Latrobe Valley
Encyclopedia
The Latrobe Valley is an inland geographical region and urban area of Gippsland
in the state of Victoria
, Australia. It is east of the City Of Melbourne and nestled between the Strzelecki Ranges
to the south and the Great Dividing Range
to the north – with the highest peak to the north of the Latrobe Valley – approximately due north of Moe
– being Mount Baw Baw
.
The area has four major centres (from west to east) Warragul, Moe
, Morwell and Traralgon with a total population of of over 80,000. The city of Moe
is the most central city to the Latrobe Valley – with all other major centres in the area (from Drouin
to Traralgon) being within an approximate 35 kilometer radius of Moe
.
It is named after the Latrobe River
which flows eastward, through the valley.
flows into Lake Wellington to the east of Sale and includes in its drainage basin a significant part of central Gippsland, the region conventionally known as the Latrobe Valley occupies a smaller area centred on the three major towns of Moe
, Morwell
and Traralgon
, between the Strzelecki Ranges
to the south and the westernmost reaches of the Australian Alps
to the north. The valley is moderately fertile with a damp climate.
The primary hospital is the Latrobe Regional Hospital located on the Princes Highway
between Morwell and Traralgon.
Smaller towns are Tyers
Newborough
, Yinnar
, Erica
, Thorpdale
, Yallourn North
(The original Yallourn
being relocated due to the open cut
coal mine), Churchill
(site of the local campus of Monash University
) and Boolarra
.
All the major towns are served by Rotary clubs, Rotary club of Morwell, Rotary club of Moe, Hazelwood Rotary Club (Churchill), and Traralgon and Traralgon central Rotary clubs.
Logging is also an important industry in the hills to the north and south, with a major paper mill located at Maryvale, near Morwell. In the rugged north of the region is located the historic gold-mining town of Walhalla
, amid mountains forming the west of Alpine National Park
and nearby Baw Baw National Park
, a minor winter ski resort
.
– specifically the mining and burning of Lignite
(brown coal) to produce electricity. The area produces a total of approximately 85% of the electricity
for the entire state of Victoria
– and supplies some electricity to New South Wales & Tasmania – and is home to four of the highest electricity producing power station
s in the country.
Power plants located in the Latrobe Valley include Hazelwood Power Station
, Loy Yang Power Stations A & B
, Yallourn Power Station
, Jeeralang Power Station (Gas)
and the Energy Brix Power Station.
s, The City of Latrobe (central/eastern Latrobe Valley) which has the bulk of the region's population and also the Shire of Baw Baw (west Latrobe Valley).
Latrobe City LGA has a population of approximately 75,000 with four major population centres: Moe
, Morwell, Churchill and Traralgon, with smaller townships including Boolarra, Glengarry
, Toongabbie, Tyers
, Traralgon South, Yallourn North, and Yinnar with the administrative headquarters located in Morwell.
Baw Baw Shire has a population of over 40,000 and is headquartered in Warragul.
runs through Latrobe Valley, bypassing only Morwell and connecting the region to both Melbourne and East Gippsland
. The centrally located center of Moe
is approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes drive from the central business district of Melbourne.
V/Line
runs a rail service from metropolitan Melbourne to the Latrobe Valley and also runs services that go through the Latrobe Valley to East Gippsland. Some rail services run limited express to the Latrobe Valley – stopping in the major population centres of Drouin
, Warragul, Moe
, Morwell & Traralgon. Other Services – including the Gippslander rail service – stop all stations in the area.
Services to the Latrobe Valley run between Melbourne to Traralgon – whilst Gippsland services run between Melbourne to Bairnsdale. The Latrobe Valley/Gippsland rail ine is connected to the meteropolitan Melbourne Pakenham line.
Latrobe Valley Bus Lines are operated by Valley Transit, which runs connecting bus services in the Latrobe Valley area between Moe
and Traralgon – consisting of inter-city services that run between Moe
and Traralgon to nearby towns such as Morwell, Churchill and Yallourn North – and connecting town services that run in each major center.
Latrobe Valley Airport
(IATA: LTB, ICAO: YLTV) is located in the Latrobe Valley approximately 2 hours east of Melbourne, off Princes Highway, on the west side of Traralgon.
is home to 2,000 on-campus students, 5,000 off-campus students and nearly 400 staff. The campus sits in the Latrobe Valley town of Churchill, 142 km east of Melbourne on 63 hectares of landscaped grounds.
It is the only non-metropolitan campus of Monash University. The campus offers many undergraduate degrees, and attracts many students from the Latrobe Valley, East and West Gippsland. The Gippsland Medical School, offering postgraduate entry Bachelor of Medicine / Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) courses was officially opened by the Federal Minister for Health and Ageing, Nicola Roxon on 5 June 2008, providing students with a unique opportunity to learn medicine in a rural setting working with rural practitioners.
team lists in the AFL from the Latrobe Valley & Gippsland
.
