ESSAYS ON BASS COAST LOCAL HISTORY

John McHaffie. With brother William he built an empire on Phillip Island and fought to keep it.
Photos: Phillip Island & District Historical Society

By Pamela Rothfield

LONG before sheep grazed its windswept plains, Phillip Island was a place of seasonal abundance for the Bunurong people, who came to fish its waters and gather shellfish along its rocky shores. Then came the sealers, the squatters and a Scottish family determined to make the island their own.

It was in 1842 that Scottish émigrés John and William McHaffie staked a bold claim on the entire island, securing an annual lease and transforming it into their personal pastoral domain. For decades, they held fast to the land – first with sheep and cattle, later with political favours and scientific justifications – as pressure mounted for its release to the public.

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Forged in Wonthaggi

5/6/2026

Made in Wonthaggi: a display at the Wonthaggi Museum of locally made spades, shovels, axes, tomahawks, screwdrivers, socket sets and spanners.

By Catherine Watson

THE closure of Cyclone’s Wonthaggi factory in October is the story of Australian manufacturing writ small. A factory that once employed hundreds of people has finally succumbed to the economic pressures that have claimed so many local manufacturers before it.

The wonder is not that it is closing but that it lasted as long as it did.

The sound of the factory – the Bang! Bang! Bang! of the drop forge – was part of the Wonthaggi soundscape for decades, as familiar as the mine hooter and the warning alarm as the train crossed the South Dudley Road heading into town.

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The sinking of the Eagle Star

21/5/2026

Photos: Phillip Island and District Historical Society

By Pamela Rothfield

OLDER residents of Rhyll may remember the hulk of the Eagle Star, which sat in the waters off Rhyll for years from the late 1970s. This is the story of what happened to that ferry and how its remains came to rest there.

The Eagle Star, formerly a Sydney Harbour ferry, was a 50-tonne passenger ferry which had commenced service from Stony Point - Tankerton (French Island) - Cowes in 1949 with a capacity to carry 270 passengers.

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Home-grown history wins state recognition

29/4/2026

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Eira Thompson's memories of living in a shop in McBride Avenue were a highlight of the
Wonthaggi Historical Society's 2026 15 Minutes of History talks.

By Catherine Watson

WONTHAGGI Historical Society’s 15 Minutes of History talks have taken out the Volunteer-run Project of the Year at the 2026 Victorian Museums and Galleries Awards.

A Bass Coast summer favourite, the home-grown series was recognised at a gala ceremony at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art last night.

This is no two-bit award for country bumpkins, this is the big time run by the Australian Museums and Galleries Association Victoria and Public Galleries Association of Victoria.

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Saltwater sanctuary

15/4/2026

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Locals used gut-buster drills and gelignite to carve Victoria’s only man-made ocean rock pool.
Photos: Wonthaggi & District Historical Society

By Mike Tesch

AUSTRALIA has around 100 ocean pools, most of them in NSW. They provide safe, tidal flushed swimming sanctuaries. It seems the Cape Paterson rock pool is the only man-made ocean swimming pool in Victoria.

The rock pool was the brainchild of Alan Birt and Jack Cargill. Alan wanted a calmer swimming place for younger children. There was already a natural channel between the bay and a small rockpool. The existing small rockpool was also warmer in winter than the bay. So this was the site he chose.

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King of the underground

2/4/2026

Lou Storti ... never happier than when he was driving tunnels or digging coal.

By John Bordignon

LUCIANO ‘Lou’ Storti was born for coal mining. He started work at the State Coal Mine as a 19-year-old and worked there on and off in several roles, paid and unpaid, for the next 70 years.

I never told him to his face, but I used to refer to him as a reincarnated wombat because he was happiest when he was driving tunnels or digging coal. The mine was not just Lou’s job but his passion and love. He put in endless hours of unpaid work. Many a time he would go up to the mine in the middle of a wet cold winter night to make sure the little old ajax pump was still pumping water up the 60 metre bore.

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The unforgettable Laurie Chizzoniti

16/2/2026

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Never afraid of hard work, Laurie Chizzoniti was renowned
for his kindness, honesty and beautiful smile.

By Bruce Phillips

THE room fell silent. The angry man continued his rant directed at Wally Taberner who stood expressionless behind the bar with his trademark tea towel resting on his shoulder. It was a Friday night in the early `70s in the crowded lounge of the Wonthaggi Hotel. The band had just tuned up and was ready to go. No one had any idea what had sparked the loud and insulting tirade, especially as publican Wally was one of the most highly respected people in the district. That said, no one was intervening on his behalf and the stout, fiery fellow continued.

