In 1879, Shepparton decided it was time to break free from the vast Shire of Echuca and pursue “self-government”.
The decision did not go down well.
Echuca responded by withdrawing its councillors, cutting Shepparton’s water supply and taking back the public hall it had helped fund.
Its message was simple: “No payment, no hall.”
An armed sentry was promptly stationed at the hall.
Shepparton, however, had other ideas.
A council employee was placed nearby with a rather unusual weapon — “thick sandwiches and a billy of cold beer.”
While the Echuca guard enjoyed the unexpected hospitality beneath a gum tree, another council employee, Arthur Benson, approached the hall from the rear.
Benson, appropriately, was the council’s Inspector of Nuisances.
He stormed the hall, took possession of the building and seized the guard’s rifle. When the embarrassed sentry reportedly pleaded, “Give us me gun”, Benson refused and fired a warning shot over his head.
The guard apparently “cleared for the Murray.”
Echuca later advertised the hall for sale or lease in The Shepparton News, but apparently found no takers.
Shepparton kept its “trophy” hall for many years.
It seems self-government came with a side serving of sandwiches, beer and a little determination.
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