Latrobe Valley is currently the only large regional centre in Victoria
that does not have a team participating in the Victorian Football League
, despite the fact that the area within an approximate 35 km radius of Moe
(Drouin, Warragul, Trafalgar, Moe, Morwell, Churchill, Traralgon and other smaller towns) has a population well over 100,000, as large or larger than places such as Bendigo and Ballarat that do have teams participating in the VFL.
The Victorian Football League was formerly known as the Victorian Football Association (VFA). When that league was called the VFA – people involved in it stated that their goal was for the VFA to become the statewide league in the state of Victoria. When there is a team based in Moe
in the Latrobe Valley they will have achieved their goal of that league becoming the statewide league in Victoria.
The region is represented in the Victoria State TAC Cup
Under 18's competition by the Gippsland Power.
Gippsland Power played its first season in the TAC Cup cometition in 1993. The Power have won one premiership to date in 2005 – and been runner-up on two occasions in 1999 and 2010.
Over 60 players have been drafted from Gippsland Power onto Australian Football League club lists since the first player was drafted in 1993.
Gippsland Power has had three players win the TAC Cup Under 18's Morrish Medal
– the award for the best & fairest player in the Tac Cup as voted by the umpires – Matthew Stolarczyk in 1999, Jarryd Blair
in 2008 and Dyson Heppell
in 2010.
The Gippsland League Football competition is the largest league in the region and one of the largest and highest standard football leagues in Victoria outside of Melbourne. Five of the ten teams in the Gippsland League are based in the Latrobe Valley.
The most recent premiership won in the Gippsland League (or equivalent) by a team based in the Latrobe Valley was Traralgon Maroons in 2005.
The Mid Gippsland Football League
is the second largest football league in the area and comprises 10 teams – all of which are exclusively based in the Latrobe Valley.
The first harness racing meeting held in Warragul was in November 1939 and the local club conducted the first country Derby in Australia three months later, with the Warragul Derby for pacers and for trotters. Warragul is the eldest club based east of Melbourne.
Drouin Picnic Racetrack is situated 95km east of Melbourne via the Princes Freeway. The Course is neslted amongst the park surrounds of the Mathew Bennett Park and the Drouin Golf Club, about 500m south of the Freeway itself. The track is approximately 1500m in circumference. Drouin's main race meeting is on Boxing Day, with the feature race being the Drouin Cup.
Glenview Park in Traralgon hosts both horse and greyhound racing. Traralgon greyhounds race at the Glenview Park Racing Complex which is owned by the Latrobe City Council. It was specifically designed for the racing of horses and greyhounds. The inaugural greyhound race was held in 1973. Typical greyhound races at Glenview are run over a distance of 298, 513, 658 and 730 meters.
There are a large number of golf courses in the Latrobe Valley area within an approximate 35 km radius of the centrally located center of Moe
. They include the Moe Golf Club, nestled next to Lake Narracan
, Churchill & Monash Golf Club, which is located near Monash University Campus in Churchill and Yallourn Golf Club at Newborough.
The Latrobe Valley Express is delivered free of charge to residences in the Latrobe Valley region twice per week on Monday & Thursday and has a current circulation of approximately 34,128 (CAB). There is also the Moe-Narracan News and the Traralgon Journal, which is distributed free of charge once per week on Tuesday and has a circulation of approximately 11,034 (CAB).
The Warragul Gazette and The Trader are printed and distributed by Warragul Regional Newspapers Pty Ltd. The Trader is distributed free to hosueholds and farms in the west Latrobe Valley area. The Gazette has a circulation of approximately 11,515 each Tuesday, whilst The Trader has a circulation of approximately 12,492 each Thursday.
The now defunct Latrobe Valley Voice was a new paper to the region, having been established in March 2011. The Latrobe Valley Voice was delivered free of charge to over 30,000 residences in the Latrobe Valley region on Wednesdays. The paper collapsed on 7 May 2011 after its financial backers withdrew their support.
commercial radio stations Star FM and 3GG
service this region along with all five ABC
radio networks and several community and narrowcast stations including Gippsland FM.
TRfm and Gold1242 are commercial radio stations servicing the Latrobe Valley and East Gippsland.
, Nine
and Ten networks are all re-broadcast in the Latrobe Valley by their regional affiliates, which are Prime7, 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 from Monday to Friday at 6.30 pm.
New channels broadcast by the commercial networks in addition to the ones listed above are available on the digital service called Freeview (Australia)
to viewers in Moe and the Gippsland \ Latrobe Valley region. These channels include One HD, Eleven
, 7Two
, 7mate
, GEM
and GO!
.
Most Melbourne channels (Seven Network, Channel Nine, Channel Ten) can be received in analogue and more clearly in digital
in Moe with a suitable roof-top antenna. Both national public broadcasters
, Australian Broadcasting Corporation
including channels ABC1
, ABC2
, ABC3
, ABC News 24
and Special Broadcasting Service
including SBS One and SBS Two, are broadcast to the Latrobe Valley from the TV tower at Mount Tassie, as well as from the Dandenong Ranges transmitters located east of Melbourne.
