Lower Bogong History

This page on the history of Lower Bogong is being developed with acknowledgement to Graham Gardner "Kiewa Kids". Contributions from Ian White and Graeme Elliott are also appreciated.

Lower Bogong village (also known as Clover Flat), was established in 1941 and demolished in the early 50's. It must be the quickest town in Australia to have been built and then pulled down 15 years later. The handful of families that settled here beautified their house lots and were very proud tenants. To many, it was their first 'real' home.

The house sites, with their terraced landscapes and steps, up to each level, still remain today. It is known as an arboretum and many floral shrubs and bushes leftover from the worker's home sites are still visible.

A rare photo to the right of the newly built Clover Power Station hand painted over. The single workers building the power station, lived in accommodation cubes nearby and the married workers came from the Lower Bogong and Bogong Village homes.

Errol White, Ian White, Daryl Holt and
Eric Moore at the Lower Bogong sign.

Two winter and two summer photos of the Lower Bogong village
A handful of married couples resided here during the construction of Clover Dam and No. 3 Power Station.

The house above had as good as central heating, boasting one fireplace in the kitchen and one in the lounge room. Firewood was not a problem here as dead trees from the 1939 bush fires was abundant.

Ian White's plan of Site #4 from his memory and parents descriptions.

Dances were aplenty as it was really the only form of entertainment up in the isolated, wilderness of the Victorian high country.

Hazel White with sons Errol and Kim outside
their Lower Bogong home in 1948.

Kids gather at Ian White's parents home for a birthday party.

Ron Zeibell, Errol White and Ian White had their playground in the bush, which was often covered in snow.

Eric Moore, Bobby Ziebell, Ian White, Ron Ziebell and Errol White enjoying the fun times around the bush at Lower Bogong village.

Many of the kids from Lower Bogong Village went to the Bogong Village State School which was about 5km up the Bogong High Plains Road.

There are some names missing and possible errors below. It would be appreciated if anyone could assist with the brown areas or any other detail, by emailing Kim at [email protected] for any changes and updates.

The following pic is an updated version of the occupants at Lower Bogong Village, as kindly sent in by June Kerr (nee Melbourne). Thank you Roy and June for sharing these updates. I have kept the original for comparison.

Graeme Elliott's Memories of Lower Bogong

I was one of the lucky kids that lived at Lower Bogong. I was born on 22 Dec 1949 so I was quite young when I lived there. In 1955, we left and went to Mt Beauty to live in Kiewa Crescent. Why I remember this year is because I had just started Primary School.

Things I remember when living at Lower Bogong -

Lots of bush walking with Dad, often being piggy backed home.
Snow.
Having groceries delivered by truck. There was always a small bag of ETA brand salted peanuts for each of us kids.
Trips to Albury for shopping.
The road rules on the Bogong Road –

o   20 mph (32 km) speed limit.
o   You had to pull over and stop for cars coming the other way.
o   I think if you were on the embankment side of the road you had to give way.
o   At night, an extra rule/courtesy was to put the car headlights on parkers until the car with the right of way passed safely.

Graeme Elliott pictured in Grade 3 at Mt Beauty PS with "Pop" Campbell.

The Yackandandah hospital and Dr Nicholls surgery in the main street.
In the winter of 1954, I went to Bogong School and sometimes in a Land Rover. I was 4½ when I first went to school. It was one big class room for all grades with a generous playground area, but no oval.
The road to the race-line and the small train (the “Flea”) that went along beside the race-line to inspect for debris and drowned animals.
Dad (Adam "Ben" Elliott) made a small turbine that he trialled in the river and it actually worked.
Visits to № 3 power station.
Large blue tongue lizards that sunned themselves on the rock wall beside our house.
Dad respraying his 1946 Ford Mercury, Rego JL 587, to a cream colour as black was too hot. This was done in the garage opposite to our Lower Bogong house. The car stayed cream and in November, 1956, the Mercury was traded in (£180 I think) on a new Goliath GP900, 2 door sedan (£1200) Reg No GOE 364. The first long trip in the Goliath was to Wonthaggi to visit Dad's family and try out the 17” TV Dad built at Mt Beauty, to see the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games on TV and other programs on ABV2, HSV7 and GTV9. The TV worked well with some fine tuning for TV channels.
Later, at Mt Beauty, I remember Dr Martin's Mercedes sedan.

The map Ian White produced, for the above page on Lower Bogong, with house sites and names included, is pretty good. Writing this takes me back to "the old droving days". Thanks for the prompt to revisit these days. I last visited Lower Bogong in December, 2014 and took a few pictures. I really don't remember names of the families, but the Turner's lived close by with the Kreuzer’s and a French family. Michelle may have been one of the children. I think I was too young to remember. I really have enjoyed reading the yarns and antics at Mt Beauty on this site. I had many hearty chuckles ... thanks for that. Laughter IS the best medicine. Just to clarify, my Dad was named "Ben" by his father and family and that stuck. Everyone at Kiewa knew Dad as Ben but do you know that as soon as he moved away in 1961 he insisted on being called Adam. I just called him "Dad" as a kid and "the old man" to my friends when a teenager. Now, do you remember Sam the barber at Mt Beauty?

Cheers for now, Graeme Elliott.