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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. |
... |
Cobden's
Early Days
.
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.
.
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.
.
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.
.
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
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