Gippsland
Gippsland is a large rural region in Victoria, Australia. It begins immediately east of the suburbs of Melbourne and stretches to the New South Wales border, lying between the Great Dividing Range to the north and Bass Strait to the south...
in the state of Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Australia. It is east of the City Of Melbourne and nestled between the Strzelecki Ranges
Strzelecki Ranges
Strzelecki Ranges, also known as Strzelecki Hills is a low mountain range in the Gippsland region of south-eastern Australia between the Latrobe Valley to the north and Bass Strait to the south...
to the south and the Great Dividing Range
Great Dividing Range
The Great Dividing Range, or the Eastern Highlands, is Australia's most substantial mountain range and the third longest in the world. The range stretches more than 3,500 km from Dauan Island off the northeastern tip of Queensland, running the entire length of the eastern coastline through...
to the north – with the highest peak to the north of the Latrobe Valley – approximately due north of Moe
Moe
-People:First name* Moe Berg, American major league baseball catcher, and spy* Moe Drabowsky, American major league baseball pitcher* Moe Howard, one of the Three Stooges* Moe Jaffe, songwriter and bandleader* Moe Oshikiri , Japanese model...
– being Mount Baw Baw
Mount Baw Baw
Mount Baw Baw is a mountain in Victoria, Australia. Mount Baw Baw Alpine Resort is an Unincorporated area of Victoria surrounded by the Shire of Baw Baw.-Location:...
.
The area has four major centres (from west to east) Warragul, Moe
Moe
-People:First name* Moe Berg, American major league baseball catcher, and spy* Moe Drabowsky, American major league baseball pitcher* Moe Howard, one of the Three Stooges* Moe Jaffe, songwriter and bandleader* Moe Oshikiri , Japanese model...
, Morwell and Traralgon with a total population of of over 80,000. The city of Moe
Moe
-People:First name* Moe Berg, American major league baseball catcher, and spy* Moe Drabowsky, American major league baseball pitcher* Moe Howard, one of the Three Stooges* Moe Jaffe, songwriter and bandleader* Moe Oshikiri , Japanese model...
is the most central city to the Latrobe Valley – with all other major centres in the area (from Drouin
Drouin
- People :* André Drouin, Canadian politician* Claude Drouin , Canadian politician* Jacques Drouin , Canadian animator* Jude Drouin , Canadian ice hockey player* Marie-Josée Drouin , Canadian economist...
to Traralgon) being within an approximate 35 kilometer radius of Moe
Moe
-People:First name* Moe Berg, American major league baseball catcher, and spy* Moe Drabowsky, American major league baseball pitcher* Moe Howard, one of the Three Stooges* Moe Jaffe, songwriter and bandleader* Moe Oshikiri , Japanese model...
.
It is named after the Latrobe River
Latrobe River
The La Trobe River is a river in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. It begins in the area between Powelltown and Noojee where it shares a watershed with the Little Yarra River, a tributary of the Yarra River, and has a number of tributaries joining it from the southern slopes of the Baw Baw plateau,...
which flows eastward, through the valley.
Geography
While the Latrobe RiverLatrobe River
The La Trobe River is a river in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. It begins in the area between Powelltown and Noojee where it shares a watershed with the Little Yarra River, a tributary of the Yarra River, and has a number of tributaries joining it from the southern slopes of the Baw Baw plateau,...
flows into Lake Wellington to the east of Sale and includes in its drainage basin a significant part of central Gippsland, the region conventionally known as the Latrobe Valley occupies a smaller area centred on the three major towns of Moe
Moe, Victoria
Moe is a city in the Latrobe Valley and Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. It is about east of Melbourne and at the 2006 census had a population of 15,582 . It is administered by the City of Latrobe council....
, Morwell
Morwell, Victoria
-Transport:The main form of transport in Morwell is the automobile. The Princes Freeway now bypasses the town to the south while the old Princes Highway which once passed through east-west through its centre is now Princes Drive and Commercial Road. The highway connects Morwell with other...
and Traralgon
Traralgon, Victoria
Traralgon is a regional city located in the Latrobe Valley in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. Traralgon is a city within the City of Latrobe....
, between the Strzelecki Ranges
Strzelecki Ranges
Strzelecki Ranges, also known as Strzelecki Hills is a low mountain range in the Gippsland region of south-eastern Australia between the Latrobe Valley to the north and Bass Strait to the south...
to the south and the westernmost reaches of the Australian Alps
Australian Alps
The Australian Alps are the highest mountain ranges of mainland Australia. They are located in southeastern Australia and straddle the Australian Capital Territory, south-eastern New South Wales and eastern Victoria...
to the north. The valley is moderately fertile with a damp climate.
Climate
It has a maritime climate meaning mild temperatures with large amounts of rain, the occasional frost and snow on neighbouring hills. The Latrobe Valley’s warmest month is February with an average temperature range of 12.5 °C to 26.4 °C and the coldest month is July with an average temperature range of 3.6 °C to 13.5 °C. The most rain occurs in late winter and spring, and average yearly rainfall is approximately 800mm.Demographics
There are four major population centres in the latrobe valley:- MoeMoe, VictoriaMoe is a city in the Latrobe Valley and Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. It is about east of Melbourne and at the 2006 census had a population of 15,582 . It is administered by the City of Latrobe council....
