Yallourn North is a town in the City of Latrobe, Victoria, Australia. It is approximately eight kilometres north-east of Moe, and 146 kilometres south-east of Melbourne. Prior to 1947 Yallourn North was known as "Brown Coal Mine".
The Post Office opened on 3 September 1917 as Brown Coal Mine and was renamed Yallourn North in 1947.
This tiny hilltop town contains many churches, including the only Serbian Orthodox Church and Mosque in the region. Sports available are Australian rules football, cricket, lawn bowls and carpet bowls, netball and angling. There is a Social Golf Club, and pistol club. The town has an Australian Rules football team, Yallourn-Yallourn North, which competes in the North Gippsland Football League.
History
The beginning of a town
Yallourn North owes its origins to the discovery of brown coal in the Morwell area of Gippsland, in eastern Victoria. Initially private enterprise unsuccessfully attempted to profit from the large quantity of coal that was accessible close to the surface. The Victorian Mines Department took over the abandoned mine in 1917, after protracted strikes by coal miners in New South Wales threatened Victoria's electricity Supply.
Educating the children
In 1917 the need for a school became evident. W. H. Dooley reported that a school should be formed, but not a costly one. The address of the school was given as "Great Morwell Coal Mine" and a large marquee was initially used as the school building. The school was allocated the temporary number 3967, which is still in use today. After a tear in the marquee during a storm in December 1918, the school was temporarily relocated to Bevis's Pioneer Boarding House until a new structure could be built on the old site. Over the years demand grew, as did the space required. The current school building was constructed in the late 1960s.
Wartime
During the Second World War, an area within a radius of from the open cut mine was designated as a Prohibited Area for aircraft. Anti-aircraft defences were erected in late 1941, with the placement of four static Bofors guns to help protect the mine and State Electricity Commission of Victoria (SECV) infrastructure. Each group of four Bofors guns needed 90 people to operate them, but neither the Australian Army nor the Volunteer Defence Corps could find enough available operators. The location of the Bofors guns was approximately between Boundary Road and Anderson Avenue.
The Big Slip
The township underwent a massive transformation after 1950. On 29 June 1950, thirty people narrowly escaped death as of earth and brown coal slid into the old open cut. After the slip, a number of owners moved their shops to where they are today, which is the reason why shops at Yallourn North aren't in one central location. The eastern half of town was redesigned, with the addition of streets such as Gooding Street, Low Road, and East Street.
Privatisation of the SECV
After the Kennett Government privatised and sold the SECV in 1994, Yallourn North was significantly affected economically. Many people moved away from the area in search of work elsewhere, following the loss of 4,500 jobs (out of 10,000) in the greater Latrobe Valley during the three years to 1993. However, over the last 20 years the town has undergone a resurgence, with the economy of Latrobe City now finding its feet, and new families moving in to replace those of old.
Monash Hall
History
After the Big Slip of 1950, the town's shops temporarily moved into the camp recreation building while a new building was sourced. A Nissen hut was brought in pieces from an SECV work yard on trucks, and erected in Reserve Street. Purvis's, Dobinsons Drapery, Meadows Bakery and a hairdresser moved to the hut. The businesses moved out in turn as they each gained their own new locations. Ernie Pincini from Mirboo North then transformed the Nissen hut into a picture theatre. It was supposed to open in November 1955 but given post-war work shortages and huge labour demand elsewhere, it didn't open until June 1961, not long before the first television transmission to the area by GLV-10, which quickly saw the picture theatre's demise.
After 1962 the hall was re-opened as a public facility. Also known as Yallourn North Hall, the name Monash Hall adorns the building today. In the 1990s the hall received a minor facelift and coat of paint, and was further improved in 2008, with an upgrade to the kitchen.