Our History

Exploration and Settlement

Searching for fresh pastures to supplement the pastoral empire of his employer Lachlan Macalister, Angus McMillan ventured south from the Monaro Tablelands, opening up Gippsland as far as Port Albert in 1841. Unbeknown to them, six weeks earlier the coastal steamer 'Clonmel' had been shipwrecked near Port Albert, all aboard surviving the mishap and being rescued. The survivors so enthused about the possibilities the land offered, that a party of hopefuls soon set sail to create a settlement.

In 1840, between McMillan's third and fourth journey, Polish born Count Strzelecki followed McMillan's track through Gippsland to the Latrobe River. He intended to proceed due south to Corner Inlet, but the dense forest of the ranges, later named after him, forced him to abandon his horses and turn west.

Very soon other parties were entering into the area. In one of these parties was a young settler from the Port Phillip district, Edward Hobson, who approached the district from the west. He was very impressed with the country in the vicinity of the junction of the Traralgon Creek and the Latrobe River. His brother, Dr. Edmund Hobson, took up a run of 19,000 acres and made his brother Edward his overseer, and in June 1844 Edward arrived with a mob of cattle and constructed a hut, the first building to be erected in our district.

During 1845 other settlers began to move into the area and in 1846 a track to Melbourne through West Gippsland had been opened up. To the north and east, Upper Gippsland had more than quadrupled, owing largely to the discovery of gold.

In 1858, Duncan Campbell built the Travelers' Rest Hotel in Traralgon to accommodate the needs of a growing population. Not long after, gold was discovered on the Tanjil. As Traralgon was on the direct route to the gold fields it soon began to grow. Shops were being established, churches and schools, and several more hotels.

Indigenous Beginnings

The first Gippslanders, the ancestors of the Gunnai/Kurnai, inhabited the region at least 22,000 years ago in the grip of the last ice age. During the next 15,000 years the climate became substantially warmer and wetter and the ice retreated to the higher peaks of the Eastern Highlands. The climate as we know it emerged, and with it the plants and animals adapted to it.

Evidence suggests that local indigenous culture developed into stone tool technology about 5000 years ago, local quarries efficiently exploited to supply highly mobile hunting parties moving through the districts.

The people were educated from an early age in the intricate knowledge needed to exploit bush medicines as well as bush tucker, together with their place in the tribe as governed by age, sex and line-age.

The region provided a physical environment that linked past, present and future, encompassing the spiritual and the living.

For many decades the Gunnai/Kurnai heard rumours of the white invaders and long before they saw them for the first time, suffered from the introduced exotic diseases. Strange objects from the northern settlements and from Bass Strait and Van Diemen's Land entered the Gunnai/Kurnai trade routes, together with stories from the frontiers of "jumped up blackfellows carrying shooting sticks who rode snorting beasts".

The historical record of white contact in Gippsland was bloodier than most. This was partly due to the region's isolation from the seats of British civilisation and authority, and though the majority of whites were devout, hard working and law abiding common folk, the predominantly young, male, white population included a small proportion of hardened ex-convicts and escapees, world-weary soldiers, and fortune seekers who had little compassion for the Gunnai/Kurnai, and little respect for the law.

The Call for Local Government

The early 1860's in Gippsland were marked by an increasing clamour for local government, particularly after the passage of the Government's District Councils' Bill in 1863, and the introduction of a Local Government Bill the following year.

Agitation within the Rosedale district promised improved administration for the tiny communities to the west, as the institution of local government spread from the old port of Port Albert on the coast to the new Borough of Sale proclaimed in 1863.

Over the next six years, communities in the Rosedale district waged a protracted battle to break away from Sale's dominance and concentrate on their own affairs. Despite repeated delays, the Rosedale Road Board was eventually proclaimed extending to the Morwell River, and the first council meeting took place in May 1869.

The Board's territory extended as far west as 'the Morwell', and the people of Traralgon, Morwell Bridge, Hazelwood and Maryvale at least felt more closely tied to the town that had dominated their interest for so long.

By the beginning of 1878 it was obvious that shires had to be formed between the Rosedale Shire in the east, and Berwick Shire to the west. In May a public meeting was held and a committee formed to plan boundaries and forward a petition to the government.

On 20 September 1878 the Narracan Shire was gazetted, stretching from the Moe River a little beyond Yarragon, to the existing Rosedale Shire boundary. Not everyone was pleased. Many were unhappy about a rate burden being imposed upon their already heavy financial commitments.

