A meeting was held in Gardner's Hall, Beech Forest, for the purposes of considering the advisability of having butter factory established in the Beech Forest district. It was eventually agreed that a butter factory should be established, that provisional directors should be appointed, and upwards of 400 shares were taken up immediately. A second meeting was held on 20 May 1902 of about 40 dairymen. The meeting became a meeting of shareholders resolving to expedite the registration of the company and other preliminary matters. The election of directors then took place. Another meeting of shareholders held on the 15 July 1902 resolved to purchase a property and have the by-laws accepted. An Extraordinary General Meeting was held on 6 August 1902 to confirm all the resolutions passed by the Board.A ledger containing the records of the Beech Forest Butter Factory Minute Book from 18 March, 1902, the date the Butter Factory starts, until 6 February, 1905.Beech Forest Butter Factory Minutes Book Donated to the Otway District Historical Society Inc. by the Colac & District Family History Group Inc. 1st May 2013beech forest; butter, factory, 1902, 1905, minute book,

In 1884 Frank Ball erected a house and general store beside the Gellibrand River at Gellibrand. These buildings were burnt in the 1886 bushfires so Ball rebuilt a large weatherboard building with accomodation rooms for guests. In the same year he also acquired a Roadside Victuallers Licence. From the purchase of the hotel by Mark Marks in 1895 the hotel passed through the publicans' hands of Joe Marks (who replaced the original hotel with a grand masonry structure), Henry Wills, Ellen Pathe, another Marks licensee, Charles Sharp (adding a new accomodation wing and tennis court), Ray Stewart, Arthur McKenzie, Jim Fry from Beech Forest, and Colin and Noeline Sinclair. There have been several owners and licensees since then, the last co-owners being Dylan Kane and Michael Elton with the licensee being Annie Notley. While not strictly hotel business there are also pieces about the Gellibrand School, timber processing, sports and churches.History of the Gellibrand Hotel: a work in progress. Annie Notley. 1st ed. Annie Notley; Gellibrand (Vic); 2014. 120p.; illus, maps. Hard cover.gellibrand; gellibrand hotel; wonga hotel; schools; football;