The Post Office opened on 3 September 1917 as Brown Coal Mine and was renamed Yallourn North in 1947.

Yallourn North owes its origins to the discovery of brown coal in the Morwell area of Gippsland, in eastern Victoria.

Initially private enterprise unsuccessfully attempted to profit from the large quantity of coal that was accessible close to the surface.

After a tear in the marquee during a storm in December 1918, the school was temporarily relocated to Bevis's Pioneer Boarding House until a new structure could be built on the old site.

Anti-aircraft defences were erected in late 1941, with the placement of four static Bofors guns to help protect the mine and State Electricity Commission of Victoria (SECV) infrastructure.

On 29 June 1950, thirty people narrowly escaped death as 250,000 long tons (250,000 t) of earth and brown coal slid 300 feet (90 m) into the old open cut.

Many people moved away from the area in search of work elsewhere, following the loss of 4,500 jobs (out of 10,000) in the greater Latrobe Valley during the three years to 1993.

[9] However, over the last 20 years the town has undergone a resurgence, with the economy of Latrobe City now finding its feet, and new families moving in to replace those of old.

A Nissen hut was brought in pieces from an SECV work yard on trucks, and erected in Reserve Street.

It has also held other events recently such as ballet classes and hosted a primary school in the emergency following a fire in the Hazelwood open cut mine.

[11] Yallourn North possesses an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb); experiencing warm summers and cool winters.

However, rainfall is frequent: spread across 175.5 precipitation days, mostly from troughs or cold fronts associated with westerlies originating from the Southern Ocean.

In 1933 work on building St. Brigid's commenced, on land donated by the SECV, on the corner of North Road and Reserve Street.

It was officially opened and blessed on 1 March 1936 by Bishop Ryan, assisted by Father Nolan, and the first mass was celebrated that same day.

Brown Coal Mine and Yallourn were at first attached to the Morwell circuit and the Superintendent Minister was the Reverend A.G.Day.

[16] Reverend Vercoe purchased a mess room in the 1920s and had it erected at Brown Coal Mine on a site not far from the old Main Street.

The main building was extended and a larger vestry and a new porch were added, and a stained glass window was fitted.

In the early hours of Boxing Day 1997 the church was badly damaged by fire, and only the community hall at the rear was saved.

On 8 June 1952 the Serbs of Yallourn and surrounding towns convened a general meeting at which the decision was made to establish a church and parish.

The following year, Father Theodore Demjanjuk, a Russian by background, was appointed as the first parish priest, and services were initially held in the Anglican church.

After the decline in the decades following the privatisation of the SECV, many recent events have assisted in restoration of positive community sentiment.

The original renovation budget was set at $30,000, but after considerable donations from 208 community members and 70 local businesses, the group managed to raise $48,000 for the work.

The final result was an entirely updated home and garden - a far cry from what was originally intended to be a new entrance and a "spruced up" kitchen, laundry, bathroom and lounge room.