Drouin looks to its history to welcome new residents
 Baw Baw Entertainment   Baw Baw News   By // 12:16, Tuesday 24 March 2015

Rhona Hendrick drouin family hotel open house drouin warragul baw baw citizen by jack lacy

DROUIN will host tours of its historic buildings in May as part of an event to preserve and raise awareness of the town’s history.

Above: Rhona Hendrick stands on the Drouin Family Hotel's historic staicase. Photo by Jack Lacy.

First published in the 13 March edition of the Warragul & Baw Baw Citizen.


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Open House Drouin has been organised by the Committee For Drouin and will open up 12 of the town’s oldest buildings for public inspection.

According to Chief Organiser Rhona Hendrick the idea for Open House Drouin stemmed from a similar event in Melbourne.

“I attended the Open House event in Melbourne and wanted to recreate the concept in Drouin, on a smaller scale,” she told the Warragul & Baw Baw Citizen.

“The Open House Drouin event is all about the community coming together, residents and visitors.


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“The event also serves as a welcome to those who have recently moved to our town.”

One of the buildings to be featured in the tours will be the Drouin Family Hotel, which was established in the 1800s.

The hotel is currently undergoing considerable renovations – the function area is being redeveloped – but the main staircase and old hotel rooms will be preserved.

“The Drouin Family Hotel used to be an operational hotel and would have guests staying from all over on a regular basis,” Ms Hendrick said.

Another site to be put on show will be the Drouin Croquet Club building. The club was founded in 1903 by Dr Lionel Druitt.

“The club is the oldest croquet club in Victoria that continues to run,” Ms Hendrick said.

Ms Hendrick said Open House Drouin would provide an opportunity for newcomers to learn about the town’s history and allow attendees to hear tales from the past.

“We want the event to encourage newcomers to join our clubs and become immersed in community life,” she said.


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“The older generation will also be sharing personal stories about growing up in Drouin and the public will have the chance to ask questions.”

Open House Drouin will be held on May 2 and 3 from 10:00 until 16:00. Event details are available at facebook.com/C4Drouin.

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One response to “Drouin looks to its history to welcome new residents”

  1. jock knight says:

    hi, this is a good idea having doors open , I have seen this before and yes it does work ,and brings a wee bit of money into town , as its 1800s it will go down well , and maybe people like me would just start A NEW LIFE IN THIS NICE WEE PLACE .I WILL BE IN VIC AND WARRAGUL IN MAY SO THINK WE WILL POP IN AND BRING MY MANDOLIN ,IT WILL GRING OUT THE BEST IN DROUIN , THANKS FOR THE CHAT ,JOCK .