Our Landscape Country area and surroundings were first developed from around 150 years ago (Poowong was the first in 1874). The often widely dispersed communities gradually developed football, tennis, indoor halls and other sport/recreation facilities over the years, largely through the efforts and funding of local community volunteers. Most are still run and largely funded by community organisations today. Council is committed to providing and maintaining the local park with public toilets to each of the three villages, they are:

• Centennial Park, Loch, on Victoria Road near the Shell Service Station, with striking ploughing mural and Community Noticeboard

• Nyora Community Railway Park on Davis Street

• Poowong – the covered area (unnamed) with barbecue behind the Poowong Hall, near the town main intersection on Drouin Road.

The old Railway station at Nyora is the start of the Great Southern Railtrail - a continuous 129km multipurpose trail - through the fishing village of Port Welshpool and recently extended to Alberton and Yarram. With the decommissioning of the 1892 rail line that had connected Dandenong to Port Welshpool and beyond to Port Albert, sections were gradually converted to a multi-purpose RailTrail for foot, wheel and hoof leisure. The very well maintained Trail meanders along stunning farmland, rolling and steeply terraced hills, tiny creeks and the occasional river. Stretches of beautiful bushland host a wide variety of magic bird sounds and glimpses of wildlife, even wild fruit in season. You can access the RailTrail from Loch, Nyora, Jeetho and Bena – and further on. There is plenty to explore on a long walk, or many walks, with or without a pram, or bicycle, tricycle or horse ride.

All three villages also have community-run facilities, including Recreation Reserves, and Public Halls. These are all volunteer run and are not-for-profit. They aim to provide high quality and free or low cost facilities to their communities and visitors. Halls are costly to maintain and do require a fee. Within each Reserve, there will often be specific users which lease their own space for a period of time. Contact with each of these is often difficult (and they often change with annual committee changes), hence they are a major focus of this Landscape Country Guide. Many sports, church or community groups have their own active Facebooks, so you might often find current events and contacts through a Search Engine or a question through Facebook.

A brief summary of the Reserves follows, with further details under each town’s entry in this guide:

• Loch Memorial Reserve with football and cricket facilities, an indoor social/meeting area, plus six(6) powered and plenty of unpowered sites, for a modest charge – the money goes back into maintenance. Sheltered barbecue plus showers and toilets are available for individuals or groups.

• Nyora Recreation Reserve is a vast area with the Famous Nyora Raceway, plus almost all the organised sport activities in Nyora, plus the Mens Shed. Alongside the Railtrail, it’s a popular walking place. Its off Grudny Avenue.

• Poowong Recreation Reserve has football/cricket ova an d facilities and has number of unpowered camp sites available at very reasonable prices. In the centre of town, its also a popular area for walking or just kicking a footy.

Public Halls are generally used for major community meetings and activities, from Council meetings to dances and funerals and can be hired:

• Loch Public Hall on Smith Street, has charming pressed metal walls, historic photos and is heritage listed as a War Memorial.

• Nyora Public Hall on Hendley Street is home to the Opshop, meetings and recreation activities such as Karate.

• Poowong Hall at the major intersection of Poowong and Drouin Roads. is the largest hall in the immediate region, and inside are memorial plaques commemorating war service by locals. It hosts many activities .

  Outside the 9-miute triangle, nearby halls are also available for hire.

• Bena Hall on Main Road Bena, Bena. Contact Maureen.

• Jeetho Hall on 207 Jeetho Road, Jeetho. Contact Jeanette.

• Kernot Hall 1060 Loch-Kernot Road, Kernot. Contact Julie.

• Poowong East Hall on Main South Road/Dudley Lane, Poowong East. Contact via email poowongeasthall@gmail.com

• Poowong North Hall on Timms Road, Poowong North. Contact Annie or email.

• Strzelecki Hall on 1476 Korumburra-Warragul Road, Strzelecki. Contact via email.

• Woodleigh Hall 86 Woodleigh-St Helier Road, Woodleigh. Contact Rob or email woodleighhallinc@gmail.com