[4] The first major track between Colac and Apollo Bay passed over Mount Sabine, and was marked on maps by 1864 at the latest.

[5] There were high hopes for farming in the area, with the Colac Herald speculating in 1885 that Mount Sabine would "become converted into the most fertile of agricultural and pastoral countries".

[12][13][14][15] In 1904, the Colac Herald reported that there was "not one yard of metalled or formed road" to Mount Sabine, and that residents had "to use the sleigh and pack saddle, and wade through fifteen miles of mud to get to a railway station".

[17] Mount Sabine had limited services besides the sawmilling and farming operations, with Barramunga becoming the village centre for the area instead.

A boarding house providing "every comfort" with "first-class meals" was recommended by a Geelong Advertiser correspondent in 1886.