CRANBOURNE
Cranbourne is encounted when traveling
the Melbourne to South Gippsland/ Phillip Island (or vice versa)
route. Cranbourne is an older and established country town that has
been gobbled up by the Melbourne scrawl. 
The
locals do not see themselves as a suburb Melbourne, hence the Bustout
synopsis. In 2006 Cranbourne had a population of 14,750 that is
expected to double soon.
Prior
to European settlement the Cranbourne area is thought to have been
occupied by the Boonwurrung Aboriginal people. The first white
settlers, the Ruffy brothers, arrived in 1836. They later opened the
Cranbourne Inn that soon gave the town its name. The Motor Club Hotel
is now a grand and relatively old pub. The Settlement new.
Progress in developing the land around Cranbourne was hampered by the
Koo Wee Rup swampland. However William Lyall (who bought land in the
swamp area) assisted in coordinating the draining of the swamp to make
it usable as farmland. Some the swamp made for the Botanic Gardens.
(not visited)
There
is some evidence of heritage,
  but
the developers have once again let the citizens down badly.
The
Anglican
and the Presbyterian 
Churches are ‘old’. The Catholic is modern
and
pretty ugly.
The
Cranbourne War Memorial is in the centre of the cbd,
plus the Avenue of Honour..
There
is no need to make an effort of even stop in Cranbourne,
unless
to go to the Botanic Gardens od the races.
Heritage diary
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