This is a short history of the various institutions in the town of Koo Wee Rup.
Schools
The first School was established in 1884 between Koo Wee Rup and Bayles (at Bethunes Road) with 22 pupils. It was known as the Yallock School, until 1903 when the name was changed to Koo Wee Rup. In 1910, the school moved to Rossiter Road (to the Secondary College location) and a new building was built in 1915. In 1953, the Higher Elementary School was completed. This School included both primary and secondary classes (Forms 1 to 3 or Years 7 to 9). The School became a High School in 1957 and shared the building with the primary school students until November 1960 when the Primary School opened in Moody Street. St John the Baptist Catholic School opened in 1936.
The arrival of the Methodist Church in 1932.
Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society photograph.
The Presbyterian Church is the oldest Church in the town. The building was originally the Wesleyan Church in Cranbourne and when it was no longer required, it was purchased by the Koo Wee Rup Presbyterians for 70 pounds. This church, designed by Architect Alfred Dunn, had been erected in 1888 and it was transported to Koo-Wee-Rup on a large trolley drawn by 13 horses and placed on land donated by Christopher Moody. The first service in this building was on March 20, 1896 (1). The first Catholic Church was built in 1902 and the current church was opened December 1962. The Anglican Church was built in 1917. It closed in 2012 and the congregation moved to the Uniting Church. The Methodist Church (now Uniting) was moved from Yallock to Rossiter Road in 1932. It is shown in the photograph, above. In 1978 this building was moved to a camp in Grantville and a wooden church from Narre Warren East, was relocated to the site, it was given a brick veneer and a new hall added and opened on February 3, 1980.
Health
A Bush Nursing Centre was opened in 1918. On May 23, 1923 the Fallen Soldiers' Memorial Hospital opened in Station Street; and the Westernport Memorial Hospital in Rossiter Road on December 4, 1955. The Hospital Ladies’ Auxiliary was established in July 1955. In 1946, the Infant Welfare Centre was opened in a room at the Memorial Hall and in 1953 the Pre-School opened.
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The Koo Wee Rup Hall, before the 1923/24 extension
Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society photograph
Community Groups and Amenities
A Cricket Club started in 1893, the Recreation Reserve opened in 1906, and a football team had started by 1907. The Koo Wee Rup Public Hall opened in April 1902, a brick front was added in 1923/1924 and it was renamed as a Memorial Hall. It was demolished in 2002. The Royal Hotel was erected in 1915. The Koo Wee Rup Sun was first published in 1918, taking over from the Lang Lang Guardian which had commenced publication in 1902. The Masonic Lodge commenced in 1923. The Wattle Picture Theatre was opened in 1927, the same year the Koo Wee Rup Electric Light and Power Company began supplying limited electricity to the town. SEC power was switched on in the town in 1935. In 1929, the first Koo Wee Rup Scout Troop was formed. To add further to the amenity of the town in 1930 the water tower and the water supply system opened and in 1943 the Fire Brigade was formed
Railways
The Koo Wee Rup Railway station was opened on August 18, 1889. The Station was originally called Yallock and was re-named Koo Wee Rup in 1892. In 1922, Koo Wee Rup became a railway junction with the opening of the Strzelecki railway line. This line was closed in stages and the last stretch from Bayles to Koo Wee Rup closed in 1959. Passenger services to Koo Wee Rup ceased in June 1981 were reinstated December 1984 and ceased again in July 1993.
Oldest buildings in town
The 1884 School building, which had moved from Bethunes Road to Rossiter Road, was shifted again in 1919 to become the Island Road School. The School closed in 1974 and ten years later the building moved back to the Primary School site in Moody Street.
However, the oldest building still on its original site is the house, “The Grange”, off Sybella Avenue. This was built in 1887-88 for Andrew and Agnes Hudson, though sadly Andrew died just before they moved in. Agnes, nee Johnston, was firstly married to Alexander Mickle. Alexander and Agnes were the great grandparents of Local Historian, David Mickle.
Footnote
(1) Gunson, Niel The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire (F. W. Cheshire, 1968). p.166 and The Mornington Standard, February 29, 1896, see here.
