Traralgon, Victoria

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Location of Traralgon in Victoria (red)

Traralgon is a regional city located in the Latrobe Valley in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. Traralgon's population at the 2001 Australian census was 25,018 people. Traralgon is in the Local Government Area of Latrobe City and was formerly the administrative centre although this has now moved to the neighbouring city of Morwell. The name Traralgon is derived from the local Aboriginal words 'Tarra' meaning 'big river' and 'Algon' meaning 'little fish', probably referring to Traralgon Creek.

1 History
2 Modern Traralgon
3 Local Media
4 Events
5 Famous people from Traralgon
6 External links

[edit] History

The Gippsland region was originally inhabited by the indigenous Ganai people for a period in excess of 20,000 years.

The area around Traralgon was first settled by Europeans in the 1840s soon after being explored by Count Pawel Strzelecki on his return from the Snowy Mountains where he named Australia's highest peak, Mount Kosciuszko. Due to the Latrobe 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 1877 the railway from Melbourne was completed giving Traralgon a major economic boost. In the latter part of the 19th century the city grew strongly.

It was not until the 1930s however that Traralgon began to move away from a farming based economy. In 1936 Australian Paper Manufacturers established a paper mill at Maryvale, around 8km from Traralgon.

In 1960 Traralgon's most famous son Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet jointly won the Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine.

Through the 1950s residents and councillors fought to separate Traralgon from the Shire of Morwell, which occurred in 1961 when Traralgon formed its owned borough, the Borough of Traralgon. Traralgon was proclaimed a city in 1964.

Further development resulted from the expansion of the power generation industry following World War II, particularly through the now defunct SEC. Which included large expansions at Yallourn and Hazelwood Power Stations and the construction of the massive Loy Yang Power Station in the 1970s and 1980s.

An Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) information processing centre was established in the late 1980s, employing around 400 people.

Completion of the Loy Yang power stations, extensive voluntary departures from the electricity industry and privatisation of the Victorian electricity industry in the early 1990s had devastating effects on the economy of the Latrobe Valley. Traralgon, with a more diversified economy, suffered to a lesser extent than the neighbouring towns of Morwell and Moe both of which relied almost exclusively on the power stations for their livelihood.

Traralgon is now one of Victoria's most prosperous regional cities and is the economic heart of the Latrobe Valley.

[edit] Modern Traralgon

Perhaps due to its rapid development, Traralgon has retained little of its historical architecture. Notable exceptions are the Post Office and Courthouse erected in 1886 and Ryans Hotel erected in 1914. Both are in Franklin Street.

The Traralgon central business district is centered around Seymour and Franklin Streets. A sub-regional shopping centre has also been constructed, which has a thriving mix of tenants (mainly franchise and national brands), with the adajacent strip shopping centre filled with local businesses.

Compared to other towns in the region, such as Morwell or Moe, Traralgon, with it's comprehensive mix of commercial, retail and national chain franchises, provides all the amenities of Inner-City Living, with the benefits of a five minute commute to the CBD (from the residential area), with the median price approximately 50% of Melbourne.

Although noticeably better than in past years, an unpleasant odour still sometimes pervades the inner-CBD and residential areas - presumed to originate from the foul gas incinerators at the local Paper Mill. Locals refer to this as the "Traralgon stink". Despite intermittant lobbying, this smell is moreover accepted as a normal part of life in Traralgon.

The Traralgon economy is still heavily reliant on the power industry and the paper mill for employment. Other significant employers include the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and Centrelink.

Local sporting teams include the Traralgon Redsox (Baseball) and the Traralgon Maroons (AFL)

[edit] Local Media

[edit] Newspapers

The bi-weekly Latrobe Valley Express newspaper is delivered to all homes on Monday and Thursday nights, in Traralgon and Morwell. The weekly Traralgon Journal is delivered to all homes on Tuesday nights; this paper is much smaller than the Express and usually has 8 pages of content.

[edit] Television

Commercial Melbourne based television networks such as the Seven, Nine and Ten networks are all re-broadcast in the Latrobe Valley by their regional affiliates, which are Prime Television, WIN Television and Southern Cross Ten respectively. All three channels have local commercials placed on their broadcasts and WIN TV also broadcasts a local news bulletin. Most Melbourne channels (Seven Network, Channel Nine, Channel Ten) can be received in analogue and more clearly in digital in Traralgon with a suitable roof-top antenna. Both national public broadcasters, Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Special Broadcasting Service are broadcast to the Latrobe Valley as well.

[edit] Radio

There are three radio stations with studios located in Traralgon - 3TR FM and 3GV. Most stations are broadcast along with the television channels from Mt. Tassie while 3GV is broadcast from an AM transmitter in Sale. Most Australian Broadcasting Corporation stations are rebroadcast locally and available in Traralgon, along with 774 ABC Melbourne which is able to be received directly from Melbourne.