years in advance of similar rural or suburban communities of similar size, the majority funded by the S.E.C.V. A close community spirit developed within the town, in part through enthusiastic usage of the excellent facilities. External communications The Yallourn railway line was opened to the town in January 1922 as a branch junctioning at Hernes Oak on the main Gippsland railway; this line was replaced by a one on an easier gradient extending east from Moe in September 1953, which was electrified in 1955. The local railway station closed to passengers in the 1960s, with the line then being used primarily to haul briquettes from the Yallourn briquette factory. When the factory closed, the line was used to haul briquettes from the Morwell factory to Yallourn, as briquettes were used as the initial fuel when lighting the furnaces in the power station until enough steam was generated to dry the brown coal used as the main fuel. Closure of the line occurred in 1986 when the transport of briquettes shifted to trucks. Yallourn Post Office opened on 8 October 1923 (being renamed from Western Camp which opened the previous year) and closed in 1980 when the town was removed. An earlier Yallourn Post Office opened in 1921 and was renamed Eastern Camp in 1923. Another Western Camp Post Office opened in 1924 and closed in 1968. Closure At its peak the town's population reached 5000. However, in 1968 the S.E.C. decided to demolish the town to make way for further mining. Despite an attempted green ban to save the town, by 1983 demolition was complete, the underlying brown coal reserves being used to feed the Yallourn W Power Station. Many of the people who were relocated from Yallourn built homes in Moe, Morwell, Newborough, Traralgon, Yallourn North and other surrounding towns in the Latrobe Valley. Many of the houses from the town were removed, either to these nearby towns, or on occasion moved further afield. The timber-framed buildings were reclad, although most retained their characteristic Yallourn tiled roof. The S.E.C.V. developed some properties, particularly in small developments in nearby Newborough where Yallourn houses were removed and samples of the conversions that were possible were showcased. These transplanted Yallourn homes remain popular with former Yallourn residents. Sport Golfers play at the course of the Yallourn Golf Club on Golf Links Road in neighbouring Yallourn Heights. In 1951 Yallourn was the champion