Elections took place on 12 November 1878 and resulted in the election of nine councilors from a field of fourteen. The new council met for the first time on 27 November in Moe. In 1880 a petition from Mirboo requested the Minister to sever the district from the Alberton Shire to the Narracan Shire. The request was granted, resulting in the shire stretching south almost to Korumburra.

The Will of the People

Between 1873 and 1877 there were three major attempts to divide the Shire of Rosedale. Initially these were for North and South Ridings, but with the construction of the Gippsland railway, pressure mounted to create a separate riding to the west, taking in Traralgon and Morwell.

The agitation finally proved successful in 1877 with the formation of the Traralgon Riding of the Rosedale Shire. In 1878 the people of Morwell became disenchanted with Traralgon's dominance of the Traralgon Riding but saw merit in joining with Traralgon in proposing a separate shire for the rapidly growing area. The Shire of Traralgon was duly constituted in October 1879.

By early 1884 there was rapidly growing agitation to divide the Traralgon Shire into ridings to ensure better representation for people, and pressure increased as construction gangs pushed the Morwell to Mirboo railway further south.

By the middle of 1885 the West Riding was a reality. In 1886 a severance movement to create a Shire of Morwell was formed but it would be six years before the government finally agreed. On 27 May 1892 the official proclamation was published, and the Shire of Morwell came into being.

In January 1909 the seat of local government in the Narracan Shire moved to Trafalgar, and in 1955, Moe seceded from the shire to become the Borough of Moe. On 6 March 1963, Moe and Newborough were proclaimed the City of Moe, with annexation of Moe South and Yallourn Heights to the City of Moe in 1990.

Traralgon Shire was shorn of its town sector when the town became a Borough in 1961. The Borough was finally declared the City of Traralgon in 1964. The idea that the Shire of Morwell adopt a more befitting 'City' status had its origins in 1946/7 when the council confirmed its intention to change to a Borough.

In 1973/4 the issue re-emerged, however it was not until 23 September 1990 that the City of Morwell was proclaimed.

The formation of La Trobe Shire

The La Trobe Shire was created on 2 December, 1994 with the amalgamation of the former Cities of Moe, Morwell, and Traralgon, the Shire of Traralgon, and parts of the Shires of Rosedale and Narracan; and is the third largest municipality outside metropolitan Melbourne and Geelong with over 70,000 residents.

The municipality encompasses an area of 1,422 square kilometres and takes its name from the Administrator and later Lieutenant Governor of the Colony of Victoria, Charles Joseph La Trobe.

Between 1994 and 1996 the Shire was led by three Commissioners appointed by the Victorian State Government. This was part of a state-wide local government reform initiated by the State Government which saw over a thousand elected municipal councillors sacked, and the number of councils decreased through amalgamation from 210 to just 78. Each of the newly amalgamated councils was governed by commissioners.

In October 1996 the Minister for Planning and Local Government approved the proposed ward structure for the La Trobe Shire's return to elected councillors. The Minister agreed to a seven single member ward structure with three-year terms. The Minister also agreed that La Trobe Shire Councillors would be elected through a full postal voting system.

The State Electoral Office was appointed to undertake the election on Council's behalf and the Returning Office received fifty-one nominations for the seven positions. The election period commenced on 25 February 1997 and the voter participation rate was 76%. This was above the State average of 72.4%. Councillors were sworn in at the Statutory Meeting held on 21 March, 1997.  Those elected to the First Council were: Cr Lorraine Bartling, Cr Tony Hanning, Cr Helen Hoppner, Cr Brendan Jenkins, Cr Graeme Middlemiss, Cr Darrell White, and Cr Anthony Zimora. At the Statutory Meeting the Council elected Cr Darrell White as Mayor for a twelve-month period.  Cr Brendan Jenkins was elected as Mayor for the term March 1998 - March 1999, and Cr Lorraine Bartling from March 1999 - March 2000. Ms Penny Holloway was appointed Chief Executive Officer by the La Trobe Shire Council. 

La Trobe Shire becomes Latrobe City

With approximately 85% of the Latrobe Shire community living in urban areas, and the remainder in either rural or semi-rural areas; together with the belief that it would send a strong message to government and industry that the Shire was progressive and ready for business, the Shire Council considered a designation of 'City' status more appropriate than 'Shire'.

