredations.  Barns and stables were alive with them, the floors and walls of these buildings at night time being a grey mass of moving rodents.  Foodstuffs had to be hung up in kerosene tins, harness was destroyed and clothing and bedding riddled.  Town and district residents were at their wits' end to know how to deal with the visitation and many strange and wonderful devices were adopted to deal with the plague.

Four gallon tins set in the ground a few feet apart and half-filled with water would fill with mice in a few hours.  Ten foot sheets of corrugated iron laid down to cover grain would move along the ground as the mice fought to find shelter under them.

At this time, owing to the scarcity of shipping due to the first World War an enormous quantity of bagged wheat was stacked in the railway yards along the South West line.  One such stack was in Coolamon near the old weighbridge.  After a few days the stack was an utter abomination.  The mice riddled the bags and the whole stack collapsed.  Thousands of dead mice were mixed with the loose grain.

There was no escape from the stench which arose from the railway yards.  A reeking sickly odour which will never be forgotten by those who experienced it.  Nowhere was it possible to escape the smell of mice.

The pests invaded houses and shops polluting food and water in town and country.  Efforts to destroy them seemed merely to increase their numbers.  Fallow, grass and stubble paddocks were a network of nests.

Residents upon going to bed found mice under their pillows, and among the blankets, some even burrowed into mattresses.  People were awakened at night by mice running over them and through their bedding.  Instances were reported of women finding mice in their hair when they awoke, and at least one case of a girl having her hair chewed while she slept.

Water in underground tanks was polluted, mice even getting into ordinary house tanks which had to be emptied and cleaned.

At Rockview Siding, the S.A.I. Co. had erected a huge shed which was used for storing superphosphate for the sharefarmers on Rockview.  The super packed in 180 lb bags came in rail trucks, was shunted off at the siding and unloaded in the shed.  At the time of the plague, some 500 tons were stacked in the shed, ready for that year's wheat sowing.  When the mice moved in the whole stack became a heap of loose fertiliser in a few days.  As the sharefarmers came to collect their super, it was shovelled into fresh bags for them to cart away.  The job of removing the dead mice was left to the sharefarmer as he put it in his seed drill.

Towards the end of their visitation, the mice seemed to lose their vitality and were smitten with some kind of disease.  Underneath loose bags and heaps of rubbish they would be found in countless thousands, sickly, deformed, hairless and covered with scabs.  The mouse disease affected many people, especially the men engaged in rebagging the wheat, many breaking out in sores and rashes all over their bodies.

Just as it came, the mouse plague abated with remarkable suddenness, to the great relief of the suffering community.  Those who have not been through a similar experience, could ever have any idea of what a horror and abomination the mouse can be.  Scientists tell us, that, given an abundance of food and water and protected from their natural enemies, one pair of mice can increase to three million in only one year.  In conclusion, let us hope that in our life time, we never experience anything like that horror of 1917.

Dust Storm
The worst dust storm the district ever experienced occurred on 17th January, 1915.  The year 1914 was regarded by old hands as the worst drought the district has ever know.  Total rainfall for the year was just over 11 inches, most of which fell during the first few months of the year.  Some areas in inland Australia had not seen rain for over two years.

By mid January 1915, heat wave conditions prevailed over country scorched and bare after many months of baking in the hot sun.  On Sunday January 15, the temperature officially recorded at Narrandera was 112 degrees, while at Methul the mercury rose to 118 degrees.  The heat continued on the Monday and Tuesday.

The first intimation that something was brewing was when a telegram was sent out from Grong Grong to towns along the South West line at 4.15 pm. It read: 'Pitch Dark Here - Dust Storm Raging'.

To those who saw the storm approaching, it was a fearsome sight, Deep purple in colour, it rolled over and over in giant clouds, like a giant surf in a gale.  As it reached the town darkness immediately descended.  The dust which seemed like fine gravel, could be heard whistling around the houses as the storm raged, the eerie sound being added to by the moaning of the wind in the telephone wires, and the whinnying of terrified horses harnessed in sulkies in the streets.

All work came to a standstill and some people expressed the opinion that the end of the world had come.  Worried mothers herded their children into one room and any available kerosene lamps were lit.

Absolute darkness continued for more than ten minutes, then conditions graduary improved, but it was after 9 p.m. before the dust began to settle.  Light rain fell for a short time afterwards, but not enough to lay the dust which continued at intervals for the next two days.

The drought finally broke on Belgian Day, May 14th, 133 points of rain being registered at the Post Office up till 8.30 a.m.

