Koo Wee Rup Swamp History

This blog is about the history of the Koo Wee Rup Swamp and surrounding areas, including Garfield, and Western Port as well as some of my family history. It's my own original research and writing and if you live in the area you may have read some of the stories before in the Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society newsletter or the Koo Wee Rup township newsletter, The Blackfish, or the Garfield township newsletter, The Spectator. Heather Arnold.

Friday, December 22, 2023

Western Port - a short history of early European activity

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This is a short account of the early European activity in Western Port. Western Port Bay was 'discovered' by George Bass (1) on ...

Wednesday, December 20, 2023

Italian Prisoners from the Koo Wee Rup Prisoner of War Camp

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There was an Italian Prisoner of War Camp at Koo Wee Rup which operated from August 1944 until February 1946. I have written about it here ....

Monday, December 18, 2023

The 1924 Flood

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Here are some reports from the newspapers of the August 1924 flood. We will start with the report from the local paper, the Koo Wee Rup Sun...

Sunday, December 17, 2023

The opening of the Cardinia Public Hall in 1924

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The Cardinia Public Hall was officially opened on Wednesday, December 17, 1924. This is the report from the Koo Wee Rup Sun , Wednesday Dece...

Thursday, November 30, 2023

The Great Yannathan Fires of 1898

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I came across this obituary of Robert Gardiner, of Yannathan, who died on January 11, 1939 at the age of 83. It's an interesting obituar...

Monday, November 20, 2023

Koo Wee Rup North State School flooded

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The Koo Wee Rup North State School, No. 3198, opened on July 7, 1894. It was located on the corner of Five Mile Road and Main Drain Road. ...

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About Me

Heather: I am a local history enthusiast, the President of the Koo Wee Rup Swamp Historical Society and the Secretary of the South Eastern Historical Association. I was the Local History Librarian at Casey Cardinia Libraries from 2005 until 2021.

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