What’s in a name?

Doug Walter Hattrick. If ever a name was meant to belong to a cricketer, it would be that one.

But Doug Walter Hattrick, a sportsloving mechanic living in Mount Macedon after WWI, did not go near a cricket bat he curled, and was also one of the top hammer throwers and shot putters in the country.

Hattrick honed his prowess in Scotland and Switzerland before emigrating as a young man to Australia. Beginning his working life in Melbourne as a chauffeur, in 1929 he married, became a mechanic and opened a garage at Mount Macedon next to the Waterfalls Hotel (the site now occupied by the Mount Macedon Hotel).

His old garage still sits in place surviving the natural deterioration of time and the fires of Ash Wednesday to quietly declare that the past does not have to be glamorous to be noteworthy.

Hattrick was tall and solidly built, perfect for the strength sports of hammer throw and shot put, and he competed in state and national championships. In 1914 he competed in the Australasian Track and Field Championship, scoring a win in the hammer throw and third place in shot put.

World War I interrupted everything, but afterwards he continued his pursuit of these most Scottish of sports, as well as joining the Australian Curling Club which was based at the Glaciarium in Melbourne. The Glaciarium was near the present-day Arts Centre in South Melbourne and was a full-blown rink capable of international standard skating and ice hockey. “The Glassy”, as it was known, was the first ice arena in Australia and the third-largest rink in the world.

Hattrick was known among Victorian curlers for his “canny, soopin’ draw up the ice” surely a marvellous move, whatever it may be. In 1933, he made good use of the move in a curling ‘international’ that pitted Australia against Scotland, where both teams were made up of locals. Hattrick played for the Australian side.

Hattrick and his wife, Lilian, lived beside their garage in Mount Macedon. In 1931, disaster threatened when the Waterfalls Hotel next door burnt down, but newspapers reported that while the fire rapidly spread through the old wooden building, "the adjoining garage and residence of Mr. D.W. Hattrick was saved.”

Hattrick took a lively part in community affairs; he represented the Mount on the Gisborne Shire Council for several

Tamil dinner in New Gisborne

Chef Niro from Tuka Tuka Kothu Roti Ma is again cooking up some 'Tamil Temptations' for a second time after the very successful Tamil feast hosted by Macedon Ranges Rural Australians for Refugees in May.

On a cold Woodend night, 60 people enjoyed authentic Sri Lankan dishes on a relaxed and enjoyable evening. Not only were their tummies filled, but their minds also opened by Pauline Brown from the group who gave a short update about the issues facing refugees within our community.

years in the 1940s, was captain of the Mt Macedon Bush Fire Brigade and a member of Woodend Bowling Club.

Hattrick, born in 1887 in Scotland, remained in Mount Macedon with his wife until at least 1954. He died in 1961 in Windsor, NSW. Lillian died in 1981.

(For those of a younger vintage who may not get the name's full significance, Doug Walters was a famous Australian cricketer 1960s to 1980s, and hat trick –well, we all know that one.)

– Pip Butler

Niro, a Sri Lankan Tamil, who himself sought asylum in Australia to escape violence and persecution in his home country, now runs a successful catering business and is very happy to help Macedon Ranges Rural Australians for Refugees host another meal of delicious Tamil food to raise money for refugees and people seeking asylum in Australia. The evening will be at the Church of Christ in New Gisborne on Saturday 19 August. Doors open at 5.30pm, with the meal served at 6pm. BYO alcohol (and an empty stomach). Tickets are $35 per adult, $15 per primary school child and $90 for a family of four.

Bookings open on 4 August at www.trybooking.com/CJZDH.

The last event sold out in a week, so be quick.