Meeniyan reveals a rich history

LYN SKILLERN

The picturesque township of Meeniyan is located approximately halfway between Leongatha and Foster and is the focus of an active community. 

During the second half of the 19th century the colonial government of Victoria put much effort and funds into the construction of railways.

These were seen as essential for development of the rural areas in the colony.

Transport into South Gippsland for our early pioneers was primitive indeed.

Settlers made their way into the region by sea, by horse and on foot and there was much demand for better roads and most importantly a railway.    

The Great Southern Railway was the name given by the Surveyor General to the line planned to go from Dandenong to Port Albert.

It took three years to build the railway from Whitelaw near Korumburra to Toora.

The railway had to go through swamps, steep valleys and thick forests and provided employment for hundreds of construction workers.

In 1881 the Meeniyan district was first surveyed by engineers working for the Victorian Railways. 

Soon after, a railway construction camp was established at Meeniyan and the township developed to supply these workers.

An official township was proclaimed in 1889 and in 1890 John Lardner surveyed and mapped out the township with business blocks, house blocks, streets and roads.

 John Lardner also surveyed a village settlement nearby and this became Stony Creek.

Why the name Meeniyan? According to Bunce’s Language of the Aborigines of the Colony of Victoria (1859), Meeniyan is an Aboriginal word meaning “moon”.

This quaint little town is also called ‘the turning point’, meaning it is the place you turn off the South Gippsland Highway, when on your way to Wilsons Promontory.

By the time the railway line opened in 1892, Meeniyan was a thriving township with general stores, butchers, baker, blacksmiths and saddlers.

A Mechanics’ Institute hall was constructed in 1892 and a school commenced the next year. The first saleyards were built in 1896.

Overtime several companies held cattle sales at Meeniyan and the railways were used to transport animals to markets.

Pig and Lady Day

McPhail Bros were the first to conduct regular pig sales every two weeks.

The company built pig yards and following each market the pigs were driven on foot to the trucking yards at the railway station and transported to Melbourne.

One company that purchased pigs was Dandy Hams in Dandenong. 

McPhail Bros paid cash for pigs and calves and farmers came to town with their wives who could buy household supplies with the cash.

Thus, pig sale day became Pig and Lady Day and the CWA, Guild and Red Cross used the day for their meetings.

The pig sales went on for 55 years and eventually closed when pig and calf numbers on farms declined due to changes in farm practices.

Being so close to the confluence of the West and East branches of the Tarwin River.

 Super flood drowns Meeniyan

Meeniyan has experienced several major flooding events in its history.

As the forests of the Tarwin River Basin were cleared and farms established the ability of the land to absorb rainfall decreased and in times of heavy rain vast amounts of water made its way to the river and downstream.

A super flood occurred in 1934 after eight to 10 inches of rainfall (250 millimetres) fell in the South Gippsland region in a few days.

A landslip occurred in Mirboo South blocking the Tarwin River.

At Koonwarra, logs blocked the flow and eventually destroyed a bridge and sent a massive wall of water downstream.

Homes were flooded to the roofline and there were large numbers of stock lost.

Railway bridges at Koonwarra and Meeniyan were also destroyed.

While this was happening 350 pigs had to be moved to safety.

This was done by walking them across the railway bridge. Remarkably, only two pigs were lost. 

When you look at the old railway bridge at Meeniyan it is difficult to visualise the water being almost up to the top of the structure.

The town of Meeniyan was cut off and an aeroplane was used to drop supplies of yeast near the school to allow bread to be baked. 

A State-wide appeal was organised to help the people of Meeniyan and district rebuild their community. Meeniyan recovered from this disaster and has continued to be a successful small town ever since.

There will be more about Meeniyan’s history in a future article.

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Posted by Tayla Kershaw on Aug 30 2019. Filed under Community. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry