A double celebration of the former Shire of Orbost and Orbost Civil & Civic Pty Ltd (OCC) was a great success last Saturday, with former employees, councillors and their families gathering at The Old Bottle Shop to catch up and reminisce.
The reunion, centred on the theme “In my day…”, provided an opportunity for attendees to come armed with memories and personal anecdotes.
The event marked more than 30 years since the landscape of Victorian local government was fundamentally redrawn.
In 1994, the Shire of Orbost was amalgamated with the shires of Tambo, Omeo, and Bairnsdale, as well as the City of Bairnsdale, to create the current East Gippsland Shire.
While the old Shire structure may be a distant memory for residents under the age of 40, for those who lived and worked through that era, it remains a source of immense pride.
At its height, the Shire of Orbost managed a vast territory of roughly 10,000 square kilometres, nearly half the total area of the current municipality, serving a population of 4500 people with a steadfast “locals for locals” philosophy.
Beyond reminiscing about the old Shire days, the gathering also celebrated the 30-year milestone of Orbost Civil & Civic Pty Ltd.
Established in the immediate wake of the 1994 amalgamation, OCC was formed as a strategic grassroots effort to protect the local economy.
Its primary mission was to retain as many local jobs as possible by bidding for and securing essential maintenance and infrastructure contracts that had previously been handled directly by the Shire.
The gamble paid off; OCC successfully won three major five-year contracts in its formative years, providing much-needed stability during a period of significant regional change.
Three decades later, the company continues to stand as a testament to local resilience, operating as a successful and independent local business.
The reunion served as a reminder that while administrative borders may have shifted, the spirit of service established decades ago in Orbost continues to thrive.