In 1944 the country north of Marrar through Winchendon Vale and Mimosa was again affected by dust storms, but of a different nature.  These storms consisted mainly of heavy winds, blowing day and night for several days.  The year had been a drought year and little wheat had been harvested in the district.

The paddocks were bare, mainly from the devastation of Skeleton Weed, subterranean clover not having arrived as yet.  The wind picked up any vegetation that remained and piled it up against the fences.  Clouds of swirling dust picked up with the vegetation gradually built up against the debris on the fences till they were completely covered over.  In some instances, farmers drove horses and sulkies over them.

Farmers wives were driven to desperation with the fine dirt that found its way into homes and covered everything with its fine mantle of dust.  It would be hard to estimate how much valuable top soil was lost from the paddocks with the wind, dust hazes being reported as far east as the Blue Mountains.

Skeleton Weed
Mouse plagues, rabbits, dust storms, hail storms, floods and bush fires, have, at times all left their mark on the district.  Their cost to the community would be impossible to estimate, but high as they were, the affects of these disasters were only of a temporary nature, and in most cases did not occur again for many years.

The year 1927 saw the beginning of a new scourge that was to ravish the district for a decade or more and bring ruin to many farmers who had spent a lifetime on the land.  This was the year that the inroads of Skeleton Weed were first noticed and landowners became alarmed at its rapid spread.

Skeleton Weed (Junceca Chondrilla) was not unknown around the world and is believed to have originated in Asia Minor.  It developed a deep rooting system which enabled it to withstand long dry spells and flourish again as soon as the spring rains came.

Its light fluffy white seed, similar to thistledown, was capable of being carried for thousands of miles when strong winds prevailed.  It was later reported in the vineyards of Spain and from there to California in the U.S.A.  One theory of its journey across the Atlantic Ocean was that its seed was carried in soil attached to the roots of the young grape vines.

Following the 1914 drought when the farms all carried large teams of work horses, the feed position became desperate and baled hay was imported into Australia from the U.S.A. There seems little doubt that the seed was introduced at this time.  The hay was poor quality and was just spread around the paddocks for the stock, the seed most likely being in the hay.  The first farmer to notice Skeleton Weed in paddock was E.E. Field of 'Wave Hill' Marrar in 1916.  He sent specimens to the Department of Agriculture at Wagga Wagga Experiment Farm for identification.

The weed was unknown at Wagga and was sent to Sydney for further investigation.  The report from Sydney was that the plant was an imported variety and gave common name and its botanical name.  It was also stated that if the infestation heavy, the position could become serious.
By 1930 Skeleton Weed had spread to every farm in the district.  Following wide publicity, the weed was discovered in many areas.  The red loam soils of Marrar and Tooyal seemed to suit it best.  The gilgai and clay country north west of Coolamon never seemed to be as badly infested.

It was sometimes called 'Naked Weed' or 'Wire Weed' because it carried only a few leaves on the tips or a rosette on the ground when it first emerged.  The yellow thistlelike flowers on the tips of the stalks produced large amounts of downy type seeds.  On windy days in early summer these were like fog clouds as they floated in the air.  Plants were also propagated by cultivation under favourable conditions.

Tests carried out showed root depths to over nine feet, but tank sinkers in the district claimed to have encountered them at more than twice that depth in favourable conditions.  The country most affected was the top wheat producing land.  At first the plant grew in huge bushes, sometimes as high as three feet, wheat in close proximity being stunted and poor yielding.  As the weed increased in density the wheat yield declined.  Paddocks that once yielded 30 to 40 bushels were now producing less than 6, and in some cases weren't even harvested at all.

Weeds such as Fumitory, Cape Weed, Amsinkia and Barley Grass just disappeared.  On Murrulebale Station it became so dense that tracks had to be cut with a mower to allow sheep to reach water.  Frustrated header drivers expressed their opinion in no uncertain manner, as the wiry stalks would around spirals and drums seized on their headers.

The weed thrived on cultivated land, but made slow progress on land undisturbed by the plough.  It was the end of the line for the sharefarmers on Murrulebale and Rockview.  Their only income was from wheat and with their livelihood gone, they sold their few belongings and left the district never to return.

As the paddocks became completely covered, the weed started to choke itself out.  It became stunted and was reduced to a plant of two small leaves on ground level.  The roots remained dormant, but the plant was rejuvenated immediately the land was cultivated.

