Acheron Hall

A time-line of Acheron Mechanics Institute hall major projects and events, plus some other events in Acheron and Victoria between 1914 and 2024.


 

 

2024 tiling of toilet floors and new toilet bowls.

2023 renovation of the toilet block including painting and external rendering, plus a roller door.

2022 loss part of the road adjacent to bridge over the Goulburn at Acheron, due to floods, and therefore loss of acces to the bridge.

2021 repainting of hall exterior.
Beginning of toilet block upgrade.
No winter dinner due to Covid.

2020 insulation and fire extinguishers in the hall roof.
Refurbishment of Acheron CFA tanker to as-new condition.

2018 Tennis court refurbishment finished.

2017 bus stop at Acheron

2016 defibrillator installed in Hall.
Upgrade of kitchen equipment.

Commencement of improvements to the tennis court.

2015 new CFA building.
Reprint of ‘Acheron a history of the district’ book

2014 hall centenary celebrations and ‘Acheron a history of the district’ book launch.

2013 new interior lights in the Acheron Hall
Refurbishment of Acheron bridge over the Goulburn.
CFA new tanker.

2012 kitchen upgrade.
New blind on west wall of hall.

The Breakaway Bridge was saved as a wooden structure after council received a petition to retain it
and not replace it with a concrete structure.

2011 hall exterior painting.

2010 beginning of history book project.

2009 Victoria's worst disaster, the Black Saturday bushfires, killed 173 people and destroyed a large number of buildings in Kinglake and Marysville.
Marysville Kindergarten taking over the hall, due to fires. Play equipment and child proof fencing added.

2008 hall re-roofing, new floor and refit for the kitchen, replacement of some external weather boards and new electrics, windows repaired and upgraded, portico added to front of hall, repainting, landscaping and new signage, storage shed added at rear of hall. Made possible by State and local government grants and donations from individuals in the area.

2007 air conditioning in hall and kitchen.

2003 hall upgrades were made with grants from State and local government.

1997 Incorporation of Acheron Mechanics’ Institute.
A new modern toilet block was built.

1994 Murrindindi Shire formed via amalgamation of former shires.

1985 Acheron School was closed.

1983 Ash Wednesday fires.

1974 Acheron Lower Post Office was closed.

1969 bushfires in Acheron, a lot of property damage done and a number of homes lost.

1964 bushfires in February affected farms in Connelly's Creek Road, Acheron.

1962 Vietnam War began.

1951 Black Thursday fires.
Eildon Dam storage was enlarged almost tenfold between 1951 and 1955.

1950 construction of Eildon Township began and was completed in 1952.

1949 a power point was put in the hall supper room.

1946 all cattle barred from the Hall yard and permission needed, from the Institute Secretary.for all sheep grazing,

1945 WW2 ended.

1939 Black Friday Bushfires: Seven people died near the town while fleeing the fires.
WW2 began.

1938 electricity turned on the at Acheron Lower (not Connelly’s Creek Road until 1950s.)
New bridge over Acheron, funded by Shire Council.

1935 Lake Eildon storage was enlarged to 377,000 megalitres.

1932 second Goulburn River Breakaway at Acheron.

1929 The Great Depression.
Sugarloaf Reservoir (Lake Eildon) was completed.
The Acheron Bush Fire Brigade was formed.

1926 opening of Acheron tennis court.
.
1921 new Breakaway Bridge contracted.

1918 WW1 ends.

1916 the Hall's supper room was used by the Acheron school while the school was being repainted.

1915 ANZAC troops landed in Gallipoli.
Goulburn River ‘Breakaway’ at Acheron.
First stage in construction of dam Sugarloaf Reservoir (Lake Eildon).

1914 June 19, the opening of the Acheron Mechanics' Institute Hall.
July - Britain declared war against Germany.

1913 a public meeting held at the school house in Acheron, May 22 for planning the building of a hall.
Mr Thomas Connelly gave a block of land on which to erect the hall. Mr Ferguson was asked to draw up plans for the building. Mr McKinnon surveyed the site.
Mr Anderson Dobson was the first president of the Acheron Mechanics’ Institute.
Mr Ferguson's tender of £250 10s 6d was accepted with extra costs in 1914 for tables, cupboards and a WC.



'Acheron: A history of the district '
shown on the left, was released on 15th of June 2014 at the Acheron Community Hall's Centenary celebrations.

Our history book is currently reprinted and available for $75.00, plus postage (if posted).
Contact John Thorp on 0417 036 142.


The book is 280 x 205mm, 250 pages, full colour, with over 500 images.

The history book spans the story of Acheron from its Aboriginal beginnings, through periods of squatting and selection and on into the 21st century as Acheron continues to change and adapt.

This book was written to commemorate the centenary in 2014 of the Acheron Mechanics' Institute Inc. (Acheron Community Hall), originally known as Acheron Mechanics' Institute and Free Library.

It has been comprehensively researched and written, for the Acheron Community Hall by the History Sub-committee. The book has been completed through the dedication and leadership of Elaine Furniss and Andrea Turner, with very generous contributations from many current and former Acheron residents, their families, friends and others.

Acheron: a History of the District
The contents of the book are as follows

Contents

Introduction

1. Our Place

2. Dreams and disasters

3. Plans and Possibilities:

   Early Exploration
   Naming of Acheron
   Squatting Runs
   Establishment
   Victorian Lands Act

4. Gold!

5-1. Acheron Selectors Intro

   Connelly
   Cumming
   Dick
   Doak
   Dobson
   Gorman

   Maudouit

   McColl
   Moir
   
Robertson
   Wilmot
   Wylie
 

5-2. Early landholders:
   Coller
   Edwards
   Keen
   Rennie
   Robertson
   Squire

   Webster
   Weeks
   

6. Floods and fires

7. Trials and tribulations

8. Getting there…and back

9. Gold to gourmet

10. Community and care:
   Mechanics Institute
   Red Cross
   Acheron PS
   CFA
   Post Office
   Acheron at war
   Tourism Sport

11. Then and now... old homes still standing:
   Araluen
   Craggan
   Heatherly
   Kelvin Grove
   Kilbirnie
   Stonelea
   Thurlby Lodge
   Subdivisions etc

12. Timeline

13. General references

This is a short history of the area around Acheron.

Acheron was origionally called Upper Acheron (now Taggerty) and Lower Acheron. This settlement includes the land along both the eastern and western sides of the Acheron River, extending north from around Moir Lane, the area on Connelly’s Creek Road and all of the land from Mt Pleasant Road through Acheron Road and along Keens Road. This area is now one of mostly small farm holdings with a few larger, such as Gooramadda, the Dobsons’ properties and Mirrim.
Many people who now live in the area are incomers from Melbourne. Some are weekenders and there are still descendants of the original farming families who have worked the land for generations. The Dobson, McColl, Dick, Wilmot, Rennie, Webster and Cumming families are examples. Descendants of the original Taungurong Aboriginal people are still living in the greater Acheron area.


Contacts
President:
Pamela Ross
0425 749 188
Secretary:
Jan Fallon
0419 871 483
Hall Hire:
Barb and David Gamble
0417 013 701   0409 228 873
Treasurer:
Sue Moran
0421 082 854
Newsletter/Web:
Beth Thorp
0439 756 703
Email:
barbaramgamble@bigpond.com