Through the darkened entrance doorway appeared a short but powerfully built figure. Stepping forward with his big beautiful smile walked Laurie Chizzoniti, local fruit shop owner. Realising the situation, he tried calming the man – to no avail. All eyes were fixed on what would happen next. The time for talk was over as Laurie wrapped his two vice-like arms around the man, lifted him, and gently danced him through the door into McBride Avenue. Laurie returned. The door closed. There were no punches, no blood, and no more histrionics.

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A touch of home

15/1/2026

The full catastrophe ... Le chevreuil, le lièvre at le lapin. Print: John James Audubon.

By Anne Paul

AS A follow up to Christine Grayden’s article Happy 200th birthday, Baron Von Mueller, I thought readers would appreciate an article I came upon while researching the hoop pine in the Cowes Isle of Wight site.

Last year I nominated this tree for the Bass Coast Shire Council significant tree register. I have some knowledge of hoop and bunya pines, after earlier research to identify the provenance of several specimens in Yallambie that were likely planted or provided by Baron von Mueller in the 1850s.

Both hoop and bunya pines are native NSW / Queensland conifers of the Araucaria family, related to the Wollemi pine.

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Sun, surf … and a dash of history

11/12/2025

The summer season starts with the story of Wonthaggi's cordial makers.

By Catherine Watson

WONTHAGGI Historical Society’s mini history talks have become an unlikely highlight of the Bass Coast summer.

The talks, which started in the summer of 2022, explore the highways and the byways of Wonthaggi’s rich history, not just the big events – the unions, the mine, the social history – but the sports clubs, the characters, the mishaps, the pubs, the myths and legends.

The title says it all. 15 Minutes of History. Every day at 11.30am, from January 3 to 17, someone will give a talk about an aspect of Wonthaggi’s history. I’m yet to hear a dud speaker or subject.

Society president Faye Quilford, who organises the talks with the secretary, Irene Williams, says the popularity has grown by word of mouth.

“I think it’s because they’re quirky. Our presenters are passionate about their topic and that makes them eloquent. And it’s short and sharp. Start at 11.30am, finish at noon.”

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Lost and found

10/12/2025

We were lost but now are found … old fashioned signage has made all the difference at
Phillip Island Cemetery.

By Pamela Rothfield

DESPITE the peaceful beauty of the Phillip Island Cemetery, finding a loved one’s resting place could be surprisingly difficult. On paper, it sounds like a straightforward problem, but in reality, standing in the middle of 25 acres, with more than 150 years of burials, and a layout formed long before modern surveying principles … locating a grave was often a bit of an adventure.

Historically, the cemetery was divided into six religious sections. Each of these was further broken into 16 subsections, each containing up to 44 burial plots. Of course, burials began decades before anyone thought to formalise where the rows should go. So, while many sites line up beautifully, others … let’s just say they have “character”.

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Are we there yet?

9/12/2025

By Catherine Watson

“POULTRY farm manager Merve Drowley, 38, of Hoddles Creek, near Warburton, told his four children that if they wanted their bicycles at Inverloch for the holidays, they could ride the 93 miles …

“So at 5am last Thursday, Russell, 12, Sandra, 10, and twins Glen and Julie, 9, set off on the long trip ...”

So starts this story in the Wonthaggi Express of January 9, 1969.

When Teresa Coldebella republished the cutting on her Facebook site Old Photos of Wonthaggi it took off too, with comments marvelling at the endurance of these little tykes.

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The mystery remains

16/10/2025

The Herald, Wednesday evening, August 29, 1917

By Catherine Watson

MAXINE Cummings was searching Trove for local newspaper articles about marram grass when she came upon an article about the discovery of a huge skeleton at Tarwin Lower in 1917.

According to other newspaper accounts, the discovery caused great astonishment in and around Tarwin.

“I have asked a friend who grew up in Tarwin beside the Black family if she had ever heard of this, but no,” Maxine wrote to the Post.

Further research reveals the Mr Le Souëf mentioned in the article was director of the Melbourne Zoological Gardens in the early 1900s. A keen photographer, he deposited his vast collection with the State Library of Victoria but we could find no photos of the mysterious bones in the collection.

At a dead end, I asked ChatGPT which unearthed the following:

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A gentle hand

15/10/2025

Vic Benetti: Everyone remembers the smile.

By Frank Coldebella and Catherine Watson

COMMENTS about the recently departed tend to be over-generous but Vic Benetti’s epitaph was spot on: “A kind humble man who found joy in helping others.”

