Myrniong – buzzing with excitement – welcome to another year

Welcome to the New Year – 2024.

We will look back to interesting and inspiring accounts of people who shaped our community and paved the way for the fortunate life we experience today.

As we gear up for the new year with freshly sharpened pencils (and maybe a carving knife or two), let's take a stroll down memory lane, precisely 160 years back to 1864. Imagine Myrniong, or as it was fondly called, "Blow's Flat," buzzing with excitement. The talk of the town was The Plough Hotel and Store, considered to be the most valuable location for business in the town, and a fancy "first-class farm" that included 60 fruit trees – all up for grabs as an unreserved sale!

The sale was offered by the savvy Mr. Alfred Smith, who strategically claimed land at both entrances to the township, and his business partner, Mr. Charles Marden. The reason for the sale? These two fellows were bidding farewell to the district and going their separate ways.

This was just the start of a long and successful business at The Plough Hotel in Myrniong.

This week we open our doors for another year – the 15th year that Mark Mills has been custodian of this fine and historic venture, with his passion for delivering colourful hospitality grows every year.

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Bluestone blocks reveal

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Martin Deveny Part 1 – Martin Senior

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John Tyson Part 2: Head-banging blacksmith, mis-haps and controversy aplenty

We continue our tale of John Tyson, following his adventures throughout Myrniong and Bacchus Marsh in the late 1800s. Whilst assisting some workmen in July 1868 to pull down the old blacksmith’s workshop to make way for a new one, John Tyson met with a rather nasty accident. As he passed under a beam, it fell on him, injuring his shoulder, fracturing a bone in his hand and, more seriously, cutting his head badly in a few places resulting in him narrowly escaping death. As fortune would have it, Dr William Bone was close by at the time and promptly attended to the patient. The newspapers were pleased to report on their “respected neighbour” John Tyson as being “out of danger and progressing favourably”. Dr Bone first arrived at Bacchus Marsh in September 1865 and lived at Parkside Cottage, Stamford Hill, where he also conducted his medical practice. He and his wife quickly became respected members of the community. However, 1867 brought controversy which hit the national papers and the ...

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