| Traralgon Victoria | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 View south over the Traralgon urban area from Tyers lookout | |||||||||||||||
  Traralgon Location in City of Latrobe | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 38°11′45″S146°32′25″E / 38.19583°S 146.54028°E /-38.19583; 146.54028 | ||||||||||||||
| Population | 26,907 (2021 census)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| • Density | 1,125.8/km2 (2,916/sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Established | 1840s | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 3844 | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation | 60 m (197 ft)(45-75m) | ||||||||||||||
| Area | 23.9 km2 (9.2 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Location |
| ||||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | City of Latrobe | ||||||||||||||
| County | Australia | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Morwell | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Gippsland | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Traralgon (/trərælɡən/[2]trəh-RAL-gən,locally/təˈrælɡən/tə-RAL-gən) is a city located in the east of theLatrobe Valley in theGippsland region ofVictoria, Australia and the most populous city in theCity of Latrobe and the region. The urban population of Traralgon at the2021 census was 26,907.[1] It is the largest and fastest growing city in the greater Latrobe Valley area, which has a population of 77,168[3] at the 2021 Census and is administered by the City of Latrobe.
The origin of the name Traralgon is unconfirmed. The name was used for thepastoral lease of the Hobson brothers in 1844, centred on Traralgon Creek, and was alternatively rendered 'Tralgon' by Dr Edumund Hobson.[4] The town was also spelt "Taralgon" in the earliest records of the Gippsland Times available in 1861.[5][6]
The Gippsland Farmers' Journal wrote in 1889 that the town name was originally spelt 'Tarralgon' and that it was the Indigenous name for 'the river of little fish'.[7] However, these words are not reflected in modern linguists' knowledge ofGunai/Kurnai language.[8] Records of the language show that the wordswun wun orwurn wurn mean 'river', the wordsdala ortarlo mean 'little', while the wordskine orkain mean 'fish'.[9] It might be possible to combine words intotarlo-kain, which sounds similar to 'Traralgon', but no such compound word was recorded.
In 1989, Don Macreadie wrote thatPaweł Strzelecki named Traralgon afterTaralga, the hometown of Charlie Tarra, but the statement lacks evidence.[10][11]
Traralgon is situated on the traditional lands of theIndigenousGunai/Kurnai nation, which includes the lands of theBraiakaulung clan of Bunjil Kraura, who lived to the north ofLatrobe River (calledDurt'yowan inGunai language), as well as the clan of Woollum-Woollum, who lived on the hills to the south of the river and were more affiliated with theBrataualung people.[12][13]
Gunai/Kurnai people manufactured stone tools, as long as 5,000 years ago, fromsilcrete quarries in the Haunted Hills, west ofMorwell. Scarred trees and rock sites with axe-grinding grooves are also found in the local area.[14] The Gippsland region was inhabited by the Gunai/Kurnai people for a period in excess of 20,000 years, according to evidence of occupation found at theNew Guinea II cave nearBuchan, Victoria.[15] In other parts of Victoria evidence of Indigenous occupation has been found for many more thousands of years.[16]
The first non-Indigenous visitors to the area of Traralgon included the party ofCount Paweł Strzelecki on their journey from theSnowy Mountains in April 1840, after Strzelecki had named Australia's highest peak asMount Kosciuszko. Charley Tarra, aBurra Burra man from the NSW town ofTaralga, was the Indigenous guide for the party, which included Strzelecki; the New South Wales men James MacArthur and James Riley; and their servants, Irish convict James Nolan[17] and African convict John Rent.[18][19][14]
The party crossed Latrobe River and travelled along Traralgon Creek to a heavily forested area, where the party was forced to abandon their horses and equipment. The location was commemorated by monument at Traralgon Creek, Koornalla, erected in 1927.[20] The team's rations were reduced to a slice of bacon and a biscuit per day, but Tarra hunted for animals to end their hunger.[21] They traversed the headwaters ofMorwell River, before making a difficult journey across the heavily forested mountain range. They reachedAnderson's run inWestern Port in May 1840, then walked to Melbourne.[14]
