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Health Services heart of Australia's richest dairying area. 210 kilometres South West of  Melbourne, Cobden and it's surrounding district today claims to be the "dairy Capital" of  the world. With over 140,000 cows being milked  within the immediate area to support this claim.
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Cobden's Early Days
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With a growing population of 1500 Cobden owes its existence to Doctor Daniel Curdie, a pioneer who settled here in the 1840’s. Delighted with the natural beauty which surrounded his property, (Tandarook), he decided to name it LOVELY BANKS. The area where his workers and families lived was by a small creek, not far from where the present township of Cobden resides today. As the township grew it adopted a name change, and in honoring British Statesman Richard Cobden, the name of Cobden was given to the town. Cobden is in the heart of Australia's richest dairying area. 210 kilometres South West of  Melbourne, Cobden and it's surrounding district today claims to be the "dairy Capital" of the world. With over 140,000 cows being milked within the immediate area to support this claim.
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The great Heytesbury Forest
Slowly the native forests fell to the logging companies as settlers began making a life and home for their families. The clearing of trees saw many saw mills established, with timber being processed, homes built and stock beginning to graze in the clearings. Today there are many parts of the forest that still exists, the nearby Jancourt State Forest has numerous walking tracks which allows bush walkers to view the abundance of flora and fauna within the forest.
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Dairy Industry
Today as the visitor looks around they will see thousands of dairy cows and hundreds of farms in the district. As the township of  Cobden  steadily grew, the first cheese and butter factory Co-operative in Victoria opened at Cobden in 1888 . This factory today is owned by Bonlac foods Limited and the site houses the largest milk drying plant in the Southern Hemisphere.
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Rail Line
With services growing the opening of the Cobden to Timboon Railway line in April 1892 initially brought prosperity.  With trains taking goods to Timboon and Port Campbell, they would make the return trip loaded with produce and timber which was sold in the larger towns in the district. Unfortunately the last freight train was in 1977 and the line has been removed. Today the former rail corridor  is a haven for walkers and bird watchers.
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Lakes and Craters
Cobden is close to the southern rim of Lakes and Craters Country, a region of cones and crater lakes that are spread over the third largest volcanic plain in the world. It was the violent eruptions of the past that helped enriched the soil that supports the numerous dairy farms that has made Cobden a noted primary production centre.
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© The Gateway BBS Camperdown Authors:Anton Art & John Hamilton