Back to school for Loch’s 150th Anniversary
Loch’s 150th Anniversary celebrations culminated in a back-to-school event at Loch Primary School.
IT SURE was some party for Loch’s 150th Anniversary celebrations with hundreds attending the big weekend of activities which culminated in a back-to-school event at Loch Primary School.
Former residents returned to catch up with friends and attend a comprehensive program of events that had been months in the planning by the organising committee.
Blessed with ideal weather it was an ideal opportunity for both current and former residents to appreciate what a special community Loch was and still is not to mention the many old friendships and acquaintances that were renewed.
Whether it was laughing, reminiscing or just talking with friends the whole town was buzzing with a sausage sizzle at Sunnyside Park on Friday night and the launch of a new history book by Lorraine Knox and the 150th Anniversary committee, displays of old machinery, memorabilia and historic photos at the Loch Memorial Reserve, Bowling Club and Loch Public Hall, the unveiling of a 150th commemorative seat at Centennial Park, the digging up of a Loch Football Club time capsule, a Loch Young Farmers Reunion, Open Day at local facilities, the cutting of a commemorative cake, an historical re-enactment featuring one of Loch’s first settlers Mrs A.R. Smith, local history trivia night, the Loch Village Sunday market, an ecumenical church service and the school reunion at Loch Primary School.
Many visitors also took time to take a self-guided tour of the Loch Village History Walk. The walk starts at the Loch Brewery & Distillery, which was built in 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 a historic police lock-up first used in the district in 1884 and relocated to 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.
