150th Anniversary celebrations well attended in Loch

LOCH and District 150th Anniversary celebrations held over the Labour Day weekend attracted hundreds of local residents back to the historic South Gippsland town.

The event marked 150 years since the first settlement of Loch in 1876.

Friday night began with a free community sausage sizzle at Sunnyside Park and the launch of a new history book by Lorraine Knox and the 150th Anniversary committee titled Loch & District Settlement 1876 – 2026 Honouring our History.

Saturday’s activities included displays of old machinery, memorabilia and historic photos at the Memorial Reserve, Bowling Club and Loch Public Hall, the unveiling of a 150th commemorative seat at Centennial Park by Loch’s oldest resident John Tuckfield and a Tree of Life at Loch Primary School and the digging up of a Loch Football Club time capsule at the Loch Memorial Reserve.

Anniversary committee member Roy Jones was given the job of digging up the time capsule from where it was buried in 1993 after the last game of football in 1992.

President of the Loch CWA Helen Bryce and CWA member Louise Batchleor served up scones with jam and cream at the Loch Public Hall.

“The CWA always welcomes new members of all ages to have a good time, contribute to the community, and get some cookery lessons,” said Ms Bryce.

Saturday’s activities continued with a Loch Young Farmers Reunion, an Open Day at local facilities, the cutting of a commemorative cake and a very entertaining historical re-enactment featuring one of Loch’s first settlers Mrs A.R. Smith and a local history trivia night at the Loch Public Hall.

The Loch Village Sunday market was popular and on Monday an ecumenical church service combining the Uniting Church, Catholic, Church of England and Baptist Church was held at the Uniting Church in Roy Street followed by a school reunion and gathering at Loch Primary School which attracted hundreds of former residents back to Loch eager to swap stories, take group photos and reminisce about their old school days.

Many visitors took the time to take a self-guided tour of the Loch Village History Walk. The walk starts at the Loch Brewery & Distillery which was built 1902 for the Union Bank located on the corner of Victoria Road and Smith Street, Carrington’s was originally a bootmaker), Olive at Loch the Colonial Bank with an original baker's oven at the rear, and Peter McEwan Ceramics a former blacksmith's shop.

Sunnyside Park contains an historic police lock-up first used in the district in 1884 and relocated at Loch for preservation. The History Walk passes through a muralled underpass beneath the South Gippsland Highway to the old Loch Railway Station site and along a short section of the Great Southern Rail Trail.

A suspension bridge built in 2000 as a tribute to local veterans crosses Allsop's Creek and leads to the Loch Memorial Reserve which features an Avenue of Honour with oak trees and a seedling from the original Lone Pine at Gallipoli.

The return leg of the walk passes the Loch Public Hall and several historic churches. The Loch and District 150th Anniversary celebrations were supported by South Gippsland Shire Council, Loch Community Development Association and Opportunity Lochs. For more highlights of the anniversary weekend go the Loch & District 150 Years celebrations on Facebook.