Grantville & District Memorial Park History Trail
At the Grantville and District Memorial Park, there is a trail of historical information markers in the form of open book pages surrounding the Grantville Armistice Mural.
These include:
The Timber Cutters
For about 20 years, timber was king in Grantville. Mills were established in the hills, owners ran tram lines to the coast and cut logs were transported to Melbourne. Two sawmills were established in Grantville in 1874. It has been said that the tallest trees were clean sticks 250ft high. The cut timber had to be brought to the coast and a system of tramways were built through the stands of timber to the jetties. Braziers tramway came to Grantville, Stewarts Tramway came to Queensferry and the third went through Woodleigh to Bass Landing.
In 1876 nine thousand super feet of timber per week was milled in the Grantville mills. By the late 1890s there was not enough timber left in the Bass hills to make the mills profitable. The mills closed and the workers left. Grantville's heyday was over.
Grantville State School No. 1414
By 1872 there was need for a primary school in Grantville. A slab walled, shingle roofed, dirt floored room was built. Deep Creek Non Vested Rural School No. 120 was opened in February 1873, By April the building was deemed unsatisfactory and closed, leaving 27 children with no school to go to. The school reopened the next year and was renamed Grantville No. 1414. After several rebuilds , two site moves and an amalgamation with Queensferry, the school was established on this site, where it served the community for many years. It closed in 1976 and became part of the Bass Valley Primary School.
The Western Port Cobb & Co
Agitation for a good road to Dandenong began in the early 1850s. The route was surveyed but very little was done to make the road passable in all weathers. Many tales were told about the mud and the boggy state of the Western Port Road. The blacksmith at Grantville, Charlie Williams, was often busy repairing coaches and harness so that the time tables could be maintained.
Cobb and Co ran a coach service on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from Dandenong to Grantville and returned on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at the cost of 5/-. In 1913 the Country Roads Board was formed and the road was repaired and renamed the Bass Highway.
Grantville Racing Club
The Grantville Racing Club was formed in 1896. Races were run regularly on a five furlong course at the back of William Longs Grantville Hotel. Mr Long boasted that his course was the best in Gippsland with the track being fenced in on both sides. Local horse owners raced their horses at each meeting. The outbreak of World War I saw the last meeting of the Grantville Racing Club.
The Railway comes or not?
In 1887 the Grantville Railway League began to agitate for a rail line to be built connecting the coastal villages and the larger towns. The Government refused all their applications as they said that there was no call for a railway. Various routes were suggested. Nyora to Woolamai, the Bass line or Lang Lang to Grantville along the coast. Many petitioners pleaded their cause, giving reasons why their choice was best. Farmers wanted to rail dairy produce and root crops, local business men wanted to sell goods. However the State Government thought that coastal shipping trade would be ruined. Coal made the decision for them all. After strikes in 1906, it was imperative that coal be sent to Melbourne as quickly as possible. The faster inland route was chosen. Tonnes of coal were moved but the coastal towns missed out. By the late 1970s the coal and the railways were both gone.
Grantville Show
The first Grantville Show was held in March 1885. This began a series of most successful shows with many entries in the various competitions in the pavilion and also in horses and livestock events. The town buzzed in show week. The hotel put in extra stabling paddocks to house the number of horse and carts and all the ladies dressed up in their finery. In 1894 there were over 780 entries for all sections. The committee continued to work hard to improve the show, spending money on fencing and clearing flat land for competitions. Successful shows were held yearly until 1909 when a series of debts forced the committee to look for a site accessible by rail. The show then moved to Dalyston.
The First Settlers
The traditional custodians of the Bass Coast Shire are the Bunurong people. Yallock balag is the name of the local clan whose territory was from Tooradin to Wilsons Promontory, roamed this area from the Werribee River in the west to Andersons Inlet in the east. The coastal strip was favoured for its many middens and springs for fresh water. The Terrestrial and Marine landscapes all through Bass Coast Shire were and still are today utilised by Traditional Custodians who are living and practising their culture.
The Explorers
George Bass sailed into Western Port in January 1798, He was short of water and the whaleboat was damaged. He spent time in Western Port exploring and making detailed notes and reluctantly left the area after 13 days.
The Lady Nelson with Lt. James Grant and Lt. John Murray made two visits in 1801 and 1802 when careful maps were made. The French also sailed into Western Port.
In 1804, Robbins and Oxley reported that Western Port showed no great advantage to render it an eligible place for settlement.
Grantville township was first surveyed in 1870 by Edmund Colbert and named after the President of the Board of Lands and Works, Mr James Grant.
Early Settlers
The first land sales in Grantville were 10 lots sold by auction on 25 February 1873. In 1875, a 300ft jetty was built to ship the timber that was milled in the hills. The lots facing jetty Road and Melbourne Road were sold. Mr Dickens built a store and ran the Post Office. Soon other stores were opened; a draper, a butcher, a blacksmith and two bank agencies. Two hotels and the saleyards also opened and by 1910 Grantville had its own newspaper The Western Port Times. Later in the seventies, Grantville had its own drive-in theatre, What a place it was!
Location
1510 Bass Highway, Grantville 3984 Map