– Latrobe City Council – central Latrobe Valley - Morwell – Latrobe City Council – East Latrobe Valley
- Traralgon – Latrobe City Council – East Latrobe Valley
- Warragul – Baw Baw Shire Council – West Latrobe Valley
The primary hospital is the Latrobe Regional Hospital located on the Princes Highway
Princes Highway
The Princes Highway extends from Sydney to Port Augusta via the coast through the states of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, a distance of 1941 km or 1898 km via the former alignments of the highway ....
between Morwell and Traralgon.
Smaller towns are Tyers
Tyers, Victoria
Tyers is a small town in Victoria, Australia. It is east of Melbourne, north-west of Traralgon and located in the City of Latrobe. It was known until 1852 as "Boola Boola", after which it was named after the surveyor and explorer Charles Tyers...
Newborough
Newborough, Victoria
Newborough is a town in the Latrobe Valley in Victoria, Australia which shares a border to its west, mostly along the Narracan Creek, with the town of Moe. It can be divided into three areas, Old Newborough, East Newborough and North Newborough...
, Yinnar
Yinnar, Victoria
Yinnar is a tranquil rural township located in the Latrobe Valley, in central Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. At the 2006 census, Yinnar had a population of 585...
, Erica
Erica, Victoria
Erica is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on Rawson Road, in the Shire of Baw Baw.The area was generally known as Upper Moondarra in the early 1900s, the township of Erica beginning to grow after construction of the railway line from Moe to Walhalla, which passed through the area...
, Thorpdale
Thorpdale, Victoria
Thorpdale is a small country town in the Gippsland area of eastern Victoria, Australia, less than 20 km south of Trafalgar. Famous for its potatoes, it is located amongst the rich farmland of the Latrobe Valley. Thorpdale spuds are eaten around the country and also exported overseas. The name...
, Yallourn North
Yallourn North, Victoria
Yallourn North is a small country town in the City of Latrobe, Victoria, Australia. It is approximately 8 kilometres north-east of Moe. The town contains many churches, including the only Serbian Orthodox Church and Mosque in the region...
(The original Yallourn
Yallourn, Victoria
Yallourn, Victoria was a company town in Victoria, Australia built between the 1920s and 1950s to house employees of the State Electricity Commission of Victoria, who operated the nearby Yallourn Power Station complex. However, expansion of the adjacent open-cut brown coal mine led to the closure...
being relocated due to the open cut
Surface mining
Surface mining , is a type of mining in which soil and rock overlying the mineral deposit are removed...
coal mine), Churchill
Churchill, Victoria
Churchill is a town in the Latrobe Valley, located in central Gippsland in the east of Victoria, Australia. The town had a population of 4,588 at the 2006 census, and is part of the Latrobe City local government area...
(site of the local campus of Monash University
Monash University
Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....
) and Boolarra
Boolarra, Victoria
Boolarra is a small township located in the Latrobe Valley, in central Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. At the 2006 census, Boolarra had a population of 528 . The Boolarra Folk Festival is held in the town every year in March and attracts music lovers from around Australia and the world...
.
All the major towns are served by Rotary clubs, Rotary club of Morwell, Rotary club of Moe, Hazelwood Rotary Club (Churchill), and Traralgon and Traralgon central Rotary clubs.
Economy
Key industry sectors include power generation, paper manufacture, timber mills, agriculture, dairy, timber, IT, engineering and education. The Valley provides 85% of Victoria’s electricity and has a substantial engineering sector supporting the power generation, pulp and paper production and food processing industries, etc. The tertiary education sector attracts local, interstate and international students.Logging is also an important industry in the hills to the north and south, with a major paper mill located at Maryvale, near Morwell. In the rugged north of the region is located the historic gold-mining town of Walhalla
Walhalla, Victoria
Walhalla is a small town in Victoria, Australia, founded as a gold-mining community in early 1863 and at its peak home to around 2,500 residents. Today, the town has a population of fewer than 20 permanent residents, though it has a large proportion of houses owned as holiday properties. It...
, amid mountains forming the west of Alpine National Park
Alpine National Park
The Alpine National Park is a national park in Victoria , northeast of Melbourne. It covers much of the higher areas of the Great Dividing Range in Victoria, including Victoria's highest point, Mount Bogong and the associated subalpine woodland and grassland of the Bogong High Plains...
and nearby Baw Baw National Park
Baw Baw National Park
Baw Baw is a national park in Victoria, Australia, 111 km east of Melbourne. It contains the Baw-Baw Plateau and Mount Baw Baw, a small ski resort, including nearby town, technically outside the national park....
