Yinnar, Victoria

Yinnar is a rural township located in the Latrobe Valley, in central Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. At the 2006 census, Yinnar had a population of 585. The origin of the name Yinnar is believed to have been derived from the Aboriginal term yinnar, meaning "woman".HistoryYinnar began its life as a part of Scrubby Forest Station at Middle Creek, which as its name implies, was pretty heavily wooded. Its southern section was quite mountainous, so its area of practical use was estimated as ten square miles. The first holders were Nicol Brown and Billy Hillier. Eventually they divided the station into two with Middle Creek being the line of division, Brown taking the western half and Hillier the eastern half. Billy's Creek was named after Billy Hillier. They held their leases from 1848 to 1868. George Firmin arrived at Middle Creek in 1874 and took over Scrubby Forest West, which he divided into what was known as the Scrubby Forest Run. Due to this the Firmin family are said to be the first settlers of Yinnar. Other early selectors on Scrubby Forest Run were Henry Wicks and John Quigley. In 1885 George Firmin handed the license back to the Government so the farming areas were made available to selectors. The town was surveyed in May 1885 and two months later one hundred allotments were auctioned to selectors at the offices of Mr Wicks' agents.The area called Middle Creek and Scrubby Forest became known as Yinnar in 1879. George Firmin's wife Maria and their eleven children came to live with him in the bark hut at the Scrubby Forest Run in 1898. They were the first family to live in Yinnar.