Haigslea

The Haigslea area once had the peaceful name Kirchheim which means home of churches because there were several churches in the area. Originally named "Walloon Scrub" the name was changed in 1884 to avoid confusion with the area named Walloon.

During World War I when there was anti-German feeling in the district, the name was changed to Haigslea in honour of General Haig. Unlike many surrounding suburbs the new name was retained after the war ended. Headstones marking the graves of many early pioneers and residents of the Haigslea area are prominent in the Haigslea cemetery. In 1871, John Duhs and Christopher Claus selected land in what was then called Walloon Scrub.

By 1875, the population had increased sufficiently to warrant opening a school. The Crown Hotel was built in the late 1870s by Wiegand Raabe; the Sundowner Hotel is now on the same site. A creamery was built in 1880; when this later closed, it was bought in 1900 by Mr. Claus and converted into a general store. A store was also conducted by William Feeney. Linning’s butter factory was a major local enterprise from about 1880 until about 1910 with branches at Marburg and Glamorganvale.