, a minor winter ski resort
Ski resort
A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing and other winter sports. In Europe a ski resort is a town or village in a ski area - a mountainous area, where there are ski trails and supporting services such as hotels and other accommodation, restaurants, equipment rental and a ski lift system...
.
Industry
It is significant as the centre of Victoria's Energy industryEnergy industry
The energy industry is the totality of all of the industries involved in the production and sale of energy, including fuel extraction, manufacturing, refining and distribution...
– specifically the mining and burning of Lignite
Lignite
Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, or Rosebud coal by Northern Pacific Railroad,is a soft brown fuel with characteristics that put it somewhere between coal and peat...
(brown coal) to produce electricity. The area produces a total of approximately 85% of the electricity
Energy in Victoria
The primary energy source for the generation of electricity in the State of Victoria is brown coal - one of the largest contributors to Australia's total domestic greenhouse gas emissions. Brown coal is used for the generation of approximately 85 percent of Victoria's household, commercial and...
for the entire state of Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
– and supplies some electricity to New South Wales & Tasmania – and is home to four of the highest electricity producing power station
Power station
A power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....
s in the country.
Hazelwood Power Station, Victoria
Hazelwood Power Station, in the Latrobe Valley, Victoria, Australia is a brown coal fueled base-load power station built between 1964 and 1971. The power station is of 1,600 megawatt capacity, and supplies up to 25% of Victoria's base load electricity and more than 5% of Australia's total energy...
, Loy Yang Power Stations A & B
Loy Yang Power Station, Victoria
Loy Yang Power Station is a brown coal fired power station located on the outskirts of the city of Traralgon, in south eastern Victoria, Australia. Loy Yang is a base load supply station, and produces about one third of Victoria's electricity requirements...
, Yallourn Power Station
Yallourn Power Station, Victoria
Yallourn Power Station was a complex of six brown coal fuelled power stations built progressively from the 1920s to the 1960s. Located in Victoria's Latrobe Valley, the complex was situated beside the Latrobe River, with the company town of Yallourn located to the south west...
, Jeeralang Power Station (Gas)
Jeeralang Power Station, Victoria (Australia)
Jeeralang Power Station is a gas turbine power station near Morwell, Victoria, Australia. It was constructed in two stages and has a capacity of 449 megawatts. The station is a peaking facility which is utilised only during periods of peak demand, it is also used as a black start facility to...
and the Energy Brix Power Station.
Governance
The Latrobe Valley consists of two Local Government AreaLocal Government Area
A local government area is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a state, province, division, or territory....
s, The City of Latrobe (central/eastern Latrobe Valley) which has the bulk of the region's population and also the Shire of Baw Baw (west Latrobe Valley).
Latrobe City LGA has a population of approximately 75,000 with four major population centres: Moe
Moe
-People:First name* Moe Berg, American major league baseball catcher, and spy* Moe Drabowsky, American major league baseball pitcher* Moe Howard, one of the Three Stooges* Moe Jaffe, songwriter and bandleader* Moe Oshikiri , Japanese model...
, Morwell, Churchill and Traralgon, with smaller townships including Boolarra, Glengarry
Glengarry
The glengarry bonnet is a traditional boat-shaped hat without a peak made of thick-milled woollen material with a toorie on top, a rosette cockade on the left, and ribbons hanging down behind...
, Toongabbie, Tyers
Tyers
Tyers may refer to:* Charles Tyers , explorer of Australia* Kathy Tyers , American author* Tyers, Victoria, a small town in Australia* Mount Tyers, a low peak of Mount Baw Baw, Australia...
, Traralgon South, Yallourn North, and Yinnar with the administrative headquarters located in Morwell.
Baw Baw Shire has a population of over 40,000 and is headquartered in Warragul.
Transport
The Princes FreewayPrinces Freeway
The Princes Freeway is a , 2 section freeway, which links Melbourne to Geelong on the west and Morwell on the east . It continues beyond these extremities as the Princes Highway towards Adelaide to the west and Sydney to the east...
runs through Latrobe Valley, bypassing only Morwell and connecting the region to both Melbourne and East Gippsland
East Gippsland
East Gippsland is the eastern region of Gippsland, Australia covering 31,740 square kilometres of Victoria. It has a population of 80,114....
. The centrally located center of Moe
Moe
-People:First name* Moe Berg, American major league baseball catcher, and spy* Moe Drabowsky, American major league baseball pitcher* Moe Howard, one of the Three Stooges* Moe Jaffe, songwriter and bandleader* Moe Oshikiri , Japanese model...
is approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes drive from the central business district of Melbourne.
V/Line
V/Line
V/Line is a not for profit regional passenger train and coach service in Victoria, Australia. It was created after the split-up of VicRail in 1983. V/Line is owned by the V/Line Corporation which is a Victorian State Government statutory authority...
runs a rail service from metropolitan Melbourne to the Latrobe Valley and also runs services that go through the Latrobe Valley to East Gippsland. Some rail services run limited express to the Latrobe Valley – stopping in the major population centres of Drouin
Drouin
- People :* André Drouin, Canadian politician* Claude Drouin , Canadian politician* Jacques Drouin , Canadian animator* Jude Drouin , Canadian ice hockey player* Marie-Josée Drouin , Canadian economist...
