Historical information

Ouyen is a rural township near the centre of the Mallee region in north-west Victoria. It is on the Sunraysia Highway, 100 km south of Mildura, and is a railway junction for the lines to Mildura and westwards through the Mallee to Murrayville and Pinnaroo, South Australia.
In 1903 the railway line was extended from Woomelang (80 km south of Ouyen) to Mildura, the site of an irrigation settlement on the Murray River. The prospect of farming in the Mallee had been enhanced by settlements at Hopetoun and Lascelles (both near Woomelang), and the opening of the railway line invited settlement along its route. Settlers began arriving in the Ouyen district in 1906, and the township was proclaimed in 1909. It is thought that the name was derived from an Aboriginal word meaning ghost or waterhole.
West of Ouyen an area of land extending to the South Australian border was found to be adequate for farming and contained bore water (1906). Settlement spread westwards from about 1909 to Walpeup and beyond. Ouyen began functioning as a service centre. A school was opened in 1909 in a coffee palace and public hall. Within 15 years of its settlement Ouyen had 900 people, and was the administrative centre of Walpeup shire (1911). A shire hall was built in 1918.
A district hospital was built in 1929, and a higher education school was opened in 1928. It became a high school in 1952. A Catholic primary school was also opened in 1952. By the 1930s, though, Ouyen had a local court, four banks, an agricultural society, sporting and racing clubs, and local industries such as cordial making, plaster sheet, a freezing works and an electricity generation plant. Silos were later built for the storage and railing of cereal grains.

Physical description

"A Mallee Album. Reflections on Mallee Life" published by Local History Resource Centre, Ouyen. Foreword by The Local History Resource Centre Committee, Ouyen. A collection of images from the area and brief description associated with each image. Published in Australia by Local History Resource centre, Ouyen, 1988. White colored hard cover book. Black and white photograph on front cover. Titles printed in black. Book includes black and white photographs of local people and events. 153 pp.