Throughout the township of Bonnie Doon, there are a total of 12 sightseeing locations with signboards. Each signboard will tell you some of the history of Bonnie Doon, and also have a QR code to direct you to these pages on our website. These codes when scanned with a smart phone or tablet provide additional informative text/images that create an interactive walk throughout the history of the Doon. You can follow along the history here on our website or better yet, get out on the trail and take a wander through Bonnie Doon – follow the signs that go along with along with these pages. We hope you enjoy your walk back in time.
Church Street
The Loyal Orange Institution, also known as Orange Order, had its roots in Ireland and was named after the Dutch King Willem of Orange. He was a Protestant and defeated the Catholic King James II in 1690. The Bonnie Doon chapter of the Institution, the Loyal Orange Lodge No. 72, was located at the corner of Arnot Street and Church Street. It served as a meeting place for local Protestants until it was destroyed by fire in 1942. The annual ball held at the lodge was an important event on the town’s social calendar and attracted good crowds. The Mansfield Courier of July 3, 1914 detailed the annual celebration as follows:
The local branch of the L.O.L. held their annual celebration on Friday evening, 3rd July, in the Protestant hall. The evening was beautiful and fine and not too cold. There were visitors from Melbourne, and the surrounding districts were fairly well represented. The attendance was a good one, though hardly as large as on some former occasions. About 150 sat down to supper. The programme consisted of supper, concert and ball.
The following is a descriptive list of the dresses worn at the ball:
Mrs. Almond—Black pailette silk, lace coatee.
Miss J. Almond—Pink muslin, Swansdown trimming.
Mrs. Tait—White silk.
Miss M. Friday—Pale blue frosted crepe shadow lace and pearl trimming.
Mrs. P. Friday—Blue shot silk, Bulgarian trimming.
Miss F. Hutchinson—White chamneuse satin, trimmed silk lace.
Miss E. Prowd—Cream fancy voile, trimmed lace and fancy net.
Mrs. C. Jury—Black silk, tango trimming.
Miss May Jury—Prune Cashmere, serge, fur trimming.
Miss Annie Pollock—Heliotrope mousse-lin de soie, swansdown and violets.
This walk crosses the traditional lands of the Taungurung people, and the Bonnie Doon Community acknowledges them as the traditional owners of the land. We also pay our respects to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Bonnie Doon Community Group 