TIME LINE

Drouin’s Development

1865 Gippsland Road opened to coach traffic to Sale

1869 Grant’s second Land Act brought selectors into the district

1870 McNeilly and Cook took up first selections in Drouin

1874 Railway survey teams are in the district

1877 Railway built through Drouin
First Post Office opened – “Drouin Junction”
First primary school pupils enrolled – 27th July

1878 “Drouin Junction” became “Drouin”
“Gippsland Independent” published – 13th September
Shire of Buln Buln constituted – 20th September
George Stephenson’s store opened
Brandy Creek Roads Board Committee (May)
Bank of Australasia opened
Dawes’ Commercial Hotel opened
First meeting of Buln Buln Shire Council – 27th November
Drouin’s first cattle sales held

1879 Melbourne to Sale Railway completed
Drouin Mechanics Institute built
Telegraph link was established
Serious bushfires
Usher & Co mail coaches to Poowong – thrice weekly

1880 First Church of England Church built, Grant Street Drouin
First Methodist Church, Sinclair Street Drouin
First Presbyterian Church built
Roman Catholic Chapel built
Commercial Bank of Australia opened

1881 Railway Station built
Shire of Warragul severed from Shire of Buln Buln

1883 Post Office Savings Bank opened in Post Office
First combined Shire of Buln Buln offices and Drouin Court House built

1890 First coffee palace destroyed by fire
Family Hotel opened

1891 Shire of Poowong and Jeetho severed from Shire of Buln Buln

1892 Red Hill Village Settlement began

First bitumen footpaths constructed
Brick Police Station and residence built (beside the Post Office)

1893 Part of Shire of Buln Buln severed and annexed to Shire of Cranbourne

1895 Shire saleyards built in Oak Street

1898 Red Hill Village Settlement effectively ended
Serious bushfires – right into township area

1900 First golf course opened

1913 Major fire in business precinct
Country Roads Board established

1916 State Savings Bank opened

1924 North Riding of Shire of Narracan severed and annexed to Shire of Buln Buln

1935 Drouin Waterworks Trust formed

1936 New brick Church of England building opened
Drouin State School destroyed by fire & new brick building erected

1938 Drouin Urban Fire Brigade formed

1939 Drouin Branch of Country Women’s Association formed
“Black Friday” bushfires (January)

1941 Federal Government flax mill opened

1950 Drouin & District Racing Club re-established at Matthew Bennett Park

1953 Duplication of Gippsland railway line
Central Classes (years 7 & 8) began at Drouin Primary Schoo

1954 “Temporary” shire offices were opened in “Russell House”
Drouin Golf Club established at Matthew Bennett Park
Rotary Club of Drouin chartered
Melbourne to Warragul railway line electrified

1956 Drouin High School opened

1957 Drouin High School moved to new buildings at Main South Road

1958 Apex Club of Drouin chartered (changed to Apex Club of Drouin, Warragul and Districts 2015)

1959 Scots Presbyterian Church opened new brick building
Anglican Church opened new Parish Hall
Proposch Sawmills opened in the flax mill buildings

1961 Drouin High School swimming pool opened

1963 Drouin & District War Memorial Swimming Pool opened

1965 Drouin Senior Citizens Centre opened
The last steam locomotives withdrawn from the Gippsland railway line
Drouin Sewerage Authority formed

1972 Sewerage system construction completed

1973 Drouin Lions Club chartered

1974 Construction of Civic Park commenced
Florapak Plastics took over the Classic Weaving Mills building in Main South Road

1975 New Shire Offices opened in Civic Park, Young Street
Guest House destroyed by fire

1979 Development of the Shire of Buln Buln Industrial Estate began

1981 The last “School Train” ran
Princes Freeway Drouin Bypass constructed
“The Gippsland Independent” merged with “The Bunyip and Garfield Express”

1982 Chlorination of Drouin’s water supply commenced
Drouin Branch of Quota International chartered (closed 1993)

1985 Tarago Water Board was constituted and absorbed the Drouin Waterworks Trust and Drouin Sewerage Authority (together with other similar authorities)

1986 Drouin won the Victoria Tidy Towns Award (population 4,000 to 10,000)

1987 Flouridation of Drouin’s water supply was commenced
Ladybirds Community Club of Drouin formed (closed 2016)

1988 Management of the Drouin Public Hall handed over to the Shire of Buln Buln

1990 New public library opened in the former public hall building

1993 Drouin Nature Reserve opened on the former rifle range in Pryor Road

1994 Shire of Buln Buln was merged into Baw Baw Shire Council
Gippsland Water absorbed Tarago Water Board

Bibliography

“Buln Buln” by Graeme Butler (1979)
“Drouin … because they worked at it” by John C Wells (1996)

With Thanks

The above Time Lines has been provided by Keith Pretty OAM
Shire Secretary, Shire of Buln Buln 1956-1990, Chief Executive Officer 1989-1990

Drouin History Group expresses appreciation to Keith Pretty for accepting
Life Membership at the Group’s Foundation Meeting on 6 August 2015.