Poowong is a small

dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...

ing town located in South Gippsland, in the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n state of Victoria. At the , Poowong had a population of 360. It is from Melbourne and about north-west of Korumburra.

History

The first application for land in the Parish of Poowong was made on 17 April 1874 by James Scott for 320 acres of allotment 5, the selection made on behalf on his son Robert Scott. Four more selectors pegged out allotments within the next twelve months. On part of the Scott land a store, pub and butcher's shop were built. The Poowong Hotel was built by 1880 but it was destroyed by fire in 1883. A Post Office opened around January 1878. The first survey of townships allotments took place in 1879. The heavily timbered and hilly nature of the area meant selectors took years to clear enough of their land to make a living from their selections.

Facilities

For a town of its size, Poowong is quite well off with regard to its facilities. These include four tennis courts, two netball courts, an indoor basketball and squash stadium, a primary school, large community hall, outdoor swimming pool, a number of churches and an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

oval. The town has an Australian Rules football team and a netball team competing in the Ellinbank & District Football League and the Ellinbank & District Netball Association respectively.

Community projects

The Poowong community is active, with many projects being undertaken by various community groups. The largest group, by far, is the Poowong Football & Netball Club who involve themselves not only in sporting projects, but also in projects helping the wider community. One such project is the 'My Connected Community' project which was being run by the Poowong Football Club in a partnership with the Strzelecki Lions Club, and was designed to increase Internet use amongst community members.

Notable people from Poowong

* Wilfred Burchett – war correspondent * Albert Francis Ronalds - prominent civil engineer * Don Watson – writer and historian * Rudi Mandemaker – full forward representing South Australia in interstate Australian Rules football who also won the

Mark of the Year (SANFL) The annual South Australian National Football League (SANFL) Mark of the Year competition (currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Skilled Careers Mark of the Year) is a sporting award that celebrates each season's best mark. A mark is th ...

in 1989 *

Jai Newcombe Jai Newcombe (born 2 August 2001) is a professional Australian rules footballer with the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Early career Growing up in the small rural town of Poowong in Southern Gippsland. Newcomb ...

, AFL footballer for the Hawthorn Football Club

References

Towns in Victoria (Australia) Shire of South Gippsland {{Gippsland-geo-stub