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Poowong
Victoria
Poowong; Victoria
	Poowong Hotel
	Poowong
Coordinates	38°21′0″S 145°45′0″E / 38.35000°S 145.75000°E
Population	389 (UCL 2021)
Postcode(s)	3988
Location	111 km (69 mi) SE of Melbourne ; 29 km (18 mi) NW of Leongatha ; 15 km (9 mi) NW of Korumburra ; 12 km (7 mi) SE of Nyora ;
LGA(s)	South Gippsland Shire
County	Buln Buln
State electorate(s)	Gippsland East
Federal division(s)	Monash

Poowong is a small dairying town located in South Gippsland, in the Australian state of Victoria. At the 2016 census, Poowong had a population of 360.^[2]

It is 111 kilometres (69 mi) from Melbourne and about eight kilometres (5 mi) north-west of Korumburra.^[3]

The town has an Australian rules football team, the Poowong Magpies, which plays in the Ellinbank & District Football League.^[4]^[5]

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.^[6] 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.^[7]

A Post Office opened around January 1878.^[8] The first survey of townships allotments took place in 1879.^[9]

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 has a number of facilities. These include four tennis courts, two netball courts, an indoor basketball and squash stadium, a primary school, large community hall, outdoor swimming pool,^[10] a number of churches and an Australian rules football oval. The town has an Australian Rules football team and a netball team competing in the Ellinbank & District Football League^[11] 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 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 run by the Poowong Football Club in a partnership with the Strzelecki Lions Club, and was designed to increase Internet use amongst community members.^[12]

Popular culture

The Melbourne rock band Root!, in their album Root Supposed He Was Out of the Question..., released a song entitled "The Ballad Of The Poowong Magpies".^[13]

Notable people from Poowong

Wilfred Burchett – war correspondent
Albert Francis Ronalds - prominent civil engineer^[14]
Don Watson – writer and historian
Rudi Mandemaker^[15] – full forward representing South Australia in interstate Australian Rules football who also won the Mark of the Year (SANFL) in 1989
Jai Newcombe, AKA "The Poowong Punisher" an AFL footballer for the Hawthorn Football Club

References

^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Poowong (urban centre and locality)". Australian Census 2021.
^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Poowong". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
^ "Poowong Small West Gippsland dairy town" (Web). Sydney Morning Herald. 8 February 2004. Retrieved 24 November 2006.
^ "Home - Poowong Football Netball Club". GameDay. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
^ Henwood, Emily. "Poowong Football Netball Club". www.southgippsland.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
^ Hartnell, Ross (1974), Packtracks to Pastures: a history of Poowong district, Kurumburra, Poowong Centenary Committee, p.12. ISBN 0959867708
^ White, Joseph (1999), Poowong, the first 30 years, Poowong, Poowong Historical Group, p.17 & 260
^ Phoenix Auctions History. "Post Office List". Retrieved 22 February 2021.
^ Hartnell, p.76
^ "Poowong Outdoor Pool - South Gippsland Outdoor Pools". www.southgippslandpools.ymca.org.au. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
^ Full Points Footy. "Poowong". Archived from the original on 7 September 2008. Retrieved 25 July 2008.
^ Callum Forbes. "Poowong [online]". Forbes Technology. Archived from the original (Web) on 16 June 2005. Retrieved 24 November 2006.
^ "The ROOT! Compendium - Discography". 26 October 2009. Archived from the original on 26 October 2009. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
^ Beverley F Ronalds, 'Ronalds, Albert Francis (Bert) (1913–1999)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, accessed 11 May 2022
^ "Australian Football - Rudi Mandemaker - Player Bio". australianfootball.com. Retrieved 15 September 2019.