The Post Office opened as Kirwan's in 1909, was renamed Vervale in 1917 and closed in 1967.[2] The Post Office and General Store was taken over by James and Edith McMannis in 1916.[3] It closed in 1967 after the death of Mrs. McMannis, who died on 4 June 1967, Mr. McMannis having predeceased her on 9 April 1959.[4]
Vervale was one of the first places in Victoria where asparagus was grown commercially.[5] Mr. Thomas Roxburgh first grew asparagus on his Vervale farm in 1912.[6]
The school at Vervale, located on the corner of Thirteen Mile Road and Main Drain Road, opened in 1894 as Koo-Wee-Rup North No. 3201, it changed its name to Bunyip South in 1899 and changed its name again in 1905 to Iona State School.[7] The school closed in December 1993.[8]
Demographics
The joint population of Vervale and Iona in the 2011 census was 363; 196 males and 167 females.[9]
See also
Shire of Pakenham – Vervale was previously within this former local government area.
^Blake, L.J (1973). Vision and Realisation: a centenary history of State Education in Victoria. Victoria – Education Department.
^Nest, Denise (1994). On the edge of the Swamp: a history of the Iona Primary School, No. 3201, 1894 – 1994. Iona Primary School Back-to Committee. ISBN0646169173.
