Mooooomba Cow

Today, we celebrate one of Cohuna’s icons. She is seeing out her golden years at the retirement village but given her age, is in great condition. Her weathered skin is a blotchy black and white, and though her joints are stiff, she stands proudly, although she keeps to herself and doesn’t get many visitors.

Okay, she is made up of more newspapers than is in The Bridge archives, and she is more jumping proudly than standing proudly – the type of jump you’d do if you were jumping over the moon. We are, indeed, talking about the Moomba cow – and she has just celebrated her 50th birthday.

An explanation is needed…

We hark back to the days of the Cohuna Butter Factory owned by Mid-Murray Dairy. One of the by-products was casein, which had many industrial uses but was also used in food manufacturing. Casein was first produced from skim milk at Cohuna in 1959 and exported to the USA, Japan and Germany. A purpose-built casein factory built in 1969 enabled the production of casein for human consumption.

In 1971, it was announced that casein from Cohuna would be used in the energy sticks used by the American astronauts travelling to the moon in the Apollo space program. You can imagine it was a huge deal for the small township and the district farmers whose milk contributed to the factory’s world renowned product.

Cows do jump over the moon

The opportunity arose in 1973 for regional towns to enter a float in the Moomba parade to promote their town, with the theme of ‘a nursery rhyme’. The Cohuna Tourist Council decided to showcase our district’s dairy industry and the significant connection it had with the space program, and the cow jumping over the moon concept was born.

Noel Miller designed and built the cow and figures from the ‘Hey Diddle Diddle’ nursery rhyme using chicken wire, and numerous volunteers covered her in papier mache and took her to Melbourne for the annual Moomba parade in March 1973, creating much interest in the area.

A newspaper report stated that over 53 people had requested accommodation in Cohuna within a few days of the parade, and the Cohuna Progress Association adopted the cow jumped over the moon logo for its marketing and merchandise.

Following the parade, the cow was displayed in Garden Park but without a suitable safe home, she was stored in numerous farm sheds, at the recreation reserve and even at Gunbower for a time, making appearances at significant town events and parades.

Two weeks of glory  

The Cohuna A.P. & H. Society was hosting the 1992 regional show finals and seeking something to typify Cohuna, when someone recalled the Moomba ‘Cohuna Cow’. She was located in Doug and Lois Stone’s farm shed and Beth Wood, president of the Society arranged for her relocation to the Morton Garner Pavilion where Beth and Joyce Hull spent hours patching her up with a boot load of newspapers, a preserving pan of wallpaper glue and a can of whitewash. New teats, brown eyes and a paint job based on a prize Friesian belonging to Jeff Harrower finished her off nicely.

She made her debut at the Cohuna Show, where she frightened the horses, and then took centre stage at the regional finals in front of an audience of 200. 

Following her two weeks of glory, it was back to storage until Julie Hore suggested she be moved to a permanent home at the retirement village where she worked. With the assistance of the Progress Association and the Men’s Shed, she took up retirement at the village in a purpose-built shelter.

Reunited 

It has been some time since Beth and Joyce have seen the Moomba cow. Last week, they paid her a visit. It was a joyous reunion as they checked her condition and reminisced over the hours they spent covering her in newspaper and patching her up 31 years ago. 

Her ears are a little battered, her skin is a little tatty and she could do with some TLC, but for a 50-year-old bovine, she is doing well. 

The building work at the village has forced a relocation to a small courtyard in the village, and she will need a new weather-proof shelter to keep her going. Anyone who can assist is encouraged to contact Melissa at the village.