For 170 years, the pages of the Illawarra Mercury have chronicled the life, drama, and peculiar moments of the region. Each day, the newspaper's history column breathes new life into these archived stories, offering a window into the past. Over the last year, readers have been treated to a remarkable selection, ranging from the absurd to the tragic and the downright historic.
Modern Misadventures and Vintage Crimes
Some tales bridge the decades with timeless human folly. In a 2018 incident, a Mangerton man's determination to retrieve his son's drone led to an Australia Day spectacle. Peter Hoffman, after a few drinks, was caught by police in the act of trying to chop down a 10-metre tree on Myuna Way with small axes. He candidly told officers that once they left, he would resume his mission, declaring, "I've gotta get the drone down." He was later fined $500 and ordered to perform 150 hours of community service.
Crime took a more quaint turn in November 1952, when detectives warned of a spate of milk money thefts. In an era before digital payments, thieves were targeting the cash left outside homes with empty bottles for the milkman. The spree stretched from Wollongong to Bulli, baffling police with its old-fashioned audacity.
A more serious theft occurred in August 1947, when three men pleaded guilty to stealing an odd assortment from the Sydney-Wollongong Transport Company. Their haul included bath fittings, soap, garden hose, and a carton of gin. Their defence? They were too drunk to remember. The gin, unsurprisingly, was never recovered.
Political Heat and Industrial Blaze
The Illawarra's political history has never been dull. Back in July 1878, a parliamentary debate over a proposed rail line to the region turned physical. Hunter MP John McElhone threatened to punch the heads of two Wollongong colleagues. After a failed apology, he reiterated his threat. The Mercury's editorial fiercely criticised McElhone, who remained unrepentant about voting against the rail line, claiming it would only benefit a few landowners in Coalcliff.
Industrial drama unfolded in June 2018 when a fire broke out on the ship Iron Chieftain at Port Kembla harbour. Ignited by friction on a rubber conveyor belt during dolomite unloading, the blaze raged for almost a week. Fire and Rescue NSW finally declared it extinguished after six days of intense monitoring for heat and carbon monoxide.
Social Snapshots Through the Decades
The column also reveals shifting social more and enduring tragedies. In May 1926, a soccer spectator, Harry Hollows, was fined two pounds for yelling "you bloody bastard Pommy" at a referee during a match between Fernhill and Helensburgh. The Mercury of the time, reflecting more delicate sensibilities, only printed the first letters of the swear words.
A heartbreaking story from September 1988 detailed the murder of 81-year-old Gladys Motbey. Her body was found in a skip bin on Keira Street, Wollongong, after she was attacked walking home from carpet bowls. Her daughters' grief was palpable, with one stating the murderer "should be castrated, then hanged."
Other snippets included a 1995 call from MP Gerry Sullivan for Port Kembla's top cop to hand out his personal number to combat drugs, a 1931 story of a 15-year-old boy who walked from Woonona to Sydney for work without telling his parents, and a 1950 report of detectives investigating four Chinese seamen taking photographs of Port Kembla's industrial sites.
These stories, curated from over a century and a half of reporting, are more than just curiosities. They form the rich, complex tapestry of the Illawarra's community, reminding us that the headlines of today are the history of tomorrow.
