Somers Information
Brief History of Somers
We are indebted to Bruce Bennett for kindly allowing us to use material from his book "All Our Somers" in this section.
Originally known as Balnarring East, the area was renamed in 1930 for a popular former Governor of Victoria who setup the local Lord Somers Camp. The subdivision of Somers began in 1925, with the subdivision of 24 one acre blocks known as the South Beach Estate. This was followed soon after by the Palm Beach Estate, also in 1925 whilst the Boulevard Cafe and Post Office, which was built on this estate, commenced business in 1927.
After much correspondence with the Education Dept. the Palm Beach School No.4458 opened 1930.
Despite a few further small land subdivisions for housing following the first two mentioned above, Somers has not seen any major development since the 1920s and has retained much of its remnant bush land on the foreshore. Initially, as the land had been used for grazing, the estates were bare until local residents led by local store-keeper Ron Stone planted many trees throughout the area to give it the bushland feel that it has today.
The residents of Somers have always been proud of their village have a long history of not accepting changes forced upon them without debate. One example of this is the several attempts of the former local council to seal the unmade roads in the Palm Beach Estate in Somers. This was attempted in 1941, 1983 and 1993 and on each occasion was so strongly opposed by the residents that the proposals were dropped. A great majority of the residents believe that the unmade roads are integral to the rural character of Somers and that this character must be protected despite the understood issues of drainage and dust associated with gravel roads.
Other examples of the determination of the local residents to protect their village character can be seen in their opposition and success in preventing the establishment of a hotel in Somers in the 1940's and 1950's, and the attempt by Australia Post for daily home delivery of mail. In the latter case, it was felt that the mail delivery would reduce the "Village" feel of the town as the daily human contact at the Store and Post Office was critical and there were also concerns that with so many holiday houses empty for substantial periods of time, the build up of mail would encourage burglaries.
It was out of this strong community spirit and intense desire to protect the character of Somers that the Somers Residents Association was born, in order to formalise the community consultation process and ensure that the community's wishes are heard.
The Somers Camps
From early in its history, Somers has been known for its camps. Several have come and gone but a few still remain. To find out more about the Somers Camps, please click here.