It’s been four decades since the town she grew up in was bulldozed, but still Chris French meets annually with others who shared her unique upbringing.
Key points:
- The town of Yallourn was built in the 1920s to house workers for Victoria’s State Electricity Commission
- At its peak, this state-of-the-art town had a population of 5,000
- It was dismantled 40 years ago to allow the coal underneath to be mined
Nestled beside the Yallourn Power Station in the Latrobe Valley in south-eastern Victoria, the company town of Yallourn was run by the government-owned State Electricity Commission (SEC), with designated housing for its workers.
It was designed as a “garden city”, based on a British town planning concept which emphasised a balance between green areas, industry and agriculture.
At its peak, the town had a population of 5,000 people and was complete with its own state-of-the-art facilities for sport, theatre and schooling.
But in 1968 it was decided the town would be torn up to expand the open-cut brown coalmine, forcing families to relocate across the region.
Despite these unusual circumstances, Ms French has nothing but positive memories of her former home.
“It was absolutely unique,” she said.
“It was a wonderful place to grow up because it had everything.
“Sadly, [the annual lunches] are getting a bit smaller because there’s no new residents in Yallourn, so the ones that drop off the list aren’t getting replaced.”
Pieces of history
As the Latrobe Valley looks ahead to a clean energy future, the memory of Yallourn has been preserved through past residents and admirers.
A nearby church has repurposed the old pews, another Latrobe Valley resident used the bricks from the hotel for paving, and a piece of furniture from the Yallourn hospital lives on as a bedside table.
Just across the road from Yallourn’s open-cut mine is the Old Brown Coal Mine Museum, which houses items such as the original boiler feed pump and dredging equipment used at the power station.
About 30 kilometres north-east in Toongabbie, Barry Gregson lives in one of Yallourn’s original A-frame homes that was used to house workers.
The house was shifted in 1975 and Mr Gregson, who worked as a builder at power stations across the Latrobe Valley, was drawn to the property for its historical quirk and cheap price tag.
But there was one downside — an accumulation of coal dust, which for years would fall from the ceiling throughout the house.
“You’d see it just nonstop, a very fine powdery brew, it was hard to get off you,” Mr Gregson said.
“You’re snorting the stuff in it’s so fine.”
A new legacy
As the coal dust settles and renewable energy rises, Morwell resident Harlequin Goodes wonders what the future will hold for her generation.
The 21-year-old’s grandparents lived in Yallourn and worked at power stations in the Latrobe Valley but, like many others, she is looking forward to a future powered by renewable energy.
The existing Yallourn and Loy Yang brown coal power stations are the largest producers of pollution per unit in Australia.
Energy Australia will close Yallourn Power Station in 2028 and AGL’s Loy Yang A will close in 2035.
Energy Australia Latrobe Valley community relations lead David Burt said the company is still planning what to do with the 5,000-hectare site, including the mine and power station infrastructure, when it’s closed.
“Our land comes right up to the township [of Yallourn North], so there may be an opportunity when we close for that land to be used to help to develop the town,” he said.
According to Australian Bureau of Statistics data for March, the unemployment rate in the Latrobe Valley was at 5.6 per cent, above the state average of 3.7 per cent.
The Victorian Skills Authority has projected more than 12,000 jobs will be created across the region through renewable energy projects by 2025.
Having attended community forums focused on engaging young and diverse voices on the topic of transition, Ms Goodes said she wants investments from new energy projects to have benefits for local people.
“I’d really like for the air around me to stop being so polluted and for the energy I use to be cheap,” she said.
“It’d be really nice if people could start taking that kind of pride in their local area again.”
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