Originally called Stockyard Creek, after the stream which still flows through the centre of the town, Foster was initially just a resting place for drovers travelling from
Port Albert to
Western Port. This changed with the discovery of gold in the 1880s, leading to a (modest) gold rush. The post office opened on 20 February 1871 as Stockyard Creek and was renamed Foster in 1879 when the township was established. In 1870 a gold rush along Stockyard Creek resulted in the township of that name and in late 1884 following comments by the Police Magistrate from Sale (Mr William H Foster) that he couldn't hold court in a creek the town suddenly became ‘Foster’. Previously a stockyard for drovers had been established along the creek but several miles from the ultimate township. The story of Foster is in a publication available at the Foster & District Historical Society Inc. The
railway was extended to Foster in 1892. When the gold ran out, Foster became a service centre of the burgeoning South Gippsland dairy industry. Today it is a rural town that links Wilsons Promontory with the rest of Victoria. ==Amenities==