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Deans Marsh History

This Timeline was prepared in 2019-2020 for the Deans Marsh Towns Stories Small Grant project to discover the range of activities and events held at the Deans Marsh Hall and Oval.

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1870's - 1890's
Hall & Oval

The name Dean’s Marsh – originally with an apostrophe – is very old in settler Australian terms. It was first used as the name of large pastoral lease in what was then called the Port Phillip District of NSW in the early 1840s, nearly 160 years ago.

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1890s - 1910s
Sporting Legends

The township of Deans Marsh grows, its people play their part in the creation of Australia, run some most impressive Sports Days and, in the new century, win our first football Premiership.

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1920's - 1930's 
The Community Takes Ownership

The Deans Marsh Community, acting through the Trustees of the Hall all of whom were or had been community members, and its Committee members who were also locals, purchased the 20 acres at what is now the Memorial Park site from Mr Edgar Mountjoy. 

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1940's - 1950's
Post War Challenges

The town adapts to the challenges of World War 2, where the community, after much soul-searching and decades of effort, makes the decision to give the Hall and Oval to the Winchelsea Shire Council...

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1960s - 1980s
Consolidation & Recovery

The community runs a Miss Deans Marsh competition and one of the contestants ends up in the Miss Australia pageant. The Martians baseball team begins, the Hall committee buys more land – and then sells it. The Deans Marsh Community Cottage is created and Deans Marsh experiences the Ash Wednesday bush fires. 

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1990's
The Comunity Cottage

 The Community Cottage moved into a container, the Surf Coast Shire Council is created and Council begins to play a more active role in Deans Marsh, the Gymkhana becomes the Pioneer Festival, the Hall Curtain is re-imagined and the Hall gets an extensive extension. READ MORE

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2000's
Music in the Marsh

Music@the Marsh makes a big impression in the district and beyond, the Community Cottage gathers momentum, the former Deans Marsh Football Clubhouse gets restored and the Deans Marsh Dogs Trials begin. 

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2010's
Deans Marsh Speaks

The creation and building of our OMM community choir, a new Deans Marsh attitude to coal mining and fracking, the lobbying of Telstra for access to ADSL technology, and the beginning of our efforts to develop a comprehensive community plan for our district. 

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2020's and beyond

Stay tuned for more in the story of Deans Marsh...

If you have some information or photos to contribute join us for a History Chats morning or get in touch with The Cottage. 

Contribute to the History of Deans Marsh

This research was conducted by Deb Campbell during 2019 and 2020 and she hopes, and we all agree, that it will remain an ongoing project.

So if you have ideas, photos or information to add please contact her on
0410 692 665 or samsplace9@bigpond.com 

History Chats 

If you're interested in joining a casual chat about the history of Deans Marsh visit our What's On Calendar and come along to our next gathering. 

Deans Marsh - History in Pictures

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