HISTORY
Early reports of the area suggested the region was "thick with honeysuckle and sheoak", and that
the area from Somers to Point Leo contained "good soil, good grass, and open forest timbered with Gums wattle and
She Oak trees".
Early settlers
were involved in wattle bark stripping and cutting piles and sleepers for shipping to Melbourne via Shoreham to the
southwest.
1857. The Government enacted a series of Land Acts designed
to open the land, dividing it into small blocks and hoping to create a living for
small-scale farmers.
1865. The Parish of
Balnarring was surveyed,as part of the "Agricultural Area of Mount McMahon". Most of the selectors
were orchardists although dairymen also took an interest in the area.
1920s, The construction of cool stores at Red Hill increased their ability to trade their produce with
the outside world.
1866, a post office opened and a school shortly afterwards.
1869.
An inn and store called the Tower Hotel operated by the Van Suylens on their property, "Warrawee", was established
to serve local residents on the
Frankston-Flinders road.
This and the Sandy Point Road had already been established as tracks, as indicated on an 1874 map of the area.
An 1891 map shows a blacksmith's store where the panel beaters operation presently stands
at this intersection.
1902. A writer described Balnarring as a "little wayside
hamlet on the road between Hastings and Flinders probably one of the least pretentious in the state. It consists
chiefly of a state school, but there are a few buildings within sight of the main road".
1962. The Victorian Municipal Directory stated Balnarring had
a "post and telegraph office, two churches, mechanics' institute and library".
1921. The railway station in Balnarring opened on 2
December but, like its Red Hill branch line, was relatively short-lived, officially closing on 29 June 1953.
However, it was kept in service for annual local events until about 10 years after the closure.
1899..On 23 August 1899, the Balnarring Mechanics' Institute
was opened by the Hon. F.S. Grimwade (MLC North Yarra, 1891–1904). It was a timber hall, used as a
community hall and social centre by the community until the 1960s. A new hall was built in 1969.
1970. The Mechanics' Institute building
burned down, and in 1979 a reserve was declared in its original location.