Everyone remembers the smile. That and the Tuscan villa he built when he was a young bachelor. In Italy it wouldn’t have attracted a second look. In Wonthaggi it was a landmark. Cars still slow as they pass.

Vic was just over a month shy of his 98th birthday when he died on August 31. He’d spent the past few years living at Rose Lodge, after his beloved Maureen died. There were always visitors: five of his seven children live locally, as well as many of his 17 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.

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Rescuing the rescue station

14/8/2025

State Coal Mine rescue station. Drawing by Dennis Leversha

By Carolyn Landon

DENNIS Leversha’s final project was a small booklet published at the end of 2024 by the Wonthaggi Historical Society. Its title is History of the Rescue Station, State Coal Mine, Wonthaggi. On its cover is a beautiful and accurate drawing of the rescue station as it looked in 1975, a bit worn with sagging doors and broken windows.

That drawing was a testament to the fine lines of the old building, but also a possible acknowledgement that it, too, would go the way of the great No. 5 Brace structure that was the centre of the State Coal Mine project and still visible to this day but barely standing.

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The Nobbies jinx

23/7/2025

The Nobbies Centre, centre of mini tornadoes and multi-million dollar court battles.
Photo: Marcus Wong (Creative Commons)

By Catherine Watson

THE recent closure of the Nobbies Centre due to structural damage is the latest twist in a long saga that includes mini tornados and multi-million-dollar court battles and brings to mind the word jinx.

The site was the focus of a heroic – and ultimately futile – community battle against a proposed commercial development that has haunted successive governments.

In the late 1990s, the Kennett Liberal Government struck a deal with developer Ken Armstrong to build a major marine tourism centre at the Nobbies. Tourism on the island until then had been modest.

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Across the waters

8/6/2025

BY Pam Richmond

THE first ferryman to French Island, Les Peterson, was once required to deliver a baby on a trip to the island.

When author Christine Dineen related this story to a roomful of fascinated locals in Corinella recently, Les’s daughter happened to be in the audience and told how she was named after the ferry.

Local history doesn’t get much more immediate than that!

U3A BASS Valley combined with the Corinella District Community Centre to host Christine’s fascinating presentation about French Island’s history, people, flora and fauna.

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Crays, muttonfish and gars with tails like pick-axes

7/6/2025

Fishing yarns from the Bunurong Coast

By Rees Quilford

MY UNCLE Foxy once told me a fishing story that made me laugh. It was the 1970s, he was driving the beat-up old Holden ute he had back then. He’d finished milking for the morning, and was heading back into Wonthaggi along Wilsons Road. Back then it wasn’t much more than a goat track. It was dusty and rutted, which meant the radio constantly dropped in and out. Foxy spotted a familiar figure riding his bike up ahead. It was Jimmy Macdonnell, the bloke who lived in the huts on the edge of Foxy’s farm. Jim was making his way slowly along the road. As Foxy slowed down to say g’day, he saw the battered wooden crate lashed to the handlebars.

Catch a few to today, Jim? Yup, got a few.

As he got closer, Foxy realised how good a day it was.

That bloody box was overflowing with Gars Old Jim had caught down at The Wreck. And I’ll tell you what, the things had tails the size of bloody pickaxes! That’s how it was back then.

Foxy finishes telling the story, shakes his head, then starts yuck yuck yucking to himself (as is his way).

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Wonthaggi's war

25/3/2025

BASS Coast veterans, family and councillors have paid tribute to local servicemen with the unveiling of a plaque at the Arcade Plaza in Wonthaggi marking the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Waitavolo in New Guinea in March 1945.

The Plaza Arcade was used as a drill hall by a Company of the 14th Battalion, The Prahran Regiment, from 1937 till the end of the Second World War. There were many local enlistments from the Wonthaggi area.

Wonthaggi RSL president Kevin Walsh, who helped to organise the event, said up to 40 battalion members were from the local area.

At the start of the war, the battalion was mobilised and initially sent to guard vital installations near Geelong. On the fall of Timor in early 1942 it was rushed by rail to Geraldton in Western Australia to bolster the defences against a possible Japanese landing.

The battalion was later sent to Darwin to strengthen the defences of the top end. As the threat to Australia receded the battalion was partially demobilised and merged with the 32 Battalion to form the 14/32nd Battalion.

It was as the 14/32nd Battalion that the local enlistments from the Wonthaggi area took part in the amphibious Landing at Jaquinot Bay in New Britain and the successful attack on Bacon Hill for which the battalion was granted the Battle Honour of Waitavolo.

