Many pioneers had realised the potential of the land and had begun clearing it to raise cattle and sheep long before coal mining began in 1859.

In 1902, when an application was made for a hotel licence by Mrs Mary A Dixon, it appeared that the only other business in the town was the Melbourne Chilled Butter Factory.

The township was well established when, on 14 August 1902, a group of men met in the Royal Mail Hotel to discuss the possibility of building a public hall.

The Grand Ball to mark its opening occurred on 1 January 1904, with tickets admitting two ladies and one gentlemen costing 5 shillings.

Inspired by Deb Rielly, a paramedic and cancer sufferer who died in April 2019, who suffered taunts because she refused to wear a wig or scarf when she lost her hair due to chemotherapy, the local community art gallery, ArtSpace,[4] along with the Hall, organised a painting and sculptural exhibition in honour of the beauty of the hairless head.