Population Health Development in the Latrobe Valley: A Literature Review of World Best Practice in Building Healthy Communities and Health Systems

The Hazelwood Mine Fire of early 2014 was, in the eyes of many, not the first disaster to hit the Latrobe Valley. Once this was a land of rich rolling pastures and forest, home to the Gunai/Kurnai traditional owners. With colonization came farming, and with farming conflicts over land with the traditional owners – between 1840 and 1850 several hundred Gunai/Kurnai died in clashes (Rule, 2002). The discovery of easily accessible rich layers of coal led to a new, additional focus of the Latrobe valley area of Gippsland – mining and (from the 1920s) coal”fired power stations changed the landscape and sources of wealth for the population. But in the building of the power stations asbestos was used liberally – a material we now know as highly carcinogenic, and the population of the Valley fell victim to many asbestos”related diseases. This was of grave concern and has impacted profoundly on health and well”being in the region (Walker & laMontagne, 2004) and clearly had lasting influence on how the population of Latrobe Valley regarded health and government authorities.