Preserving Your History, Heritage and Culture

The Leongatha and District Historical Society

In 1964 a group of locals, keen on collecting and recording local history, founded the Leongatha Historical Society, now the Leongatha and District Historical Society. The area the society focused on was the Shire of Woorayl, one of the four former shires that now make up South Gippsland Shire Council.

By Lyn Skillern OAM for the Leongatha Historical Society Photos, Doug Pell

The first president was local farmer John Murphy who went on to write a definitive history of both the Shire of Woorayl and the Shire of Mirboo. John also wrote many other books on local history including the history of Leongatha’s Memorial Hall and the Leongatha Butter Factory. Over the years the Society has collected thousands of items including photographs, documents and items of memorabilia.

In the early years of the society, that small group of enthusiasts met in a room at the Leongatha Memorial Hall but when renovations occurred they had to move out. The private homes of members served as meeting places and storage facilities for the next few years. When the Community House opened up in Church Street the Society held meetings there, but a permanent home was desperately needed.

The chance for a proper historical facility came in 1983 when a new library was built at the Shire Offices in Smith Street and the Billiard Saloon, which had run since 1912 in the Mechanics’ Institute building closed. There was great debate about what the Mechanics’ Institute should be used for. Some in the Shire wished to demolish it and sell the land. Historian John Murphy pointed out that the land did not belong to the Shire as it was crown land and that the building was constructed using funds raised solely by the community. After much debate and lobbying the Woorayl Shire Historical Society, as it was then called, won the day and was granted the use of the entire building. In early August 1983, the keys to the Mechanics’ Institute were handed to the Historical Society. With the newfound space the Society could now offer more to the community with the first exhibition opening in December 1983. This exhibition, displaying mostly women’s clothing from the collection, was curated by Pat Dale and Shirley Clarke and opened by Shire President Ted Fisher.

"The Society mounts exhibitions in the Mechanics' Institute with some being permanenet and other temporary celebrating specific aspects of our past."

So what does the Society actually do? The activities are many and varied. The core aim is to collect items that tell the history of the former Shire of Woorayl and store these for future use by researchers, for display and for members of the public seeking information, usually on family history and family activities.

The Society mounts exhibitions in the Mechanics’ Institute with some being permanent and other temporary celebrating specific aspects of our past. During the centenary of World War One an exhibition telling the story of our Shire’s contribution was very popular and the Society was able to find photographs of over seventy of our soldiers who lost their lives in that conflict. Permanent displays are on Lennie Gwyther, pioneer times and the initial surveying of the land for settlement and farming.

Special events are held often. A biannual dinner-lecture has seen many interesting speakers present on topics relevant to our history.

The most recent being author Katherine Kovacic who spoke about her research into the murders of young local girls in the 1930s. Other speakers included Gippsland historian Patrick Morgan, Dorothy Giles on the history of the Great Southern Star and Margaret Harris, a local girl, who went on to play tennis at Wimbledon. This year a seminar was run by the Society in » conjunction with the Royal Historical Society of Victoria. Participants came from all over the state and our speakers were well received.

Local Neil Breeden spoke on his research into the early survey tracks leading into South Gippsland and Wonthaggi historians Sam Gatto and Rees Quilford gave talks on the unique history of that town. Other speakers were from Melbourne and Western Victoria.

Assisting with research is a major activity and the Society. Our own members write articles and books but helping with student research and family history research is an important and rewarding activity.

Help has been given to architecture students, family historians, military enthusiasts and those writing about subjects like the Brass Band, sporting clubs and the RSL.

Telling the history of the development of Leongatha central business area over time is an ongoing project. A huge amount of research has gone into the story of all the shops and other businesses that have existed since 1890. Kellie Smith has researched the shops and businesses extensively with the help of other members and she has recently taken to making scale models of early shops. Telling the story of the Memorial Hall as it approaches its centenary in 2026 is a work in progress and Kellie is making a model of this wonderful feature of our area.

An important project at present is researching the history of the Leongatha Memorial Hospital to tell the story of medical care and the hospital in a visual and interactive way at the hospital for the community to see and enjoy.

Books on local history are sold at the Mechanics’ Institute as well as a stall at the Rail Trail Community Market. These include the classics of South Gippsland history, Land of the Lyrebird, No Parallel and On the Ridge Some others available are on Koonwarra, The Mechanics’ Institute, The Butter Factory, The Memorial Hall, Leongatha Secondary College and Mt Eccles.

The Society is going through a reorganisation with changes to the cataloguing system and the display areas. A new kitchenette is being constructed thanks to a grant from the South Gippsland Shire Council. There is a constant need for help both in the work of sorting and cataloguing items and new helpers are very welcome. While grants are available for special projects the Society is in constant need of funds and support from the community. There is a long list of projects that need funding and donations are very welcome.

Please come and visit us at the historical society. The preservation of our past is an important part of our culture and help from the community in carrying out this task is essential. It is after all the history of us all. gl

Contact the Society by email, leongathahistory@gmail.com