Iona

A farming district, Iona is located 6 km south-west of Bunyip and 75 km south-east of central Melbourne. It was originally known officially as Bunyip South but more commonly as the Swamp and was created from the drained areas of the Koo Wee Rup swamp. Bunyip South was on the Bunyip River Drain, the main conduit for carrying water. Unemployed married men were encouraged to work on draining the swamp and to settle with their families on 20 acre farms created from the reclaimed land. It became probably Victoria’s most densely populated agricultural district.