Keith is the last surviving Vietnam veteran to have received the prestigious Victoria Cross for bravery.
He was the fourth Australian to receive the Victoria Cross and the last to receive the Imperial VC.
He earned these honours in May 1969, while commanding the 212th Company of the 1st Mobile Strike Force Battalion.
He spent three hours scouring the scene of the fight for isolated and wounded soldiers and saved 40 wounded men, some of whom he rescued himself and others he organised to be rescued.
He received his VC from Queen Elizabeth II on April 13, 1970.
The visit to Seymour by the Payne family coincided with the Puckapunyal Military Area celebrations to mark the milestone, and drew a crowd of over 4000.
Rainfall records
Further recent rainfall has taken Kyabram’s March total to 116.8mm.
That is the fourth most rain recorded for the month of March since rainfall records were first kept in 1887 — that’s 139 years ago.
Kyabram’s wettest March was 1950 with 208mm, followed by 1956 (149mm), 2012 (144mm), 2026 (117mm) and 2010 (100mm).
Last week the Kyabram Weather Station registered 10mm overnight Wednesday into Thursday after recording 4mm on Tuesday and Wednesday.
With no rain recorded in January and 72mm in February, Kyabram’s 2026 total now stands at 184mm.
Up to Monday, Kyabram’s maximum temperature had topped 30℃ on six days in March, and didn’t have a day when the maximum didn’t reach at least 22℃.
Victoria Park upgrade on hold
Echuca’s $13.3 million upgrade of Victoria Park is on hold again following the discovery of further material on Yorta Yorta Country.
After ancestral remains were uncovered on the site on February 13, Campaspe Shire Council said ‘‘further material’’ had since been discovered and was being evaluated by qualified heritage advisors.
Future decisions for Victoria Park will only be made once the cultural heritage assessment on that material has been completed.
Firewood collection starts
Firewood for personal use can now be collected free of charge from designated state forests.
The firewood season will conclude on June 30, but collectors are reminded individual collection areas may close earlier if no more firewood is available.
For more information, visit ffm.vic.gov.au/firewood
Liberal replacement?
Despite what the South Australian election dished up, the Libs reckon they have a winner for the federal seat of Farrer in lawyer Raissa Butkowski.
She is an Albury City Councillor and board member of the Murray Darling Association, where she is an advocate for water security.
Her day job is a senior community lawyer at the Hume Riverina Community Legal Service.
The seat of Farrer, held by Sussan Ley, who recently resigned, has been held by the Libs for over 20 years and has a ‘safe seat’ tag.
Well, that’s what the party hopes for when the by-election for the seat takes place on May 9.
Berrigan Shire Council CEO appointed
Berrigan Shire Council has opted for a former Victorian politician to become its new chief executive.
Cameron Boardman has landed the job and is expected by council to be a huge asset with his experience in state politics and local government.
Body found
A man’s body was found in a Seymour creek on March 15.
His death was not being treated as suspicious, but anyone with information is requested to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Square dinkum
G’day.
A school teacher once told me not to worry too much about spelling, because in the not too distant future, there would be a wonderful thing on our computers called ‘autocorrect’ for which we would be eternally grapefruit.
Hooroo!
10°C