, Warragul, Moe
Moe
-People:First name* Moe Berg, American major league baseball catcher, and spy* Moe Drabowsky, American major league baseball pitcher* Moe Howard, one of the Three Stooges* Moe Jaffe, songwriter and bandleader* Moe Oshikiri , Japanese model...
, Morwell & Traralgon. Other Services – including the Gippslander rail service – stop all stations in the area.
Services to the Latrobe Valley run between Melbourne to Traralgon – whilst Gippsland services run between Melbourne to Bairnsdale. The Latrobe Valley/Gippsland rail ine is connected to the meteropolitan Melbourne Pakenham line.
Latrobe Valley Bus Lines are operated by Valley Transit, which runs connecting bus services in the Latrobe Valley area between Moe
Moe
-People:First name* Moe Berg, American major league baseball catcher, and spy* Moe Drabowsky, American major league baseball pitcher* Moe Howard, one of the Three Stooges* Moe Jaffe, songwriter and bandleader* Moe Oshikiri , Japanese model...
and Traralgon – consisting of inter-city services that run between Moe
Moe
-People:First name* Moe Berg, American major league baseball catcher, and spy* Moe Drabowsky, American major league baseball pitcher* Moe Howard, one of the Three Stooges* Moe Jaffe, songwriter and bandleader* Moe Oshikiri , Japanese model...
and Traralgon to nearby towns such as Morwell, Churchill and Yallourn North – and connecting town services that run in each major center.
Latrobe Valley Airport
Latrobe Valley Airport
Latrobe Valley Airport is located in the Latrobe Valley town of Morwell, Victoria, Australia. The airport is about 2 hours east of Melbourne, off Princes Highway, to the west of Traralgon....
(IATA: LTB, ICAO: YLTV) is located in the Latrobe Valley approximately 2 hours east of Melbourne, off Princes Highway, on the west side of Traralgon.
Education
The Gippsland campus of Monash UniversityMonash University
Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....
is home to 2,000 on-campus students, 5,000 off-campus students and nearly 400 staff. The campus sits in the Latrobe Valley town of Churchill, 142 km east of Melbourne on 63 hectares of landscaped grounds.
It is the only non-metropolitan campus of Monash University. The campus offers many undergraduate degrees, and attracts many students from the Latrobe Valley, East and West Gippsland. The Gippsland Medical School, offering postgraduate entry Bachelor of Medicine / Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) courses was officially opened by the Federal Minister for Health and Ageing, Nicola Roxon on 5 June 2008, providing students with a unique opportunity to learn medicine in a rural setting working with rural practitioners.
Sport
The area has a rich and intricate Australian Football history. There are currently approximately 30 players on Australian Football LeagueAustralian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
team lists in the AFL from the Latrobe Valley & Gippsland
Gippsland
Gippsland is a large rural region in Victoria, Australia. It begins immediately east of the suburbs of Melbourne and stretches to the New South Wales border, lying between the Great Dividing Range to the north and Bass Strait to the south...
.
Latrobe Valley is currently the only large regional centre in Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
that does not have a team participating in the Victorian Football League
Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association , taking its new name as from the 1996 season, is the premier Australian rules football league in Victoria The Victorian Football League (VFL) which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association...
, despite the fact that the area within an approximate 35 km radius of Moe
Moe
-People:First name* Moe Berg, American major league baseball catcher, and spy* Moe Drabowsky, American major league baseball pitcher* Moe Howard, one of the Three Stooges* Moe Jaffe, songwriter and bandleader* Moe Oshikiri , Japanese model...
(Drouin, Warragul, Trafalgar, Moe, Morwell, Churchill, Traralgon and other smaller towns) has a population well over 100,000, as large or larger than places such as Bendigo and Ballarat that do have teams participating in the VFL.
The Victorian Football League was formerly known as the Victorian Football Association (VFA). When that league was called the VFA – people involved in it stated that their goal was for the VFA to become the statewide league in the state of Victoria. When there is a team based in Moe
Moe
-People:First name* Moe Berg, American major league baseball catcher, and spy* Moe Drabowsky, American major league baseball pitcher* Moe Howard, one of the Three Stooges* Moe Jaffe, songwriter and bandleader* Moe Oshikiri , Japanese model...
in the Latrobe Valley they will have achieved their goal of that league becoming the statewide league in Victoria.
The region is represented in the Victoria State TAC Cup
TAC Cup
The TAC Cup is an under 18 Australian rules football representative competition held in Victoria, Australia. It is based on geographic regions throughout country Victoria and metropolitan Melbourne with each team representing 12 Victorian regions....
Under 18's competition by the Gippsland Power.
Gippsland Power played its first season in the TAC Cup cometition in 1993. The Power have won one premiership to date in 2005 – and been runner-up on two occasions in 1999 and 2010.