Fortunately, it was readily eaten by sheep in its young stages and prime lambs from red skeleton weed country of Marrar were at premium prices in the saleyards.

Some experiments with poisons were carried out by the Department of Agriculture in conjunction with Australian Fertilisers and supported by the Coolamon Review but none of these were successful.  Some good kills were achieved with the chemical Sodium Chloride, but the cost of application was higher than the value of the land.  Salt, in large quantities, was effective, but killed out everything else.

M.L. Kingdon of the Coolamon Review then published a leading article calling for drastic action to control the weed.  A public meeting was called in Wagga and the Wagga Wagga Skeleton Weed Committee was formed.  President was Mr. J.R.C. Higman of Rannock, with Mr. W.W. Vonarx of Downside as Secretary.

The Committee invited the then Minister for Agriculture the Hon Hugh Main to visit the district.  After he had visited only a few paddocks in the Marrar area, Mr Main stated that he didn't wish to go any further.  He was prepared to guarantee there and then that his Government would offer a reward of £5,000.00 for any practical method that would eradicate the weed.

Many experiments were carried out by chemical companies, some even bringing out their top scientists from overseas, but the reward was never claimed.  The great depression was just beginning, wheat prices were at an all time low and land prices, after a post war boom, came tumbling down.

The Skeleton Weed Committee had a lot of unjust criticism levelled at it, and its members were blamed for the slump in values.  It was claimed that the publicity given to the Skeleton Weed by the Committee had made the land in the district worthless.

Sub Clover
At this stage, a new line of thought on Skeleton Weed was beginning to emerge.  It had been proved by tests that Skeleton Weed leached the nitrogen, life blood of wheat, from the soil.  What was needed was some method of nature to put it back again.  Lucerne had been tried on the property of Mr. A.E. Armstrong to Tooyal, but results were not encouraging.

About this time, a new Agronomist arrived at Wagga at the Department of Agriculture, then part of the Wagga Experiment Farm.  He was Mr. W. Duggan, who, prior to coming to Wagga, had spent some time in Western and Southern Australia.  He had noticed how Subterranean Clover had flourished in the low rainfall areas of these States and was keen to try it at Marrar.  Two varieties were suggested, Mount Barker and Dwalganup.

Local Farmers, T.E. Connolly, M. Hodge and J.L. Ridgway who was then Manager of Rockview and Murrulebale Stations, were the first to co-operate with Bill Duggan.  Suggested seeding rate was 4lb per acre, the seed being mixed with one cwt of superphosphate.

For the first two years 1941 and 1942 the results were in doubt.  The Mt Barker sown on old skeleton weed country had all but died out and the Dwalganup was struggling.

Duggan suggested a top dressing of a further one cwt of super per acre on the Dwalganup applied in early Autumn.  This was done with reluctance in late March and the results were eagerly awaited.  This was the last try, if this one failed it was the end of the sub clover trials.

The early and mid winter rainfall was good and the Dwalganup Clover really took off.  Although not making much growth in its first two years, this new legume had been setting seed at a steady rate.  It had the unusual method of burying its seed, burr and all, from one to two inches deep in the soil.  By the end of the winter, the clover sown paddocks were completely covered.  The dense matted growth over eight inches high on the old skeleton weed, wheat-sick land was unbelievable.

The experiment paddock on Rockview was next to the Junee Road adjacent to the Siding.  Travellers passing by stopped their cars and walked into the paddock to inspect this amazing sight.  The results on Ted Connolly's 'Bonnie Doon' were just as spectacular.

People with skeleton weed infested country, many of whom had been on the brink of walking off their farms, came to 'Bonnie Doon' and 'Rockview' to inspect what Ted Connolly and Jack Ridgway had accomplished.  They returned home with new hope and encouragement to carry on.  The sub clover industry in N.S.W. had been born.

Procuring seed had been a problem; some supplies were available from Western Australia, but the price was very high.  The sub clover was known to build up nitrogen in the soil and after a period of three years or more under clover, some paddocks were again sown with wheat.  Once again, the results were dramatic.  Paddocks that had failed to produce a crop of wheat earlier, were now yielding more bags per acre than when first sown with wheat as virgin soil.  A crop of 'Magnet' wheat sown by Jim McDevitt on Rockview produced the then unheard of yield of 18 bags per acre.

The district gradually became sown down to sub clover and enquiries for seed came to Marrar from all over N.S.W.

Other varieties of sub clover were introduced from Victoria and South Australia, among them Bacchus Marsh and Clare.