Mr Walsh said the battalion lost 31 killed and 46 wounded throughout the war and most of these casualties occurred during the battle of Waitavolo. The capture of Waitavolo was the last major operation against the Japanese in New Guinea.

The Battle of Waitavolo

Bacon Hill called Mount Sugi by the Japanese was the dominant feature in the south of the Gazelle Peninsula in New Britain near the Tol Plantation.
The Australian 19th Battalion captured some of the surrounding features before the 14/32nd Battalion relieved them and was tasked with capturing Bacon Hill itself.
The battle itself was fought in dense jungle and movement was by a number of at times sniper covered tracks that could only be traversed in single file.
Two Companies took part in the final assault from the South West scrambling up a steep jungle covered ridge under heavy fire.

Australian War Memorial

He said it was difficult to discern how many enlisted in Wonthaggi from the records he could access as they didn't specify place of original enlistment.

“Most were recorded as enlisting in Western Australia when the two battalions were merged.
But I found one wounded soldier who was clearly from Wonthaggi – a McAlpine who listed his place of birth as Wonthaggi.”

Cr Tim O’Brien and Cr Meg Edwards unveiled the plaque honouring the bravery and sacrifice of the soldiers.

“This humble plaque and what it commemorates is part of the Wonthaggi story,” said Cr O’Brien. “It ensures that the bravery and sacrifice of the 58/32 Battalion in the Battle of Waitavolo will not be forgotten.”

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The trail blazers

21/3/2025

Members of the Wonthaggi Miners Women’s Auxiliary, 1967. Agnes Doig is fourth from the right in the back row. Agnes Chambers is second from the right in the front row. She died two years later, aged 86. Photo: Wonthaggi & District Historical Society

By Catherine Watson

IT WOULD be easy to mistake them for a bunch of ladies who lunch, but you are looking at a group of revolutionaries.

The photo of the Wonthaggi Miners Women’s Auxiliary (WMWA) was taken in 1967, when some of the members were past their prime. But in the preceding 33 years, these women had changed the course of union and social history around Australia.

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Big plans for this little shed

31/1/2025

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The Cowes Jetty Goods Shed has worn many hats over the years. Now vacant, it awaits its
next transformation.

IF YOU walk down Thompson Avenue and cross the Esplanade, you'll find a charming little yellow shack with green doors and a distinctive red bow roof tucked behind the Cowes Jetty Triangle: the Cowes Jetty Goods Shed.

It’s hard to miss as this humble structure is the first building to greet passengers disembarking from the ferry. It has done so for more than 150 years.

Built in 1873, the Cowes Jetty Goods Shed was once the lifeblood of the island. Back when the sea was Phillip Island’s only link to the mainland, it securely housed goods, materials, and maritime gear—everything from household essentials to supplies for local industries. For the residents, it was indispensable; for mariners, it was a safe haven for their tools and equipment.

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Avenues of honour

14/11/2024

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The seven trees with their memorial cairn are dedicated to the memory of seven young men of Kongwak who lost their lives in service to their country between 1939 and 1945.

By Jillian Durance

ON 11 November, as every year, Kongwak’s school children observed one minute’s silence and laid their poppies at the memorial cairn in this Valley of Peace.

Remembrance Day commemorates the end of the Great War on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day and the eleventh month of 1918.

With so many Australian dead on the battlefields on Gallipoli, France, Belgium and the Middle East, the people at home sought to honour those who had so willingly gone to the front. Thus began the great memorial building movement throughout the nation: statues, cenotaphs, honour rolls, memorial buildings and avenues of honour in particular.

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History in the making

15/10/2024

Wonthaggi Historical Society curator Mark Robertson peruses Sir Roy Grounds’ hand-drawn plans for Wonthaggi’s Historical Park.

By Catherine Watson

THERE was to be a visitors centre, a lecture hall and a lookout. Visitors would be transported by train around the old mine site to take in the buildings and artefacts.

Wonthaggi’s historical theme park would be the real deal, “a magnificent state asset”, the architect assured the Wonthaggi Lions club when he unveiled the project. “There is no risk about its success.”

This was no two-bob tout but the famous architect Sir Roy Grounds, then at the height of his fame. He had completed the National Gallery of Victoria and was working on the Melbourne Arts Centre, incorporating Hamer Hall and the theatres.

Yet in 1973 he found time to visit Wonthaggi to map out a 60-acre park on the grounds of the old No 5 mine brace area.

“Wonthaggi’s coal mining theme will be unique and if I did not believe in its success I would not be associated with it as your honorary architect,” the Sentinel Times reports him telling the Lions.

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The line to Wonthaggi

13/7/2024