Nar Nar Goon

The first European settlers in the Nar Nar Goon area were John Dore and Michael Hennessy, who leased Mt Ararat, No.1 run, from 1844. When the partnership broke up in 1855, Dore continued on with the lease in his own right. John, and his son Tom, purchased 526 hectares (1300 acres) at the first Crown Land sales in the 1860s. The railway line to Sale, cut through the Dore property. The line was opened in 1877, but the Nar Nar Goon Railway station wasn't built until 1881. Other early settlers were John Startup (who was a foundation member of the Berwick Road Board) and a Mr Kettle, who took up the Mt Ararat Station run in 1854 and Phillip and Michael Mulcare. Michael Mulcare's land was the site of the the subdivision for the township of Nar Nar Goon. Mulcare Street is named after him. Other early settlers include Alexander Ritchie, Jane Forturne, John Browning and the Bourke family.

In the 1990s the Progress Association undertook the painting of a number of murals representing different aspects of the history of the town. The murals provide a delightful and fascinating glimpse into Nar Nar Goon's past and include the Nar Nar Goon race course, which operated until the 1940, Tom Snell's General Store, Arthur Thorne's Butcher Shop,  W.H Foulsham's bakery, the Nar Nar Goon churches,  the Public Hall and a tribute to the timber industry and the dairy industry. A booklet, from which these images were taken, is available for sale at the Milk Bar (previously Grover's Railway Store).

I have done some research into the Great War Soldiers listed on the Nar Nar Goon Honour Board and the  Nar Nar Goon North State School Honour Board. There are fifty five names listed on the boards and you can read about them here. 

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