In 1950 a paddock on 'Afton' south of Marrar owned by A.G. McIntyre and Son appeared to have a variety new to the district growing on it.  The paddock was first sown to Mt Barker in 1947.  The stand was lighter in colour than Mt Barker and more dense than any previously known variety.

Application for seed certification had been approved by the N.S.W. Department of Agriculture, but on final inspection was withdrawn.  Seed Certification Officers J.E. Brill of Wagga and R. Johnson of Junee decided to carry out growing-on trials.  In 1956 their findings were, that a new variety, previously unknown anywhere in Australia had originated on 'Afton'.

Their requests to the N.S.W. Department of Agriculture for registration of a new variety were granted.  In 1956 the then Minister for Agriculture, the Hon Roger Nott, approved the name of the new variety as 'Marrar' after the district of its origin.

Being superior to any other varieties imported to the district, large areas were quickly sown to the new strain.  Much of the hilly country around Oberon and Bathurst was sown by air with Marrar Clover in conjunction with aerial top dressing.  Within a few years the carrying capacity of the rough country had trebled.

While Messrs Brill and Johnson were carrying out their growing-on tests, the Western Australian Department of Agriculture, some 2,000 miles away, were also testing a variety previously unknown in that state.  They concluded that they had produced a new variety and registered it under the name of Woogenellup.

The two clovers looked very similar and the Western Australian Department of Agriculture claimed that Marrar was really the same variety that they had evolved on the other side of the continent.  They requested N.S.W. to withdraw the name Marrar in favour of Woogenellup and, in a moment of weakness, they did.

Former Seed Certification Officer, Jim Brill, now living in retirement in Wagga, is adamant that the two varieties are not the same and has requested that the name Marrar be re registered in its rightful place.  Jim Brill is not alone in his claims, many local farmers also believe that Woogenellup and Marrar are two separate varieties of sub clover.

It would be impossible to estimate the value of sub clover to the Riverina; one could keep counting in millions of dollars and still be nowhere near the mark.  The foresight and courage of a few dedicated farmers in the Marrar District turned the almost valueless skeleton weed country of the district back to the heavy wheat producing and prime lamb country we know today.  Land values increase sharply every year as people far and wide hear what the sub clover country of Marrar and District can produce.

John L. Ridgway has passed on, Rockview has been sub-divided for closer settlement, but Ted Connolly, now living in retirement in Wagga, still visits the district regularly.  As he looks over the paddocks of 'Bonnie Doon', what memories must come flooding back to him of those dim, war darkened years of 1941, when he introduced those first seeds of sub clover to his farm.

Clover Harvesting
As the sub clover area increased so also did the demand for seed.  Various methods of gathering the seed were tried but the use of sheepskin covered rollers was finally accepted as the best method.

Made of steel frames with wooden slotted rollers, covered with sheep skins, they were towed in a long line like a train behind the tractors.  Rotary brooms turning in the opposite direction to the rollers brushed the burr off the sheep skins into a steel trough shaped container at the rear of the frame.  The seed was emptied into long heaps then forked into various types of threshing machines.

Today’s methods are much more streamlined.  The whole operation is done with one machine.  The burr is collected with a vacuum pick up, transferred to the drum and threshed, all in the one operation.

Forty Years of Stud Breeding
The Arrnstrongs association with stud breeding goes back some forty years.  It was 1938 when the founder, the late J.W. Armstrong selected a small number of stud ewes from the late Abe Alleyn of 'Alleynside' and the 'Broughton Brook' stud, of the late T.H. Kelsall and founded the Armdale Dorset Horn Stud.

His desire for quality stock was brought about by the class of prime lamb his neighbour Martin Moloney was producing.  Sons Peter and Alby were also interested in the project and soon became keen showmen.

The venture was a success from the beginning and the stud was never able to meet the demand for flock rains.  Prices in the early years were four and five guineas.

One of the foundation sires that helped the stud to consolidate was Broughton 231 of 1939 by the English sire Clemstone 5 of 1936.  T.H. Kelsall had purchased the Clemstone ram for 'Broughton Brook' while he was on a livestock buying mission in England for the N.S.W. Government.  J.W. Armstrong had laid a solid foundation for the Dorset Horn stud and when he died in 1949 management passed to A.H. Armstrong.

When the first Poll Dorsets appeared it was the belief at 'Armdale' that they would eventually take over from the horned sheep and this is now proving correct.  In 1957 the Armdale Poll Dorset Stud was formed and most of the homed ewes were transferred over.  The same year Noel became a partner in the stud, trading as A.H. -Armstrong and Son.

