Life at Cocoroc

The township of Cocoroc was founded in 1894 to accommodate the workers and their families of the Werribee Sewage Farm, now known as the Western Treatment Plant. At its peak, this unique close knit community was home to nearly 500 people, the last of which left Cocoroc in 1973. Hear from some of the former residents about what life was like growing up in Cocoroc.

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Speakers

Narrator – N1 (Olivia Tattam, Melbourne Water)

Speaker 1 – S1 (Sandra Fraser)

Speaker 2 – S2 (Jan Fraser)

Speaker 3 – S3 (Kevin Heart)

Speaker 4 – S4 (Margaret Hassett)

Speaker 5 – S5 (Peter Cations, Melbourne Water)

[music]

[image of a former school at Cocoroc with children and a teacher playing cricket]

N1: The township of Cocoroc was founded in 1894 to accommodate the workers and their families of the Werribee Sewage Farm, now known as the Western Treatment Plant.

[image of a former residential street in the township of Cocoroc]

[image of the water tower in Cocoroc with workers out the front]

At its peak, this unique, close-knit community was home to nearly 500 people. The last of which left Cocoroc in 1973.

[image of Cocoroc residents with cows]

S1: My kids can't believe the life we had here.

I think it's been quite a revelation to them that we grew up here because it was quite unique. I don't think anyone could've had a life like we had.

[image of children running out of one of the former Cocoroc schools]

S2: No, it was perfect really. It was a really, really carefree, happy life.

[image of a stockman on a horse rounding up cattle]

S3:  I worked here for 37 years. We'd come down a couple of miles down the road, saddled up and went out on the horse for most of the day.

[image of a harvester collecting hay]

[image of a stockman leading cattle down a road on a horse]

And a lot of yard work as well. Driving cattle and sheep most of the days, yeah. We didn't have anything much, no electricity or nothing, so we just... We didn't know anything different so we just went along with it. A few lanterns and lamps and everything.

[image of stockman saddled up on horses]

Everyone knew each other on the farm, yeah, so it was good.

S4: Loved the farm. Not one single thing could I say...I mean, I look at those cows over there now and I think God, I remember... We used to get those cows and take them up and put them in their yard and take them back every night.

[image of cattle]

And we got two shillings on a Monday night but there's a few houses so you got a few two shillings out of that.

[image of the former Managers house at Cocoroc]

It was a terrific community.

[image of the former Cocoroc female football team]

We loved football, loved it. So we decided we'd see if we could get a ladies football team up. We thought, I wonder if we could get enough. You haven't any idea. We had to say no more, no more, no more. [Laughs]

[image of the former Cocoroc female football team in uniform]

We got girls coming in left, right and centre that wanted to play football.

[image of children studying inside at one of the former Cocoroc schools]

I went to school here at Cocoroc and um...There was about 32 I think in our room and that went from grade preps to grade six.

Get out of school and run home quick, get your bathers and over to the pool. [Laughs]

[image of children playing in the Cocoroc pool]

Loved the pool, yeah, we were lucky to have that pool.

S2: The tiles have brought back a lot of memories, those original tiles. I can't remember the date the pool opened up, can you? But I do remember it was great excitement in the town.

[image of teenagers playing in the Cocoroc pool]

S1: We were here all summer weren't we?

S2:  Oh yes, yes.

S1: It was as rough as anything, the bottom of the pool, and you could guarantee if you spent the day in there the bottom of your feet were all scratched and bleeding.

[image of children playing in the Cocoroc pool]

S2: And the girls spent a lot of time on the bottom because that's what the boys did, they ducked us and held us under.

[footage of the restored Cocoroc Hall, water tower, football pavilion and oval]

S1: And there was the hall in which they used to have things. There was the football club. And I think it's nice for people now to see it and appreciate what it was all about.

S5: To be involved in the refurbishment of the Cocoroc Hall took me back down memory lane a bit, I guess, yeah. My best friend lived at Cocoroc and I used to come down here on a Friday night on the bus and stay the weekend and go back to school on Monday.

So this was my playground.

[footage of the restored swimming pool which is now a raingarden]

The swimming pool, it was a communal piece for the whole area here. Plus a lot of people from Werribee used to come here for picnics. The oval, you know, I've played footy on that oval myself.

So all these things are all part of history that fortunately Melbourne Water is keeping intact for the future.

It's fantastic because it really was such a pleasant, close-knit community.

[image of children and adults playing in the Cocoroc pool]

[Melbourne Water logo]