Yinnar History Walk

Throughout Yinnar there are a number of signs with historical information about the town.

History of Yinnar

The formally recognised traditional owners for the area in which Yinnar sits are the Gunaikurnai people. The Gunaikurnai People are represented by the Gunaikurnai Land and Water Aboriginal Corporation.

Yinnar began as a part of the Scrubby Forest Station at Middle Creek, which as its name implies, was heavily wooded. Its southern section was mountainous, so its area of practical use was estimated as ten square miles. The first holders were Nicol Brown and Billy Hillier. Eventually they divided the station into two with Middle Creek being the line of division, Brown taking the western half and Hillier the eastern half. Billy's Creek was named after Billy Hillier. They held their leases from 1848 to 1868.

George Firmin arrived at Middle Creek in 1874 and took over Scrubby Forest West, which he divided into what was known as the Scrubby Forest Run. Due to this the Firmin family are said to be the first settlers of Yinnar. Other early selectors on Scrubby Forest Run were Henry Wicks and John Quigley. In 1885 George Firmin handed the license back to the Government so the farming areas were made available to selectors. The town was surveyed in May 1885 and two months later one hundred allotments were auctioned to selectors at the offices of Mr Wicks' agents.

The area called Middle Creek and Scrubby Forest became known as Yinnar in 1879. George Firmin's wife Maria and their eleven children came to live with him in the bark but at the Scrubby Forest Run in 1898. They were the first family to live in Yinnar. Many of the first buildings in Yinnar were established in the 1880s by Mr. John Quigley and Mr. Henry Wicks, two of the early settlers in Yinnar. The buildings by Mr Quigley included Quigley's house, a store, a butcher's shop, a boarding house and a wine saloon. Mr Wicks was the builder of the first hotel.

Despite many fires over the years some of the earlier buildings of Yinnar are still around today.

On 2 December 1927 the State Electricity Commission of Victoria announced that a supply of electricity had been made available to the town of Yinnar.

Yinnar Historical Walk

You can also use this summary of a walk from the Yinnar Hotel (46 Main Street) going south to Creamery Road to discover the history of it's buildings.

The first Hotel was built on this site in 1885. It burned down in 1914 and was rebuilt in 1972.
Next to the Hotel was a big shed owned by the Hotel it was the post office for some time.
A house and a shop, double roofed and owned by Winnings stoof where the petrol station is now. The site was used as a grain store and at one point the National Bank operated from there.
The next two houses were built in 1920 and approximately 1880.
The Hardware Store built at the turn of the century has had many changes: General Store, Billiard Room, Barber to name a few.
Next block set back from the street was a house and the Butcher shop built late 1800s.
Taylors Store and Saddlery, boots shoes and Barber Shop and house was next. The shop burnt down, the house was safe.
Next the Garage which originated as a Black Smith and the owner house next to it.
The Catholic Church built in 1903.
The Butter Factory's managers house is next. Built at the same time as the factory in 1929. You can see on the front of the house the mark where a swastika used to be. It was removed on the ascent to power of Hitler.
The first house in the next block was built by Nestles in the early 1940s, the other in 1901.
Across the footbridge was 'Durobin' the last house of the township, it was built from recycled materials acquired from other properties.
Creamery Road on the right is where the Creamery was situated. The managers house built in 1891 is still there on the left.
The Wick's houses built in the early 1900s were the first houses on either side of the road.

Yinnar Historical Signage

Signage includes:

Railway Coffee Palace
This was one of the first buildings in the town as it was built around the time the railway was established in Yinnar in 1885. Mrs W T Bolger took over the management in 1919 and advertised "first class accommodation and meals at all hours, moderate charges".

Bakery
The Bakery was situated on this site behind a shop front and living premises. In 1958 the shop was rebuilt to a double front. This was to overcome the law of the day which did not allow the selling of fruit and vegetables or groceries on Saturday afternoons and Sundays nor the sale of fresh bread on Sundays. In 2005 the house and bakery were demolished due to disrepair but the original Scotch Oven still remains at the rear.

Hotel
Henry Wicks built the original hotel in 1885, an establishment of 12 rooms, a stable, 5 stalls and accommodation. The first licensee was William M Jensens. The building was destroyed by fire in 1914 and a new hotel (pictured) was built in 1916. During the flu epidemic the hotel was temporarily closed and used as a hospital. In 1972, a co-operative was founded and it became the Yinnar Community Hotel.

General Store
This is one of only three brick buildings originally built in the town. The others being the Crearn and Butter Factory and the Butcher Shop. It was built in the early 1900's by John Hall and called the Universal Emporium. There have been a few changes through the years, with petrol bowsers of up to four different brands out the front at one time. The facade was changed to take out the inverted front doors. The inside was also altered to cater for self serve. In the late 1980's the whole front of the building was modernised and incorporated the Post Office.

Main Street
Most of the town was built after the railway line came through in 1885. The town was surveyed and 100 allotments were auctioned off.

This photo shows - from left to right The verandah of the old Bakery. John More's General Store, which was one of the first buildings and was eventually burnt down, probably before the 1920's. The block has remained vacant ever since.

The Post Office was located in the large home (behind the horse). The first Butcher's Shop (behind the pole) was operated by Arthur Williams from 1892 to 1911. At different times the premises were also used as a Sweet Shop, Bank, Dentist and Barbers. The site is shown as vacant land on the corner The hotel is on the far right corner.

Railway Station
Land was resumed from Mr G Firmin and Mr H Wicks to construct a Yinnar station yard. The contract for the construction of the Morwell to Mirboo North line was let to a Mr Robb who opened a quarry at nearby Stoney Creek (up the top of Creamery Road) where he extracted bluestone for use in the line construction.

The line was opened on 10 April 1885 for passengers and for goods traffic soon after and farmers and townspeople quickly made good use of the service. At its peak there were several services daily. Butter was the main product railed from Yinnar along with timber, livestock, fodder, other agricultural products and mail. A goods shed was erected in 1887 and a cattle race and station cottage provided.

Many Special Event trains came from Melbourne and other areas for sports gatherings and race horse meetings. In 1930 the "Better Farming Train" visited and hundreds viewed the agricultural exhibits onboard. In 1887 there were 3473 outward passengers and 424 tonnes of goods. By 1966 this had dwindled to only 200 passengers and the line was closed in 1968.

Location

Main Street, Yinnar 3869 View Map