To honour the men, the mountain range was named theStrzelecki Ranges, part of the forest was named Tarra Valley, later merged intoTarra-Bulga National Park,[22] and the river running from the valley toPort Albert was namedTarra River. Strzelecki named the region as Gipps' Land, later becomingGippsland, in honour of his sponsorNSW GovernorGeorge Gipps.[14]
In June 1840, a party consisting of Tarra, Riley, John Rutledge andShoalhaven Indigenous man John Pigeon went on a second expedition to retrieve the lost horses and managed to retrieve one, by travelling through the mountains of West Gippsland, across a path that would roughly trace the present-dayPrinces Highway. A third expedition was made from Port Albert to Latrobe Valley in March 1841 that includedWilliam Brodribb, Alexander Kinghorne,Norman McLeod and Kirsopp with Tarra as their guide.[23] In June 1841, a fourth expedition was made along the same route by William's brother Albert Brodribb, pastoralist Edward Hobson, Dr Edward Barker and fourBoon wurrung men.[14][24]
The area around Traralgon was first settled by Europeans in the 1840s. Due to theLatrobe Valley having relatively high rainfall, the land is very fertile, and farming was quickly established. As with much of central and western Gippsland, this was mainly dairy farming. In the Gippsland region between 1840 and 1860, the population of settlers grew from a few to 2,000 and the recorded Gunai population fell from 2,000 to a handful.[14]
The first Europeans to take land in Traralgon were the brothers Dr Edmund Hobson and Edward Hobson who purchased a 19,000 acrepastoral lease in 1844, which they called Traralgon. In April 1844, Edward to a large mob of cattle out from their station nearArthur's Seat to Traralgon arriving two months later. Albert Brodribb and William Bennett started Hazelwood Station in 1844 and the following year James Rintoul had taken a run in Loy Yang and Thomas Gorringe had taken up a run at Maryvale.[25]
The township was established in the early 1860s, the first Post Office opening on 1 January 1861.[26] In 1877 theGippsland railway line fromMelbourne was completed with arailway station at Traralgon giving the town a major economic boost.
Traralgon was part of the area administered by the Rosedale Roads Board, before theShire of Traralgon was established in 1879. In the latter part of the 19th century the Shire grew strongly.
It was not until the 1930s however that Traralgon began to move away from a farming based economy. In 1939,Australian Paper Manufacturers established a paper mill at Maryvale, around 8 kilometres (5 mi) from Traralgon.[27]
QueenElizabeth II andPrince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh visited on 3 March 1954. The president of the Shire of Traralgon, Cr Clem Little met and welcomed the Queen, who was flown by theRoyal Australian Air Force fromSale. She returned to Melbourne by train.[28]
In 1961, Traralgon formed its own borough, theBorough of Traralgon following a decade of lobbying to separate the urban areas of Traralgon from the Shire. Traralgon was proclaimed a city in 1964.
The old town hall and mechanics institute were demolished in 1973.[29]
Further development resulted from the expansion of thepower generation industry following World War II, particularly through the now defunctState Electricity Commission of Victoria. This included large expansions atYallourn andHazelwood Power Stations and the construction of the massiveLoy Yang Power Station in the 1970s and 1980s.
AnAustralian Securities & Investments Commission information processing centre was established in the early 1990s, at the time employing around 400 people.[citation needed]
The City of Traralgon and Shire of Traralgon continued a separate existence until they were amalgamated into the Shire of Latrobe in 1994.
Completion of the Loy Yang power stations, extensive voluntary departures[vague] from the electricity industry and privatisation of the Victorian electricity industry in the early 1990s had devastating effects on the economy of theLatrobe Valley. Traralgon, with a more diversified economy, suffered to a lesser extent than the neighbouring towns ofMorwell andMoe both of which relied almost exclusively on the power stations for their livelihood.
Traralgon grew strongly in the mid 2000s, with a figure of 2.7% making it the largest and fastest growing city in the Latrobe Valley.[30]
Traralgon contains a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
Traralgon is situated on expansive flat land in the Traralgon Creek valley catchment between theGreat Dividing Range in the north and theStrzelecki Ranges in the south. The Traralgon Creek runs through the city's centre and its green belt separates its eastern and western suburban areas. The urban area is hemmed to the south east by the Loy Yang Open Cut.
