A small group of interested persons in late 2011 decided to establish a group that would collate and preserve the local history of our area. In February of 2012 year a committee was created and a home was found at Blackwood Rural Supplies who very generously donated the use of a room for us to use and to store our collection.
Due to the hard work of the late local historian Denise Nest and the Bunyip History Committee ably led by Elizabeth Porter we have a collection that has been straight forward to collate and record. Once settled we were able to hold regular gatherings that the community could participate in and learn more about the history of their local area and the people that lived here.
In August 2018, the organisation required a new location to facilitate meetings and work with its collection. Through the sponsorship of the Bunyip & District Community Bank® Branch, we relocated to the Bunyip Hall, sharing a room known locally as “the RSL room” with the Bunyip & District Community News and the sub-branch of the Bunyip-Garfield R.S.L. The historical society now benefits from ongoing sponsorship from a local family trust, which continues to fund rental costs, for which we are deeply grateful.
With this move came the decision to apply for funding from the Garfield Community Shop to construct a website to connect with the wider community.
We look forward to adding stories, family histories and photos of the area to the site. We want to link with you; the public; and local community groups and organisations. We want to preserve and digitise materials for those who are looking for information and for future generations.
Some of our local projects have been:
- Reprints of the book “Call of the Bunyip” by Denise Nest
- Collating and uploading parts of our collection to the Victorian Collections database website
- Reproduction of old fold out postcard with photos of “old Bunyip”
- Scanning and copying of the “Bunyip Garfield Express Newspaper” 1904 to 1920
- Laptop and printer
- Employment of local person to digitise our collection
- Anzac Day 2018 display
- Sandwich board for advertising of our meetings, presentations and local displays and stalls
- Purchase of filing cabinets and cupboards to store our collection
- Digitisation and upload to TROVE of the Bunyip-Garfield Express 1938-48 monies received from a grant via Public Records Office of Victoria.
- Digitisation of the Bunyip Garfield RSL minute books starting 1930’s.
- On the Edge of the Swamp – history of the Iona Primary School – by Denise M. Nest
- 100 Years of a Catholic Faith St Joseph’s Iona – Damian Smith
- History of the Bunyip Scouts
- Any other local history books pertaining to Bunyip, Bunyip North, Garfield, Garfield North, Tonimbuk, Iona and Vervale
- Local family histories and photographs
- Call of the Bunyip – Denise Nest
- History of the Garfield North Primary School – Ron Smith
- History of Shelley Memorial Hospital – by Denise M. Nest
- Bunyip Mechanics Institute Hall – Denise Nest
- History of Bunyip Red Cross
- CD – Bunyip Garfield Express – 1904 – 1920
- A Special Place – The Anglican Parish of Bunyip: 2004
- 100 Years of a Catholic Faith Community St. Joseph’s Iona 1905 – 2005 – Damian Smith