Overview of Yallourn, 1948

Yallourn, Victoria was a company town in Victoria, Australia built between the 1920s and 1950s to house employees of the State Electricity Commission of Victoria, who operated the nearby Yallourn Power Station complex. A company town is a Town or City in which all Real estate, Buildings (both residential and commercial) Utilities For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The 1920s is sometimes referred to as the " Jazz Age " or the " Roaring Twenties " when speaking about the United States and Canada The 1950s Decade refers to the years of 1950 to 1959 inclusive The State Electricity Commission of Victoria (SECV or SEC was a monopoly electricity generation transmission and supply utility located in Victoria, Australia Yallourn Power Station was a complex of six Brown coal fuelled power stations built progressively from the 1920s to the 1960s However, expansion of the adjacent open-cut brown coal mine lead to the closure and removal of the town in the 1980s. Surface mining is a type of Mining in which soil and rock overlying the mineral deposit are removed Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, or Rosebud coal by Northern Pacific Railroad, is a soft brown fuel with characteristics that put it somewhere

Design

Artist's impression of the town of Yallourn, the open cut coal mine, briquette factory (to the left) and the power station (to the right)

Often mistakenly thought to have been designed by Walter Burley Griffin, who also planned Canberra, Australia's capital city, the town was planned by A. Yallourn Power Station was a complex of six Brown coal fuelled power stations built progressively from the 1920s to the 1960s Walter Burley Griffin November 24, 1876 &ndash February 11, 1937) was a US Architect and Landscape architect, Canberra ( is the capital city of Australia With a population of over 340000 it is Australia's largest inland City. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. R. La Gerche, the State Electricity Commission's Architect. The design of Yallourn incorporated lessons learnt from the early UK garden cities of Welwyn Garden City and Letchworth Garden City inspired by Ebenezer Howard. Welwyn Garden City is a Town in Hertfordshire, England. Welwyn Garden City is also referred to in Council parlance as WGC or less correctly For the US businessman see William Pryor Letchworth. For the New York State Park see Letchworth State Park. Sir Ebenezer Howard ( 29 January 1850 – May 1 1928) was a prominent British Urban planner.

The design of Yallourn established a formal central square adjacent to the shopping area and a formal "Broadway" bounded by parks between the shopping area and railway station. The whole town area was surrounded by a green belt varying between native vegetation, open parkland and sporting and recreational complexes.

Houses at Yallourn used a characteristic terracotta roofing tile

The Yallourn town square, 1948

The majority of the land and buildings, with the exception of the churches and several minor properties, were owned by the S. E. C. V. Residents were charged below market rentals and the S. E. C. V. adopted the role of paternalistic landlord in addition to its role as employer to the majority of the town's income earners. The conflicts this created caused continuing concern throughout the life of the town. For the majority of the town's life, citizen involvement was limited, residents being represented in their dealings with the S. E. C. V. by a Town Advisory Council.

Houses within the town were constructed to a limited number of designs but these were varied by differing external detailing and surface finishes. A brick and tile manufacturing plant was built near the town and produced a characteristic terracotta roofing tile which was used to clad most homes. The pitch of the roof structure and overhanging eaves remained similar throughout the town, providing a common theme without the sameness characteristic of English garden city developments. The homes were placed on large plots, typically of 1000 m², the design brief from General Sir John Monash, the initial S. E. C. V. chairman requiring that each plot should have sufficient land to permit the tenant to keep a horse and a garden.

The town boasted outstanding public facilities many years in advance of similar rural or suburban communities of similar size, the majority funded by the S. E. C. V. A close community spirit developed within the town, in part through enthusiastic usage of the excellent facilities.

Closure

Yallourn W Power Station lead to the towns removal

At its peak the town's population reached 5000. However, the town was removed in the early 1980s so that the rich underlying brown coal reserves could be used for the Yallourn W Power Station. The 1980s was the decade spanning from January 1 1980 to December 31 1989. Yallourn Power Station was a complex of six Brown coal fuelled power stations built progressively from the 1920s to the 1960s Many of the people who were relocated from Yallourn built homes in Moe, Morwell, Newborough, Traralgon, Yallourn North and other surrounding towns in the Latrobe Valley. Moe (pronounced MO-ee, /'moui/ is a city in the Latrobe Valley and Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. Morwell is a city in central Gippsland, a region in the east of Victoria. Newborough is a suburb of Moe, in the Latrobe Valley in Victoria Australia. Traralgon is a regional city located in the Latrobe Valley in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. Yallourn North is a small country town in the City of Latrobe, Victoria, Australia. The Latrobe Valley is nestled between the Strzelecki Ranges and the Great Dividing Range in Victoria, Australia.

The majority of the houses from the town were removed, either to these nearby towns, or on occasions moved further afield. The timber framed buildings were reclad, although most retained their characteristic Yallourn tiled roof. The S. E. C. V. developed some properties, particularly in small developments in nearby Newborough where Yallourn houses were removed and samples of the conversions that were possible were showcased. These transplanted Yallourn homes remain popular with former Yallourn residents.

Gallery

Workers departing the power station at the end of the day, 1948

Shoppers in the main street, 1948

Yallourn Technical School, 1948

Yallourn Theatre, 1948

External links

• Biography of a Yallourn House

Documentaries

In June 2008, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation program Hindsight made a two hour radio documentary about the history of Yallourn:

• http://www.abc.net.au/rn/hindsight/stories/2008/2258249.htm The Model Town and the Machine: A History of Yallourn (Part 1 of 2)
• http://www.abc.net.au/rn/hindsight/stories/2008/2262812.htm The Model Town and the Machine: A History of Yallourn (Part 2 of 2)

References

• Edwards, Cecil (1969). The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly abbreviated to the 'ABC' is Australia's national public broadcaster. Brown Power. A jubilee history of the SECV. State Electricity Commission of Victoria.  
• Gill, Herman (1949). Three Decades: The story of the State Electricity Commission of Victoria from its inception to December 1948. Hutchinson & Co.