Over 60 players have been drafted from Gippsland Power onto Australian Football League club lists since the first player was drafted in 1993.
Gippsland Power has had three players win the TAC Cup Under 18's Morrish Medal
Morrish Medal
The Morrish Medal is an Australian rules football award.Formerly awarded to the Best and Fairest player in the VFL Under 19 competition , since 1992 the award has been given to the best player in the Victorian TAC Cup Under 18 competition.The Morrish Medal was named in honour of Tom Morrish, a...
– the award for the best & fairest player in the Tac Cup as voted by the umpires – Matthew Stolarczyk in 1999, Jarryd Blair
Jarryd Blair
Jarryd Blair is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League . Standing at only 172 centimetres, he is a small, pacy wingman/half forward flanker who made his AFL debut in Round 14, 2010 against West Coast at Etihad Stadium.Blair was...
in 2008 and Dyson Heppell
Dyson Heppell
Dyson Heppell is an Australian rules footballer for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League .-Junior career:...
in 2010.
The Gippsland League Football competition is the largest league in the region and one of the largest and highest standard football leagues in Victoria outside of Melbourne. Five of the ten teams in the Gippsland League are based in the Latrobe Valley.
The most recent premiership won in the Gippsland League (or equivalent) by a team based in the Latrobe Valley was Traralgon Maroons in 2005.
The Mid Gippsland Football League
Mid Gippsland Football League
The Mid Gippsland Football League is an Australian rules football league in the Latrobe Valley region of Victoria, Australia.-History:The league was founded in 1935.The original clubs were:*Boolarra*Morwell Seconds*Brown Coal Mine*Morwell Bridge...
is the second largest football league in the area and comprises 10 teams – all of which are exclusively based in the Latrobe Valley.
Racing Industry
The Moe Racing Club schedules around fourteen race meetings a year. The racecourse is in Waterloo Road within a very short walk of the Moe central business district and V/Line train station. Raceday race calling can be heard in the central business district of Moe during race meetings. The two largest race meeting in Moe are the GPG Mobil Moe Cup meeting in mid October – which is one of the largest regional race meetings outside of Melbourne on the Victorian Racing calendar – and the Melbourne Cup Day meeting on the first Tuesday in November. The Moe Racing Club is the largest capacity racecourse in Gippsland. The club also offers members and guests other facilities, including Turfside Tabaret, the Turfside Bistro and the Turfside Function Centre.The first harness racing meeting held in Warragul was in November 1939 and the local club conducted the first country Derby in Australia three months later, with the Warragul Derby for pacers and for trotters. Warragul is the eldest club based east of Melbourne.
Drouin Picnic Racetrack is situated 95km east of Melbourne via the Princes Freeway. The Course is neslted amongst the park surrounds of the Mathew Bennett Park and the Drouin Golf Club, about 500m south of the Freeway itself. The track is approximately 1500m in circumference. Drouin's main race meeting is on Boxing Day, with the feature race being the Drouin Cup.
Glenview Park in Traralgon hosts both horse and greyhound racing. Traralgon greyhounds race at the Glenview Park Racing Complex which is owned by the Latrobe City Council. It was specifically designed for the racing of horses and greyhounds. The inaugural greyhound race was held in 1973. Typical greyhound races at Glenview are run over a distance of 298, 513, 658 and 730 meters.
There are a large number of golf courses in the Latrobe Valley area within an approximate 35 km radius of the centrally located center of Moe
Moe
-People:First name* Moe Berg, American major league baseball catcher, and spy* Moe Drabowsky, American major league baseball pitcher* Moe Howard, one of the Three Stooges* Moe Jaffe, songwriter and bandleader* Moe Oshikiri , Japanese model...
. They include the Moe Golf Club, nestled next to Lake Narracan
Lake Narracan
Lake Narracan is an artificial lake on the Latrobe River built to supply cooling water for the nearby brown coal fired power stations.-Location:...
, Churchill & Monash Golf Club, which is located near Monash University Campus in Churchill and Yallourn Golf Club at Newborough.
Newspapers
The area is serviced by newspapers the Latrobe Valley Express and the Warragul Gazette.The Latrobe Valley Express is delivered free of charge to residences in the Latrobe Valley region twice per week on Monday & Thursday and has a current circulation of approximately 34,128 (CAB). There is also the Moe-Narracan News and the Traralgon Journal, which is distributed free of charge once per week on Tuesday and has a circulation of approximately 11,034 (CAB).
The Warragul Gazette and The Trader are printed and distributed by Warragul Regional Newspapers Pty Ltd. The Trader is distributed free to hosueholds and farms in the west Latrobe Valley area. The Gazette has a circulation of approximately 11,515 each Tuesday, whilst The Trader has a circulation of approximately 12,492 each Thursday.
The now defunct Latrobe Valley Voice was a new paper to the region, having been established in March 2011. The Latrobe Valley Voice was delivered free of charge to over 30,000 residences in the Latrobe Valley region on Wednesdays. The paper collapsed on 7 May 2011 after its financial backers withdrew their support.