Traralgon is part of the Latrobe Valley tri-city urban area, a small area of industry and agricultural land separates it from neighbouring Morwell. Traralgon together with adjacent Morwell forms an urban area with an estimated population of 41,984 as at June 2018.[34] In the five years prior, the urban area had experienced a modest average annual growth in population of 0.5%.[34] The Traralgon portion the combined Morwell area had a population of 27,958,[35] also at June 2018. Greater Traralgon includes localities such as Traralgon, the suburb of Traralgon East and the relatively sparsely populated satellite localities ofHazelwood and Traralgon South to the south, andTyers andGlengarry to the north.
The Traralgoncentral business district is centred around Seymour and Franklin Streets. An indoor shopping mall calledTraralgon Centre Plaza was opened in 1985.[36] Commercial and light industry sprawl along most of the eastern stretch of the Princes Highway. Notable heritage buildings include the Post Office and Courthouse erected in 1886 and Ryans Hotel erected in 1914, both in Franklin Street.
Traralgon experiences anoceanic climate (Köppen climate classificationCfb). Nights in Traralgon are about 2 °C colder than inMelbourne[37]
| Climate data for Morwell (Latrobe Valley Airport, 1984–2022); 56 m AMSL; 38.21° S, 146.47° E | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 45.4 (113.7) | 46.3 (115.3) | 40.4 (104.7) | 35.0 (95.0) | 26.7 (80.1) | 23.5 (74.3) | 21.8 (71.2) | 26.8 (80.2) | 31.0 (87.8) | 35.1 (95.2) | 38.6 (101.5) | 42.2 (108.0) | 46.3 (115.3) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 26.8 (80.2) | 26.6 (79.9) | 24.5 (76.1) | 20.6 (69.1) | 16.9 (62.4) | 14.2 (57.6) | 13.7 (56.7) | 14.8 (58.6) | 17.0 (62.6) | 19.6 (67.3) | 22.1 (71.8) | 24.5 (76.1) | 20.1 (68.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 13.0 (55.4) | 12.9 (55.2) | 11.4 (52.5) | 8.8 (47.8) | 6.4 (43.5) | 4.3 (39.7) | 3.7 (38.7) | 4.4 (39.9) | 5.9 (42.6) | 7.5 (45.5) | 9.6 (49.3) | 11.3 (52.3) | 8.3 (46.9) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 1.8 (35.2) | 1.9 (35.4) | 1.9 (35.4) | −0.5 (31.1) | −2.8 (27.0) | −3.6 (25.5) | −4.8 (23.4) | −3.4 (25.9) | −2.6 (27.3) | −2.3 (27.9) | 0.6 (33.1) | 1.7 (35.1) | −4.8 (23.4) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 49.5 (1.95) | 42.1 (1.66) | 47.6 (1.87) | 56.7 (2.23) | 54.5 (2.15) | 64.6 (2.54) | 63.0 (2.48) | 67.5 (2.66) | 74.5 (2.93) | 71.2 (2.80) | 75.7 (2.98) | 65.2 (2.57) | 740.9 (29.17) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.2 mm) | 9.4 | 8.7 | 10.9 | 13.1 | 15.7 | 18.3 | 19.1 | 19.1 | 17.0 | 15.0 | 13.4 | 12.0 | 171.7 |
| Source:[38] | |||||||||||||
From 9 June 2021 Traralgon was one of the hardest-hit towns with 200 homes evacuated when aneast coast low weather system caused widespread flash flooding acrossGippsland.[39]
The economy is primarily driven by theprimary sector, natural resources and thesecondary sector includingcoal mining, processing andfossil-fuel power generation[40] for theNational Electricity Market. Along with electricity production, Traralgon benefits from the mining foroil andnatural gas in the nearbyBass Strait fields.
A significantforestry industry operates including logging of both plantation and natural forest timber, The largestpaper mill in Australia is located nearby in Maryvale and provides local employment for over 2,000 people.
