A whisper of lyrebirds once filled this very air. Welcome to Bena.
Bena a small village in South Gippsland is more than just a dot on the map. Its story is woven into the fabric of Victoria’s history. Settled in the late 1870s Bena thrived alongside the Great Southern Railway.
Imagine the bustle of 1890. Hundreds of railway workers filled the streets. A 40-room hotel a bakery a coffee palace even a butcher’s shop catered to them. The town was initially named Cromwell after a private township survey by Robert Fuller and his son. But the railway station and school adopted the name Bena. This Aboriginal word possibly referring to the lyrebird gradually replaced Cromwell. Bena stuck.
The post office opened in 1890. Its name was inspired by Longfellow’s Hiawatha. In the poem Bena is an Indian word for pheasant. It’s a fitting name for a place where the lyrebird’s song once echoed. This is a little known fact.
The butter factory opened in 1893 a testament to Bena’s burgeoning dairy industry. Cream arrived by rail and wagon. The hotel sadly was demolished in 1942. The butter factory met a similar fate in 1942 being absorbed by the Loch factory.
The town had a Presbyterian church built in 1908. An Anglican church followed in 1937 arriving from the declining coal-mining town of Outtrim. Bena even boasted a Young Farmers Club thriving until 1962. But times changed. Churches closed. The railway line ceased operation and the station was demolished. The primary school closed in 2006.
Yet Bena endures. Its spirit lives on in the Korumburra-Bena Football and Netball Club and the area’s thriving dairy industry. Bena’s story is one of growth and change. A resilient community that has faced challenges and adapted to the changing times. A story that continues to be written.