Werribee, Victoria - History

History

The name Werribee is an aboriginal name meaning "backbone" or "spine". It is thought that this name was given as the shape of the Werribee River valley and the landscape look like a backbone. The Werribee River seems to have provided a boundary between the territories of the Woiwurong aborigines to the north east and the Wothowurong to the south west, although other tribal groups visited the area. One of these tribes was the Yawangi tribe, whose last survivor "King" Bill Leigh died on Wooloomanata Station (on the Geelong side of the You Yangs) in 1912.

Early leasing of pastures was led by members of John Batman's Port Phillip Association. A rural township began in the early 1850s. This village was named Wyndham (the name of the local Municipality today). The name derived from a suggestion by the owner of a local village inn, Elliott Armstrong, who sought to honour Scottish soldier Sir Henry Wyndham. The Post Office opened on 12 January 1858 as Wyndham and was renamed Werribee in 1904. However, its adjacent river was called the Werribee River, and the town's name was later changed to Werribee in 1884, and the Shire Council at that time was also renamed Werribee in 1909.

Werribee at this time was very popular for development. Thomas Chirnside, a person famous in this area even today, was attracted to the open plain's suitability for agricultural uses. By 1863 he controlled more than 280 square kilometres around Werribee. Chirnside bought other smaller holdings of land at this time. The town grew steadily, helped by a railway line from Melbourne to Geelong, with a station at Werribee in 1857. A religious school was opened in 1855 but was replaced by a public school in 1861. A Catholic church was also opened in the same year.

On 10 October 1862, the first Local Council – the Wyndham Road District – was started, but it was replaced by a Shire Council in 1864. The Shire was huge, extending from the inner suburbs of Melbourne to Little River to the northward town of Melton and covering 715 square kilometres.

Between 1860 and 1890, Werribee had two epicentres, the township and Werribee Park Mansion, owned by Chirnside. In 1878 a mansion was built and completed in Werribee Park, a major landmark today. Chirnside's brother Andrew also started to acquire land around Werribee, enlarging the area to nearly 400 square kilometres.

Thomas Chirnside committed suicide in 1887. He was found dead in the laundry at Werribee Park with a shotgun lying beside him. His brother Andrew died three years later, and the property was now divided between Andrew's two sons. A new mansion was built, called "The Manor" (not in the same place as the current suburb of Manor Lakes).

In 1881 a quarter of the Shire's population lived in the Werribee Township. There were hotels there, as well as recreational venues such as the Werribee Racecourse (built in 1879) as well as the Mechanics' Institute (built in 1883).