Signs shine a light on Warragul's history
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Published on 06 August 2021
Baw Baw Shire Council has placed Warragul’s recent history proudly on display with 10 new historically-themed signs installed along Smith and Victoria Streets.
The community’s desire for historical signage throughout Warragul’s CBD was identified as part of the public consultation process for the Warragul Streetscape Project.
The first set of historical signs were installed along Palmerston Street as part of earlier streetscape works. Now, with the installation of these latest signs along Smith and Victoria Street, the project has come to full fruition.
The photographs and captions for all of the signs were provided by the Warragul and District Historical Society, with the Society’s Colin Silcock and Malcolm Dickson playing pivotal roles in the project.
Mr Dickson says the signage is important to preserve the history of the town.
“By making these photos publicly available, people can appreciate what was there previously,” says Mr Dickson. “People can stand in the place and look across the street and really see what it was like in the past.”
He’s hoping they’ll be a point of interest for residents and visitors alike. “When the previous lot of signage went in on Palmerston Street,” says Mr Dickson, “we watched how people reacted. It was great to see that they were very interested and many people would stop and look.”
The new signs are now permanently on display. See them for yourself along the Victoria-Palmerston-Smith Street triangle in Warragul’s CBD.
Quotes attributable to Mayor Cr Danny Goss
“I think it’s fantastic to be able to celebrate Warragul’s history. These signs make a little bit of that history accessible to everyone.
On behalf of Council and the whole community, I’d like to say a big thank you to the Warragul and District Historical Society and their contributions to this project. The changes over time you can see in these photos, the way they compare the streetscapes of yesterday to today, provides a fascinating insight into the evolution of our community.