Stretton celebrates milestone

Retired Major-General Alan Stretton, who was commander of the relief operation in Darwin in the hours and days after Cyclone Tracy in 1974, turned 90 last Sunday.

We spoke to him this week as he was enjoying some sun on the deck of his Batemans Bay home, surrounded by family and good cheer.

''It's not a bad milestone is it, 90? You only make it once. No return,'' he said,

The former Canberra lawyer and 1975 Australian of the Year said his memories still went back to Darwin where he was charged with the job of leading the relief effort and ensuring no more lives were lost in the wake of the disaster. Under his leadership, 36,000 people were evacuated and essential services were restored.

''I was only up there for a bit over a week and very proud we didn't lose another life in that time,'' he said.

Canberra's biggest St Kilda fan, Frank Cassidy, also reminded us that Stretton played for the Saints in 1946 and 1947. Stretton was a great help to Cassidy when he helped set up the Canberra St Kilda Supporters Club in the early 1990s, along with other Saints fanatics David Landon and Grant Hehir, now secretary of the Department of Treasury and Finance in Victoria.

''I would now be probably one of the oldest St Kilda players,'' Stretton said.

As The Canberra Times yesterday farewelled reporter Graham Downie after 39 years of service, John Mackay, chairman of both ACTEW Water and ActewAGL, filled us in on some of the details of Downie's scoop of Actew's merger with AGL in 2000.

It seems Mackay meant to send a dossier of information about the proposed merger to an employee of Actew Corporation called David Graham. But due to the wonders of email - even back in those dim, dark days - he accidentally sent the information to Graham Downie. Perhaps luckily for Mackay, The Canberra Times's computers in those days couldn't receive attachments. But there was enough in the email to give Downie a good sniff that something major was in the wind. He contacted Mackay who, after a string of expletives, asked Downie, ''What do you drink?'' to which Downie replied, with just a hint of satisfaction: ''Water''. Mackay reckoned his career was on the line if the merger got out before the planned announcement and pleaded with Downie to hold off, with the promise he'd be the first to get the details. And so it was that Mackay kept his job and Downie got the scoop. But Downie's still waiting for that drink.

The October 20 election will be the first time Harold Hird's name has not appeared on the ballot paper since 1974.

The former Liberal MLA Harold Hird contested his 10th and final election in 2008 for the seat of Ginninderra. And he has some words of advice for aspiring MLAs.

''Whoever gets in, it's a tough job and it's not a nine to five job, it's 24/7,'' he said. ''And it's a commitment to your community.''

Hird now works at Bunnings in Belconnen but he is a board member of Guardianship and Management of Property, a position he's held for 12 years.

A postscript to last weekend's AFL grand final. Canberra friends Karen White of Higgins and Sue Virgona of Florey watched the Sydney Swan's victory in real style - while also swanning with some other big-name AFL identities.

Karen enjoyed an all-expenses paid trip to the GF, including front-row seats, after she won a Carlton Beer competition. She'd had a beer at the Magpie Sports Club in Belconnen, SMSed the code on the bottle and before she knew it, was on her way to the MCG.

The night before the big game, the friends enjoyed a dinner out with current and former AFL stars including ex-Hawthorn player Shane Crawford who was on their table.

''He was extremely nice. Very pleasant and genuine,'' Karen told us. They also went to the legendary North Melbourne grand final breakfast. And then watched the game from prime seats and went to a post-game party where James Reyne performed. And Karen isn't even an AFL fan! But she's a convert now. ''It was a fantastic experience, they really laid it on,'' she said. Sue, a Geelong fan, was thrilled to be part of the atmosphere, even if her team didn't make it.

One of the region's most beautiful events is on tomorrow - the Blessing of the Animals at Hall.

All creatures great and small will receive a blessing from Reverend Helen Dean in the service at the St Michael's and All Angels Anglican Church on the corner of Loftus and Victoria streets in Hall. The service starts at 11am and will be followed by a free sausage sizzle.

Church administrator Katrina Morton said the animals to be blessed come in all shapes and sizes. ''We had an earthworm once. A little girl brought in an earthworm from her garden,'' she said. ''We've had guinea pigs and lambs. The biggest we've had is probably dogs, although we wouldn't mind horses. People also bring in pictures of their animals if they're too big.''

For more details ring 0417 466 516.

Half of Canberra has headed down to the coast but we thought this story from Moruya was worth repeating in any case.

Gorgeous four-year-old Colt Salway already looks like he has an old head on young shoulders.

And he proved it this week when he saved his mother Kristen's life when she was bucked from her horse, knocked unconscious and suffered a collapsed lung.

The Bay Post's Kerrie O'Connor reports that Colt, who was riding with his mum, retrieved her phone and pressed his aunty's number but it wasn't in range. He pressed another number and got hold of a family friend 500 kilometres away, in Peak Hill near Parkes. ''Mummy has fallen off the horse,'' he told the friend who contacted Kristen's partner Ben Cowdroy. He found the pair in a paddock and Ms Salway was taken to hospital. ''I have never let him make a call, but he just worked it out,'' Cowdroy said.

In an exquisitely timed release, new figures show Labor MLA Mary Porter is the workhorse of Ginninderra.

The data shows she has made more representations on behalf of Ginninderra constituents than all other Ginninderra MLAs combined.

Porter made 1484 of the total 2596 representations made by Ginninderra MLAs in the last term of the Assembly, which was almost 60 per cent of all constituent matters raised.

Next in line was Liberal MLA Alistair Coe (751 representations), followed by his Liberal colleague Vicki Dunne (179), Greens leader Meredith Hunter (176) and Labor's Dr Chris Bourke (6). (Bourke only assumed office in June last year while the other members have been there for the full four years.)

Porter says she conducted more than 600 mobile offices since her 2004 election, rarely taking a weekend off.

And no surprises the figures were released after a question on notice from Labor's John Hargreaves, who we're pretty sure would never ask a question without having a good idea of the answer.