Stories

1942 - A SOLDIER FROM YALLOURN WINS RECOGNITION
This news report was written during World War:II and tells of a letter which was forwarded to the Chairman of the Apprenticeship Committee of Yallourn regarding Geoff Williams and his outstanding work as a tradesman and soldier.
The letter was written by Captain Bardsley of the Australian Army Field Workshops and was published in the ‘Morwell Advertiser’ on the 22nd January 1942.
The footnotes that accompany this story may assist readers in appreciating the nature of Geoff’s duties and also refer to his family who lived in… more

FROM THE NEWSPAPERS
1953.
A NEW DEPARTMENT STORE FOR YALLOURN
This news article tells of the announcement of a new Rockman’s Store at Yallourn in 1953. It was welcome news for the people of the town and it signified the beginning of a new era of commerce in Yallourn.
It was the Rockman’s 58th store in Australia; and the company took over the operations of the Yallourn General Store which had been owned by the SEC since 1922. The General Store was the only shop in the early days of settlement.
The following article was published in ‘The Argus’ (a city based… more

VALE COLIN ALEC WIGGINS
15/5/1943 - 9/7/2016

It is with sorrow that I inform of the passing of my life-long friend Colin Wiggins. Colin was born in Yallourn and was educated at the Yallourn State and Technical schools. His parents were old Yallourn identities and resided in Latrobe Avenue near the Technical school. Col was in my grade class for all of the years we attended school. We were both very competitive and strived to be both the best in school and in sport.

Col played senior football for Yallourn and was a first class player in cricket often opening the… more

A STEP FORWARD IN COMMUNITY HEALTH
The following newspaper extract reports on the opening of the Yallourn Infant Welfare Centre in 1949. It was great news for the town and the new amenity meant a great deal for local families. As mentioned in the report below, the Country Women’s Association had lobbied long and hard to the SEC for a new health facility dedicated to infants and their mothers.
The Infant Welfare Centre was built overlooking the gardens in Broadway; it was an ideal site for such an important building for mothers and children to visit as needed.
In the… more

A FAMOUS CANADIAN VISITS YALLOURN

In 1938 the British Empire Games were held in Sydney and a well-known Canadian sports star, Lynda Adams, was a foremost competitor in the diving events. Following the games, Lynda travelled to Yallourn to participate in a diving exhibition at the Yallourn (Lake) Pool. This brief article, published in ‘The Argus’ in May 1938, tells of Lynda’s visit to Yallourn….
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May 5th 1938 ‘THE ARGUS’ Page: 14
CANADIAN GIRL… more

AN IMPORTANT REMINDER TO ALL OUR VIRTUAL YALLOURN FRIENDS…THE ANNUAL YALLOURN ASSOCIATION REUNION IS BEING HELD ON SATURDAY, 5TH MARCH AT THE WOORABINDA SCHOOL CAMP. PRE-BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL FOR CATERING AND NAME TAG PURPOSES. FOR FURTHER DETAILS CONTACT : JULIE GEORGE - julie@yallourn.org

THE BRAVE YOUNG MOTHER OF YALLOURN
The following newspaper report was a ‘rare find’ in researching the history of Yallourn. The story, which was published in the ‘West Gippsland Gazette’ in 1928, serves as a strong reminder of the challenges faced by many families in that era.
In her book ‘Digging People Up for Coal,’ Meredith Fletcher refers to the hardship that many mothers endured in those early years of Yallourn and the incident, cited below, underlines the rudimentary living conditions of many settlers in the town.
The courage displayed by the Mrs Stevens, a twenty-… more

Living at the Married Quarters, Yallourn – Back in the 1950s
Written by Mavis McAllister (Webb) on January 6th 2016

OUR HOME IN WATTLE ROAD
When Tom and I were married in 1949, housing in Yallourn was very restricted. Staff personnel were granted first preference, but you could put your name down and wait for a house vacancy to arise. At that same time, there was possible accommodation available at the Married Quarters, also with a waiting list, so we waited and soon we were allotted our house at 11 Wattle Road, Yallourn.

THE DEVINE & THOMPSON FAMILIES… more

THE CASE FOR A DOCTOR IN YALLOURN
Although one of the most important meetings in the history of Yallourn was poorly attended; the consequent resolution adopted, by the workers that night, was of incalculable significance for the people of Yallourn in later years.
The article below, published in August 1923, reports on the attempts of workers at Yallourn to obtain the services of a resident doctor for the town.
It is known that Dr Hugh Mitchell* (from Morwell) had a consulting room at the camp in those early days of settlement. However, injured or sick workers deemed to be… more

1921 - A CHRISTMAS STORY
This newspaper article regarding Christmas celebrations at the Western Camp at Yallourn was published in December 1921. Times were challenging for the workers who lived in the camps and day-to-day living, without any recreational activities to relieve the drudgery of manual labour, must have tested the staying power of most men.
Social clubs, cultural organizations and sporting teams were virtually non-existent in that period of Yallourn’s history but Christmas was one bright spot in the lives of the men at the camps. In his famous story entitled ‘A… more