Foundation sire for the new stud was a Poll Dorset ram from Temora Experiment Farm.  'Tex' as he became known was a rough old ram by todays standards, but he left a lot of good ewes to build on.

The year 1965 was one of great progress for 'Armdale'.  September saw the stud break the Australian record price for a pen of flock rams at Leeton Show, Ram Sales.  We obtained lst Prize in a pen of flock rams and $144 in the sale ring.  This record stood for several years.  The stud made headlines again in October the same year when we purchased Broughton 392/65 for a N.S.W. auction record price of $3,000.00.  This rain by the famous 'Brigadier' was the second ram brought by 'Armdale' that gave them their big lift.  Within 3 years 75 percent of ewes in the stud were by this outstanding sire.

In 1973 Alby Armstrong retired from ownership and most of 'Armdale' stud went to son Noel and his wife Shirley.  However 100 top ewes were taken over by son Max and registered in his name.  Max is doing a good job with them and had a most successful showing season with good ram sales in 1978.

Noel has been a regular exhibitor at Melbourne Royal and Melbourne Sheepbreeders Show for past 6 years.  During that time he has secured quite a few first prizes competing against the leading stud breeders in Australia.  Armdale now conduct their own Annual Sale in conjunction with 'Alleynside'.

This year, 1978, saw the fourth generation of Armstrongs in the show and sale ring when Noel and Shirley's son Garry took his place parading stud sheep.

Prescott's Mill
Marrar was always known as an area that produced good hay and chaff; however, lack of a local businessman who was prepared to invest in the industry, kept the chaff trade from continuing on as has been the case in Coolamon and Ganmain.

Looking back to the turn of the century, Australia was worked by the bullock and the horse.  The horse also provided our main means of transport.  We owe our very existence to these docile animals, but, unfortunately, in our continuing demand for speed and more speed in work and travel, their place in history is almost forgotten.

In 1919, no less than nine chaff cutting plants were operating in the area.  Many of our present generation have never seen one of these plants in action.  They consisted of a single cylinder, steam traction engine, which was able to propel itself along, provide power for the chaffcutter and move the entire plant from farm to farm.

The chaffcutter itself was mounted on wheels, had a twelve inch intake or mouth and two bagging-off schutes.  A steam box some twenty feet long with elevator chain inside was connected to the chaffcutter.  A pipe from the engine supplied the steam and the hay was steamed on its journey up the steam box to the chaffcutter.  A Furphy water cart drawn by one horse was also part of the plant.  The man who operated this piece of equipment was known as the 'Wood and Water Joey' and was never idle.  His job was to cart water for the steam engine, often a two mile round trip, and cut the wood to fire the engine.  Stacks of wood in long lengths were placed near each haystack by the farmer.  Without exception, the wood was always the roughest and toughest to be found on the farm.  A mobile galley with full-time cook, made up the plant coupled together to form a road train.

The hay and chaff trade was mainly controlled by outside interests with local agents in charge.  In 1919 the Sussex Street, Sydney, Produce Merchants, Prescott and Co., entered the hay and chaff trade in Marrar.  They purchased land on the corner of the old Coolamon and Temora Roads and went into business in a big way.  At times they had as much as 2,000 tons of hay in their yard.  They erected two large sheds for chaff. and a small cottage for their yard foreman, Charlie Aultmier.  The sheds were situated about where Gordon O'Dwyer's new brick home stands today.

Quite a lot of their cartage was done by their own horse team and wagon.  Their team consisted of ten magnificent bay horses, driven at different times by Jim Keefe and Harry Hancock.  Their wagon was a beautifully finished, low wheeled Bennett, in their day, the 'Rolls Royce' of all wagons.

Paddy Murphy was their agent, and for a time, operated out of a portion of the building that is now Marrar Motors, later transferring to the old Rootes Butchers Shop which had become vacant.

For the next eight years Prescotts were the main hay buyers in the district, it was quite common for farmers to sell their entire crop for hay, except for a small area kept for the next years seed.  The hay and chaff trade was very labour intensive, and provided a lot of jobs for the local residents.

