Outtrim, Victoria

Outtrim
Victoria
Outtrim
Coordinates 38°30′S 145°47′E / 38.500°S 145.783°ECoordinates: 38°30′S 145°47′E / 38.500°S 145.783°E
Postcode(s) 3951
Location 151 km (94 mi) SE of Melbourne
LGA(s) South Gippsland Shire
State electorate(s) Bass
Federal Division(s) McMillan

Outtrim is a locality in Victoria, Australia. It is located south of Korumburra off the Korumburra to Wonthaggi Road and is southeast of Melbourne.

History

The area was originally used for farming in the mid-1800s, but coal was discovered in the area in 1892 south of Outtrim railway station. Outtrim and Jumbunna coal fields developed in the mid-1890s, with access to the markets for the coal being established via the Outtrim railway line.[1]

Outtrim Post Office opened on 10 May 1894 and closed in 1957.[2]

The township grew up by the mine and was named after the Honourable Albert Richard Outtrim, MLA, Minister of Mines in the Victorian Government at the time. By the 1940s only a small number of companies remained working the mines in the area. By the 1980s the township of Outtrim had virtually disappeared with only a few buildings remaining in the town area, and the land returning to farming.

A school was built and opened in 1895. When the coal mines were at their peak more than 200 children attended the four-roomed school. When coal production declined and then ceased with the closing of the mines in 1914, the population dwindled very quickly with most moving to Wonthaggi where a large mine opened in 1909.[3]

The land around Outtrim is now largely cleared of native vegetation and is used for agriculture, including dairying.

Cemetery

Outtrim Cemetery, established circa 1894, is set in woodland one kilometre east of Outtrim Recreation Reserve on the Leongatha South Road. The cemetery has fifteen marked graves, with the earliest dating from 1902. It is believed that there are a total of 220 burials in the cemetery, with last burial being in 1946. The cemetery is listed on the Victorian Heritage Inventory.[4]

The entire cemetery reserve is now reserved permanently for nature conservation purposes and is managed by Parks Victoria.

References

  1. ↑ "Outtrim Coal Mine, Victorian Heritage Inventory Number H8021-0045". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Victoria.
  2. ↑ Premier Postal History, Post Office List, retrieved 2012-02-21
  3. ↑ Outtrim Cemetery, Australian Cemeteries
  4. ↑ "Outtrim Cemetery, Victorian Heritage Inventory Number H8020-0023". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Victoria.