1952:
'The North Suburban Club annual picnic remained a popular event. 1952 was to be no different, with the date set for 17 February and all the usual preparations put in place; buses chartered, ten nines (nine-gallon beer barrels) ordered and admittance prices agreed upon. Eleven days before the picnic, King George VI died. A special committee meeting on Monday 11 February postponed the picnic 'owing to 17 February being declared the National Day of Mourning'. The picnic was held the following month, and the new monarch would eventually reign for more than half the length of the Club's entire existence*.'
*Extract from Dum Vivimus Vivamus: A History of the Moonee Ponds Club by Paul G. Kennedy. Clarity in Design Publishing, Melbourne, 2021.
I was traveling that day and was greeted with a text from a friend when I landed. Sad news. We will not see her like again.
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