Darebin Heritage - Early Settlers

Introduction

The first settlers to Darebin arrived in the 1840s. Mainly shepherds and farmers, they quickly established themselves around High Street and along the creek banks.

By 1837 Darebin was beginning to be divided into blocks of land and sold. Each block ran from either the Merri Creek to High Street or High Street to the Darebin Creek. Water was crucial to the survival of the early settlers (there was no tap water) so each block required access to one of the two creeks. Most of the first people to buy land in Darebin never lived there but split their blocks into small ones and sold it on to farmers and traders.

By the early 1840s shops and businesses began to appear along High Street. The first businesses included general stores, hotels, iron mongers (hardware stores) and grain stores.

Life in early Darebin could be tough. It was a long walk to your neighbours and if you needed something which was not at the general store that often meant a long walk into the city. There were few coaches around and for most farmers it was probably too expensive anyway.