The localagriculture industry is involved in the production ofwool anddairy products, as well asvegetable growing.
Thetertiary sector of the economy is also important for employment with major government administration offices for theAustralian Securities & Investments Commission,Department of Health & Human Services,Department of Environment, Land, Water & Planning andEnvironment Protection Authority.
The Gippsland Regional Aquatic Centre in Traralgon is the first public aquatic facility in Victoria to incorporate a deep-bore geothermal heating system.[41] The system taps in to the aquifer below ground in Traralgon at a depth of more than 600 metres where the ground water is about 65 degrees Celsius.
Traralgon features a number of primary and secondary schools, including state, catholic and independent schools.
The local primary schools include Grey Street Primary School (formerly Traralgon Primary School), Kosciuszko Street Primary School, Liddiard Road Primary School, Stockdale Road Primary School, St Michaels Primary School, St Gabriels Primary School,Chairo Christian School (formerly Flinders Christian Community College]) and St Pauls Anglican Grammar School.St Paul's Anglican Grammar School andChairo Christian School are also secondary schools. In addition Traralgon has the Latrobe Special Developmental School catering for students from 4.5 to 18 years of age with an intellectual and physical disability.
The local government secondary school,Traralgon College, has two campuses, the junior campus (years 7 & 8) located on Liddiard Rd in Traralgon's east, with the senior campus (years 9–12) on Grey St in Traralgon's west. There is also a Catholic secondary school,Lavalla Catholic College. Lavalla has two campuses in Traralgon's West end, and a third campus in Newborough. The junior campus, St Paul's, neighbours Traralgon College's senior campus on Grey St. The senior campus, Kildare, is located in Kosciuszko St. Chairo Christian School on Liddiard Rd is a P– 8 school.
A number of Traralgon families also send their children to the three independent Anglican grammar schools in the region, two of which are about 40 minutes drive from Traralgon: St. Paul's Anglican Grammar School, which has a campus in Traralgon as well as Warragul, orGippsland Grammar School in Sale.
TAFE and University education is also available within the region. Traralgon is a 15-minute drive fromFederation University Australia's Gippsland Campus, located in the neighbouring town of Churchill. Traralgon is also home to one of a number of campuses for the region's TAFE provider, TAFE Gippsland.
Australian rules football is popular. There are two senior clubs, the Traralgon Maroons (which briefly competed in theVictorian Football League between 1996–1997) currently competing in theGippsland Football League and Traralgon-Tyers United competing in theNorth Gippsland Football League. There is also a junior league, Traralgon and District Junior Football League, with most games played from the West End Sporting Complex.
Cricket is also popular, with a local league, the Traralgon and District Cricket Association (TDCA) operating.
Soccer is represented by two clubs -Traralgon City andTraralgon Olympians - who both play in theLatrobe Valley Soccer League. The home grounds are Harold Preston Reserve and Harold Preston Park respectively.
There is a localbasketball league, the Traralgon Basketball Association with a stadium at the Traralgon Sports Complex. The Traralgon Sports Stadium played host to preliminary round games of theBasketball competition during the2006 Commonwealth Games which were held inMelbourne.
The localbaseball team is the Traralgon Redsox.
Traralgon has ahorse racing club, the Latrobe Valley Racing Club, which schedules two race meetings a year including the Cup meeting in December.[42]
The Traralgon Greyhound Racing Club holds regulargreyhound racing meetings at Glenview Park. The first meeting was held on 28 June 1973.[43][44]
Golfers play at the course of the Traralgon Golf Club on the Princes Highway.[45]
The Traralgon Harriers are a running club that runs 5 or 6 km races every Thursday night and also organise Victoria's oldest marathon, theTraralgon Marathon, held every June.[46]
The Latrobe Valley Cycling club hold road and track racing events on most weeks throughout the year.
Traralgon Pistol Club and Traralgon small bore rifle Club also located in the town.
The entertainment precinct which spans Kay, Grey and Franklin Streets attracts people from surrounding towns to several nightclubs, bars and restaurants located there.
