The earliest white occupants were probably loggers in the 1850s. Gradually other settlers arrived. In 1867, the State Government commissioned a survey of the area around what is now Kallista. 26,500 acres (10,700 ha) were declared a forest reserve, although in 1878 the boundaries were altered and another 10,000 acres (4,000 ha) were made available for sale. During the economic depression of the 1890s in Victoria, the President of the Board of Land and Works and Commissioner Crown Lands and Survey, John McIntyre, decided to open areas of the Dandenong Ranges for selection. Although there were protests from various groups, another 10,000 acres (4,000 ha) were opened in 1893.