The effort put into ensuring Yass won the 1954 Top Town Competition run by the Daily Telegraph was nothing short of stupendous.
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Each of the 32 NSW towns entering the competition was required to put on a musical concert program to be recorded and broadcast on 2UW Sunday evening radio.
Whilst the Yass musical offerings were certainly of a very high standard it was the ingenuity and energy put into securing the popular vote that was truly outstanding.
The need to raise money to build an ambulance station for Yass was a driving incentive.
Here was an opportunity to win considerable money towards the £16,669 contract for the construction of the station.
Voting was by coupon found on the back page of the Daily Telegraph, which proved to be a marketing coup for the paper.
It was an exciting year.
The first concert was to be recorded in the Yass Memorial Hall on April 6.
Four hundred and fifty people attended with Max Williamson as compere.
The program went to air on June 23 in competition with Goulburn and a hectic week of garnering voting coupons followed.
The mayor, Alderman WT Walker announced he "intends to buy extra papers to add votes for Yass ... and appeals to other citizens to do the same".
£1 was donated to be awarded to the school students who collected the most vote coupons.
Yass won by 667 votes raising £90. A successful strategy had been devised.
Round Two was against Wollongong and this time Yass won by 6,111 votes gaining £100 in prize money.
The Yass Courier suggested maybe "Canberra newsagents should call out the military" given the "posse of loyal Yass types converging on each Canberra newsagency, swapping couponless Daily Telegraph copies for a fresh copy thereby gaining another coupon for a Yass vote."
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Round Three was against Queanbeyan, a formidable opponent.
Dedicated organisers Mrs Lilian Carey, Miss Olive Clifton and Mr Dave Bullman urged the community to be "On Their Toes".
The Yass Courier reported former Yass resident Mr Bernie Leonard had sent a cheque to buy coupons, the newsagent at Bega had sent a bundle of votes, and even four-year olds were handing in elastic banded bundles of votes.
People receiving their paper by post were asked to give authority to Hill's Newsagency to cut out coupons before the paper was mailed out.
Yass won by 8,191 votes adding £300 to the ambulance fund.
The semi-final round against Forbes in October was won by a resounding 18,180 votes placing Yass in the final against Muswellbrook.
Compere Max Williamson was still doing a sterling job ensuring not only good music went to air.
Listeners were urged to enjoy Yass's trout fishing, tennis and golf playing on a spring holiday.
Everyone was encouraged to make sure "wool country can beat cattle country".
And, despite washed out functions due to torrential rains and the wily schemes of Muswellbrook's landed gentry to "buy" the honour for their town, Yass won by 30,252 votes and £1250.
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