The Board held the first of its general meetings on 16 June 1862 at the Plough and Harrow Hotel, which was the main building in the area. Colonel William Mair was elected as the first Chairman and key priorities for the board were to construct and maintain local roads while managing road tolls and rates.

From its humble beginnings as a market gardening region, the Moorabbin District Road Board area is now home to many magnificent residential suburbs and vital industries. The region was also home to Sir Thomas Bent — a properly developer in Moorabbin and Brighton who was elected President of the Shire of Moorabbin six times, the Mayor of Brighton nine times and later went on to become the 22nd Premier of Victoria from 1904 to 1909.

In 1869, the Moorabbin District Road Board was recreated as the Shire of Moorabbin.

Over time, the boundaries of the Shire of Moorabbin were modified as severances occurred, but it wasn’t until 1917 that the first major severance took place when the Borough of Sandringham was instituted.

Suburbs that used to be governed by the Moorabbin District Road Board have been part of many local council districts over the years and are now located primarily in the municipalities of Kingston, Bayside and Glen Eira.

The word ‘Moorabbin’ is an Aboriginal name meaning ‘a resting place’.