History of Noojee

The town's name 'Noojee' is an Aboriginal word meaning 'valley of, or place of rest' and its location was part of the Wurundjeri tribe's land prior to European settlement.

Gold prospectors came into the area in the early 1860s and settlers and timber cutters moved into the district in the 1880s. The town was officially founded in the early 1900s.

In 1919, a railway line was built from Warragul to Noojee crossing seven trestle bridges to transport felled timber. Subsequently, Noojee grew and became a major timber town. Vast amounts of timber were transported to the station on tramways from saw mills in the bush. One mill installed a hydro-electric plant to power its machinery and it also supplied Noojee, Neerim and Warragul townships with electricity.

The railway line closed in 1954 and trucks were then used to transport the timber. Over time, the many saw mills that once operated in Noojee closed except one, which makes Noojee one of the few towns left in Victoria to still have a fully functioning saw mill that produces timber.

In 1926, and again on Black Friday in 1939, bushfires destroyed the town. The only building left standing after both fires was the Noojee Hotel. It served as a community meeting place during the emergency and as a local school until a new one was built.