Radio
WarragulWarragul, Victoria
Warragul is a rural centre with a population of 12,943 people east-southeast of Melbourne in Victoria. Warragul lies between the Strzelecki Ranges to the south and the Mount Baw Baw Plateau of the Great Dividing Range to the north...
commercial radio stations Star FM and 3GG
3GG
3GG is a regional adult contemporary radio station that operates in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. It was owned and operated by RG Capital before being acquired by the then newly formed Macquarie Regional RadioWorks before their sale to Resonate Broadcasters in March 2008.The station broadcasts on...
service this region along with all five ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
radio networks and several community and narrowcast stations including Gippsland FM.
TRfm and Gold1242 are commercial radio stations servicing the Latrobe Valley and East Gippsland.
Television
Commercial Melbourne based television networks such as the SevenSeven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
, Nine
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
and Ten networks are all re-broadcast in the Latrobe Valley by their regional affiliates, which are Prime7, WIN Television
WIN Television
WIN Television is an Australian television network owned by the WIN Corporation that is based in Wollongong, New South Wales. WIN commenced transmissions on 18 March 1962 as a single Wollongong-only station, and has since expanded to 24 owned-and-operated stations with transmissions covering a...
and Southern Cross Ten
Southern Cross Ten
Southern Cross Ten is an Australian television channel broadcast by the Macquarie Media Group in Queensland, New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and South Australia. The channel is owned by the Macquarie Media Group as is affiliated to Network Ten...
respectively. All three channels have local commercials placed on their broadcasts and WIN TV also broadcasts a local news bulletin from Monday to Friday at 6.30 pm.
New channels broadcast by the commercial networks in addition to the ones listed above are available on the digital service called Freeview (Australia)
Freeview (Australia)
Freeview is the brand given to the digital terrestrial television platform in Australia. It is intended to bring all of the free-to-air broadcasters on to a consistent marketing platform to compete against subscription television, in particular Foxtel, and coincides with the expansion to 3 digital...
to viewers in Moe and the Gippsland \ Latrobe Valley region. These channels include One HD, Eleven
Eleven (TV channel)
Eleven is an Australian free-to-air standard definition digital television channel, which was launched by ElevenCo, on 11 January 2011.-Joint venture:...
, 7Two
7Two
7TWO is an Australian free-to-air standard definition digital television channel which was launched by the Seven Network on Sunday 1 November 2009 at 12pm....
, 7mate
7mate
7mate is an Australian free-to-air high definition digital television channel, which was launched by the Seven Network on 25 September 2010.The network stated that 7mate would contain sport and regular programs aimed primarily at a male audience, with programming drawn from a combination of new...
, GEM
GEM (Australian TV channel)
GEM is an Australian free-to-air high definition digital television channel, launched by the Nine Network on Sunday 26 September 2010 at 6am...
and GO!
Go! (Australian TV channel)
GO! is an Australian free-to-air standard definition digital television channel launched by the Nine Network on Sunday 9 August 2009.-Origins:...
.
Most Melbourne channels (Seven Network, Channel Nine, Channel Ten) can be received in analogue and more clearly in digital
Digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television is the technological evolution of broadcast television and advance from analog television, which broadcasts land-based signals...
in Moe with a suitable roof-top antenna. Both national public broadcasters
Public broadcasting
Public broadcasting includes radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing and commercial financing.Public broadcasting may be...
, Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
including channels ABC1
ABC1
ABC1 was a United Kingdom based television channel from Disney using the branding of the Disney owned American network, ABC.The channel initially launched exclusively on the British digital terrestrial television platform Freeview on 27 September 2004. On 10 December 2004 it was launched on...
, ABC2
ABC2
ABC2 is a national public television channel in Australia. Launched on 7 March 2005, it is the responsibility of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television division, and is available nationally to digital television viewers in Australia...
, ABC3
ABC3
-Future shows:Programming confirmed for future broadcast will include:* After School Care * Bindi's Boot Camp * Bushwacked! * Dance Academy * Dancing Down Under...
, ABC News 24
ABC News 24
ABC News 24 is an Australian 24-hour news channel launched and owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The channel replaced the former ABC High Definition simulcast of ABC1 and commenced broadcasting at 7:30pm 5:30 on Thursday, 22 July 2010.-Pre-launch:The ABC announced in January 2010...
and Special Broadcasting Service
Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
including SBS One and SBS Two, are broadcast to the Latrobe Valley from the TV tower at Mount Tassie, as well as from the Dandenong Ranges transmitters located east of Melbourne.
External links
- Baw Baw Shire Council official webiste
- Latrobe City Council official website
- LatrobeFirst: information about services & tourism in the Latrobe Valley
- Latrobe Valley brown coal information
- Latrobe Valley Racing Club Traralgon
- Latrobe Valley technology and online community
- Moe Racing Club official website
- Mount Baw Baw Alpine Ski Resort official website
- Traralgon Greyhound Racing Club
- Warragul Greyhound Racing Club
- Warragul Harness Racing Club