Snapshot of the past

A photograph of Modella State School students and headteacher Mr Frederic Rumpff c1905.
When looking for words to describe the pioneers of the Modella district, two words come immediately to mind - resilient and persistent.
Despite several major flooding events across the Koo Wee Rup Swamp and issues that plagued soldier settlement projects, the early settlers of Modella persisted and established an excellent dairying and agriculture community.

It was not until 1899 that the eastern edge of the Koo Wee Rup Swamp was drained and it was declared suitable for occupation and farming. The area was first known as Koo Wee Rup East and later became Modella.
There are a number of theories as to the origin of this name. Some believe it is an Indigenous word meaning "strike you", another is that it was the name of a famous race horse. Yet another theory is that it is from the word model, as the farm named Modella Park was considered a model farm.
By 1900, the following were known to have some claim to selected blocks in the Modella area: McGregor, McFarlane, O'Callaghan, Ryan, Temby, Hanley, Kelly, Schmutter, Shandley, Douglas and Smethurst. Whether or not they resided on the blocks is debatable, but it is known that Smethurst and Douglas had built homes on their properties before 1900.
Parcels of land for lease were released in 1900 but severely hampered when a large flood covered the proposed settlement areas in 1902. This resulted in two more large drains being dug and an upgrade and clearing of a further eight already established drains.
The engineer responsible for this work was Mr Carlo Catani, an Italian by birth, who was the chief engineer for The Victorian Public Works Department.
However, the occurrence of floods across the swamp continued to challenge the communities in 1911 and 1916, certainly hindering development.
There was significant development in the early part of the 1920s as soldier settlers were allocated parcels of land. However, another flood in 1923 - rated twice as bad as the 1911 flood, hit the area and the early farmers suffered huge losses of pasture, buildings and stock.
Yet another massive flood occurred in December 1934, reported as the largest ever to hit the swamp. Records show that 1000 people lost their homes, stock losses of 8000 head occurred and infrastructure such as roads, drains and bridges were damaged.
Despite all the early setbacks, the population did grow and a school was needed. A room was leased from a Mr G. Gray and about 12 students attended for organised classes by early 1903.
Koo Wee Rup East State School No. 3456 commenced on April 1, 1903. Mr Rumpff was appointed teacher and he rode his horse out from Longwarry each day to take classes. It was renamed Modella State School in 1904.
The push for a permanent school continued and three sites were proposed, all had their own particular group of residents favouring one or the other. These were generally based on proximity to their own homes and the ease of travel over very poor roads and tracks.
Finally, it was decided that a parcel of land was to be leased from Mr Douglas on the Modella Park property for eight pounds for two years. This became the permanent school site until it closed its doors in 1993.
Photograph and information courtesy of Longwarry and District History Group with acknowledgement of the work of Graham Utber and his book "Modella a Brief History".
The group gathers history of the 3816 postcode, including Longwarry, Labertouche and Modella.
For further information, visit longwarryhistory.org.au.
The group has also noted the recent death of inaugural committee member Robert Purvis. Mr Purvis' knowledge of the Modella district was invaluable to the group.