The weeklyLatrobe Valley Express newspaper is delivered to all homes on Wednesday nights, in Traralgon,Morwell andMoe. TheTraralgon Record newspaper has been digitised from 1886 to 1932 as part of the Australian Newspapers Digitisation Program.[47]
Melbourne Newspapers such asThe Weekly Times,The Age and theHerald Sun and national newspapers likeThe Australian,The Saturday Paper, and theAustralian Financial Review are also available.
The area was the first in Australia to receive its own regional television station,GLV-10 Gippsland (now Southern Cross 10), when it launched on 9 December 1961.
Programs from the three main commercial television networks (Seven,Nine andTen) are all re-broadcast intoLatrobe Valley by their regional affiliates –Seven (AMV),WIN (VTV) andNetwork 10 (GLV). All broadcast from theLatrobe Valley transmitter atMount Tassie. All the commercial stations are based inTraralgon and have local commercials placed on their broadcasts.
Local news is available on all three commercial networks:
Nine previously produced a local news bulletin brandedNine News Gippsland and laterNine News Local for a brief period between 2017 and 2021 that aired on theSouthern Cross Austereo primary channel when it was previously affiliated with Nine.
Both nationalpublic broadcasters,ABC (ABC TV) andSBS (SBS TV) are broadcast into the Latrobe Valley as well, viaMount Tassie, as well as from the Dandenong Ranges transmitters located east of Melbourne.
Additional digital multi-channels broadcast by all the networks in addition to the ones listed above are available on the digital service calledFreeview to viewers in Traralgon and the Gippsland/Latrobe Valley region. These channels include HD simulcasts of the primary channel (available on channels 20, 30, 50, 60 and 80). As well asABC Family,ABC Entertains,ABC News,SBS Viceland,SBS World Movies,10 Bold Drama,10 Peach Comedy,Nickelodeon,7two,7mate,7flix,7bravo,9Gem,9Go!,9Life andSky News Regional.
Television transmissions fromMount Dandenong for the Melbourne market (Seven, Nine and Ten) can also be received indigital in Traralgon with a suitable roof-top antenna.
Subscription television serviceFoxtel (previouslyAustar until 2014) is available via satellite.
There are two radio stations with studios located in Traralgon –TRFM (99.5 MHz) andGold 1242, both owned byAce Radio. The FM station is broadcast along with the television channels fromMount Tassie whileGold 1242 is broadcast from an AM transmitter nearSale.Warragul radio stationsTriple M (97.9 MHz) and3GG (531 kHz) also service this region.
MostABC stations are rebroadcast locally and available in Traralgon, along with774 ABC Melbourne which is able to be received directly fromMelbourne and the localABC Gippsland station (100.7 MHz). Some Melbourne stations both on the AM band and the FM band can be heard in the more elevated parts of Traralgon, however DAB+ is not available without a vertically polarized roof-top antenna.
Community radio stations Gippsland FM (104.7 MHz) based inMorwell and Life FM (103.9 MHz) based inSale are also broadcast into the Latrobe Valley and can be heard in Traralgon.
Road transport and themotor vehicle is the main form of transport.[48] ThePrinces Highway runs through the city and close to the CBD which received heavy regional traffic (although a Traralgon Bypass road is undergoing planning[49]). TheHyland Highway also originates at Traralgon.
Rail transport includes bothpassenger rail andfreight rail. The city's only station isTraralgon railway station which is on theGippsland railway line served byV/Line services fromMelbourne toBairnsdale.[50] Victoria's electronic ticketing system,Myki, was implemented on rail services between Traralgon and Melbourne on 8 July 2013.[51]
Latrobe Valley Buslines provides local services around Traralgon and other cities in the Latrobe Valley.
Latrobe Valley Airport is located close to Traralgon in nearby Morwell and providesgeneral aviation.
Traralgon has a minimalbicycle infrastructure, with fewsegregated cycle facilities. An exception is the 63-kilometre-longGippsland Plains Rail Trail which connects Traralgon toStratford viaCowwarr,Heyfield,Tinamba andMaffra. A new cycling and walking path was opened in 2020 between Traralgon and Morwell and with a connection to the Latrobe Regional Hospital (LRH).
Sport
| Other
|
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
| People | |