In 1999, Council began lobbying the Victorian State Government to this effect,   lodging a formal submission to the Minister for Local Government, the Hon Bob Cameron on 8 November 1999. In reply, the Minister requested a further period of public consultation and following this, a hearing of public submissions took place at a Special Council Meeting held on 19 January 2000. On 31 March 2000, The Hon Keith Hamilton, Minister for Agriculture and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs publicly announced the State Government's   change of status for the municipality from Shire of La Trobe to Latrobe City. This was officially gazetted on 6 April 2000.

At the same time the City status came into being, the 'La Trobe' became 'Latrobe' reflecting the established version of the name emanating from the 'Latrobe Valley', the region surrounding the Latrobe River. This had become the accepted standard from October 1949, when the then State Government of the day initiated a focus on regional planning that required more definitive regional boundaries than just 'Gippsland', and created the 'Latrobe Valley'.

The Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Councils

Council elections were held in March 2000 for the second (La Trobe Shire/ Latrobe City) Council with the following Councillors being elected: Cr Tony Hanning, Cr Brendan Jenkins, Cr Darrell White, Cr Graeme Middlemiss, Cr Graeme Bond, Cr Lisa Proctor and Cr Anthony Zimora.  Cr Tony Hanning served as Mayor for the year March 2000 - March 2001, Cr Brendan Jenkins from March 2001 - October 2002, and Cr Tony Hanning from October 2002 - March 2003.  Following the untimely death of Cr Graeme Bond in January 2002, Cr Peter Tyler was elected in March 2002 to serve the remaining term of the Second Council.

A restructure of ward boundaries to facilitate an increase in the number of municipal wards from seven to nine, took place prior to Council elections for the Third Council held in March 2003.  The following Councillors were elected to the Third Council: Cr Sheridan Bond, Cr Bruce Lougheed, Cr Graeme Middlemiss, Cr Lisa Price, Cr Lisa Proctor, Cr Bob Smith, Cr Peter Tyler, Cr Darrell White, and Cr Anthony Zimora.  Cr Graeme Middlemiss served as Mayor for the year March 2003 - March 2004, Cr Darrell White from March 2004 - December 2004, and Cr Bruce Lougheed from December 2004 - November 2005.

Ms Penny Holloway resigned her position as Chief Executive Officer in April 2001, with Mr Paul Buckley appointed as Acting CEO during the selection period. Mr Richard Hancock was appointed CEO in August 2001 and served until May 2004. Mr Paul Buckley was appointed Acting CEO following Mr Hancock's departure, and was appointed Chief Executive Officer by Council in August 2004.

In March 2005 the majority of Council's administration was relocated from a number of administration offices across the municipality to the purpose built corporate headquarters located in Commercial Road Morwell.    

As part of a state-wide reform process, elections for the Fourth Council were realigned to November 2005. The following Councillors were elected to the Fourth Council: Cr Derek Amos, Cr Doug Caulfield, Cr Susan Lloyd, Cr Bruce Lougheed, Cr Graeme Middlemiss, Cr Lisa Price, Cr Darrell White, Cr David Wilson and Cr Anthony Zimora. Cr Lisa Price was elected Mayor for the first twelve-month term and Cr Anthony Zimora was elected Mayor for the second twelve-month term. Following the resignation of Cr Derek Amos effective 1 May 2007, a by-election for the Galbraith Ward was conducted. Cr Sandy Kam was subsequently elected as the Galbraith Ward Councillor. In December 2007, Cr Bruce Lougheed was elected Mayor for the third twelve-month term of the Council.

During 2007, as part of its obligations under the Victorian Local Government Act, Latrobe City initiated an electoral representation review of the municipality. The Victorian Electoral Commission was appointed by Latrobe City to undertake the review, which considered the number of councillors and the City’s ward structure. As a consequence of the review, the municipality retained its existing ward structure but a number of changes to ward boundaries were made, effective for the November 2008 election.

In November 2008, as part of a state-wide reform process, every municipality in Victoria held local government elections on the same day, with those candidates elected to hold office for a four year term. The following Councillors were elected to the Fifth Council: Cr Rohan Fitzgerald, Cr Sharon Gibson, Cr Sandy Kam, Cr Bruce Lougheed, Cr Graeme Middlemiss, Cr Kellie O’Callaghan, Cr Lisa Price, Cr Darrell White, and Cr Ed Vermeulen. In December 2008, Cr Lisa Price was elected Mayor for the first twelve-month term of the Counciland in December 2009, Cr Kellie O’Callaghan was elected Mayor for the second twelve-month term.