On the 21st December, 1927, fire broke out in one of the largest haystacks which was almost completed.  It was mid-summer, everything was tinder dry, and soon several other haystacks in close proximity were ablaze.  Some four stacks, consisting of 200 tons each, were lost but six large stacks in a yard across the lane and adjoining Mick Hodge's farm were saved.  Strenuous efforts were made to extinguish the fires in the smouldering stacks but to no avail.  The Coolamon Town Fire Brigade with their new Fire Engine came up from Coolamon and spent many days and nights in keeping the fire under control.  The brigade did a mighty job and it was through their efforts, and the help of the local townsmen that the six stacks in the other yard were saved.

This was their first major fire, the brigade having been formed in Coolamon only three months before.  Members of the Brigade were - Captain - E. Griggs, Fireman - C.J. McCartney, W. Marks, C. Vesperinan, A. Black, J. McLean, R. Robertson, M. Curtis, J. Curtis and O. Iverach.  Their engine and pump were set up at the Government Dam with hoses being run across the Temora Road.  The fire smouldered on well into January and a constant watch was kept on it day and night.

Prescotts remained in business in Marrar until the mid 1930s.  By this time the motor car and truck had taken over from the horse and the Marrar branch was closed.  The sheds were used for a time by Ryan and Langtry but were eventually sold and demolished.  The small cottage was moved and is now part of 'Giffnock', the cottage just east of Brian McKelvie's new home.

Prescotts team and wagon hauling a load of hay into Marrar.

The Hawkers
During the period 1850 to 1900, to obtain merchandise and a few grocery lines meant a round trip, at first to Goulburn, the end of the Southern Railway Line, later Yass, and as the line progressed, Junee.  If available, some goods could be obtained from the station stores at Murrulebale, Rockview and the general store at North Berry Jerry.  These supplies were limited to non-perishable goods, but sometimes, at infrequent intervals, luxuries such as fruit and vegetables would be delivered to the door.  This was the day of the Hawker in his four-wheeled hooded van, pulled by two horses.

The earliest Hawker we have record of was Ah Choo, known far and wide as -Chooey'.  Most of the early Chinese names began with Ah, much the same as we precede a surname with 'Mc', though not necessarily with the same meaning.  They were mainly descended from the many thousands of Chinese who flocked to Australia during the Gold Rush Days.  Most towns had their Chinese Market Gardeners and it was from these hard working Orientals that the hawkers obtained their supplies.

After 'Chooey', came Kong Fat who worked the area north of the Murrumbidgee.  He was always a welcome visitor on the farms; as well as the usual fruit and vegies, he carried a fine selection of eastern spices, ginger being in great demand around Christmas time.

Well known Junee personality Tommy Ah Wah was the last of the Chinese Hawkers.  Tommy operated his own garden and made regular trips to the Marrar and Winchendon Vale areas.  He had his, garden and store shed at the rear of where the Junee R.S.L. Club now stands.  Tommy made his trips to outlying areas more profitable by purchasing sheep, rabbit and fox skins, both skins and vegies being carried on the van at the same time.

Clothing and merchandise were regarded as the prerogative of the Indian Hawker, but their salves, ointments and herbal remedies were also popular.  As well as clothing for the farmer, they could always tempt the ladies with their collection of beautiful silks and laces.  Their names as we knew them were, Milka Singh, Basnia Singh and Boota Singh.  The name Singh does not necessarily mean that they came from the same family, but in all probability they were related in some way.  The last one to operate was Boota Singh of Coolamon, who, by 1930, had progressed from a hooded horse van to a motor van.

The Jazz Fiends
Marrar today has a very good band known as 'Tarmac'.  Their talents compare favourably with the best of country bands and they are much sought after for balls and club socials.  Tarmac, however, are not the first band or orchestra as we knew them in earlier days, to perform in the district.  This honour belongs to the Marrar 'Jazz Fiends' who came together just fifty years ago.

Before this time groups of local musicians had played together on many occasions at dances, but had never joined forces to form an orchestra.  Much sought after musicians during this era were Miss Jessie McLean, violin, and Miss Monica Herrick, piano.  Miss McLean at this time taught the violin.

Organisers of dances and balls had felt strongly for some time that local musicians should receive some remuneration for their services, and with this in mind the orchestra was formed.  It was the time when jazz was all the rage, hence the name 'JAZZ FIENDS'.  Original members were, Miss Nell Fox - Piano, Mrs. LA Fury, (formerly Miss Jessie McLean) - Violin, Charlie Cooper-Saxophone, Jim Fury - Banjo Mandolin and Ted Powell - Drums.

The Jazz Fiends were recognised as a top orchestra and continued for many years.  Their songs became so well known that people used to say, the birds around Marrar could whistle their tunes.