Furphy November-Dec 2019 Edition

In Mount Gambier, the official announcement came on November 12.
Local historian Graham Roulstone wrote in 2016, that a crowd had gathered in the main street on
the evening of the 11th as rumours started to reach the regional city by bush telegram.
"The mayor, Mr Renfrey … instructed the Town Hall bell to be rung but cautioned those gathered
there to approach the news with caution, in case it turned out to be false," he wrote.
"The crowd … began to disperse about 11:00pm, though others arrived later and so the town
remained active until about 4:00am the following morning."
At midday on November 12, Mayor Renfrey read a formal announcement to 4,000 people
gathered in front of the Town Hall that the war had ended.
School children in Canungra dressed in costumes of different countries for the town's Armistice
Day procession. Its celebrations didn't take place until November 30.
The rural town of Canungra, in south-east Queensland, did not hold its official celebrations until
November 30.
But impromptu celebrations started as soon as locals heard the news, according to Canungra
resident Muriel Curtis who published a book on the district's history in 1975.
"The news was telephoned to Canungra and such was the relief that people
celebrated then and there," Ms Curtis wrote.
"The mill hands stopped work and the whole head of steam was blown off by
tying down the whistles, startling the countryside for miles around."
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