POOWONG BUTTER FACTORY (FORMER)

The Poowong Butter Factory, at 70 Ranceby Road, Poowong, built in 1901, is significant. The late Victorian two storey brick building has a hipped roof with a large gable to the north. The Interwar Moderne building makes up most of the facade of the site, directly abutting Ranceby Road, and hides most of the smaller structures within the complex. This single storey brick building has a long single storey brick parapet with a banded and textured render, as well as brick quoins, all painted. The Postwar phase of construction can be seen in the ad hoc additions to the rear of the complex that may have housed processing facilities. 
Non-original alterations and additions, other than those specified above, are not significant.

The Poowong Butter Factory, at 70 Ranceby Road, Poowong, is of local historic, aesthetic and social significance to the South Gippsland Shire.

Historically, the Poowong Butter Factory, replacing the original factory lost in the 1898 fires, was opened on 16 December, 1901, and formally closed in 1986. It was the first brick butter factory in the South Gippsland Shire and was one of the most modern in Victoria at the time. This factory demonstrates the progressive development of Poowong and the dairy industry in this part of the South Gippsland Shire. It also illustrates the longevity of the dairy industry in the Shire. (Criterion A) 
Aesthetically, this is one of the most complex butter factory within the South Gippsland Shire, and reflects the main periods of development throughout the Shire. The Moderne styling of the Interwar parts clearly identifies the building and contributes to the three clear phases of development at rhw site. (Criterion E)
Socially, this factory provided employment for many within the community and became a pillar to the local economy, as the dairy industry has been central to the economy of the South Gippsland Shire since settlement. (Criterion G)