Warragul, Victoria

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Warragul is a rural centre with a population of 10,397 people (census 2001), 100 kilometres east-southeast of Melbourne. Warragul lies amid rolling hills between the Strzelecki Ranges to the south and the Mount Baw Baw Plateau of the Great Dividing Range to the north. The town is named after an aboriginal word meaning "wild dog".

Warragul is the main population and service centre of the West Gippsland region and the Baw Baw Shire. The surrounding area is noted for dairy farming and other niche agriculture and has long been producing outstanding gourmet foods. The town was settled after the construction of the Traralgon railway line in 1877.

Warragul is the major township closest to Lardner, the home of the Gippsland Field Days. Three major events are held at Lardner Park each year - the Farm World agricultural show, Trucks In Action and the Harvest of Gippsland. The Farm World agricultural show is a major drawcard for the Warragul area. Every year in late March, Warragul plays host to these Field Days at Lardner Park. The Field Days are Australia’s premier mixed farming Field Days and they include one of Australia's most diverse ranges of beef cattle, dairying and horticulture exhibits.

The region is also noted for its sporting heroes: Kathy Watt (cycling gold medal, Barcelona Olympics 1992); former coach of Adelaide Crows Football Team and former Hawthorn premiership player Gary Ayres; Footscray (Western Bulldogs) and Sydney Swans Brownlow Medallist Barry Round; first Brownlow Medallist and Geelong Footballer Edward 'Carjie' Greeves; and boxing champion Lionel Rose of Jackson's Track near Drouin.

For a town of its size, Warragul has a large education industry with several primary and secondary schools. Warragul has two state primary schools (Warragul North Primary, Warragul Primary), a Catholic primary school (St Joseph's Catholic Primary) and a Church of England primary (St Paul's Anglican Grammar School).

Warragul has three secondary schools: Warragul Regional College (formed in 1994 from the merger of Warragul High School and Warragul Secondary College), Marist-Sion College (the result of a merger between Marist Brothers Boys College and Our Lady of Sion Girls College in 1975), and St Paul's Anglican Grammar School.

McMillan Institute of Land and Food Resources (University of Melbourne) has a campus in Warragul specialising in training for agriculture, horticulture and equine management. A campus of the Central Gippsland Institute of TAFE is located in the centre of town.

Warragul's Petersville Milk Products Factory in Queen Street supplied the famous Peters Ice Cream brand's factory in Mulgrave with all the dairy raw material (fresh cream and concentrated skim milk) for 35 years. The plant also manufactured skim milk powder under the famous Dutch Jug brand and butter under the Iceberg brand. It exported butter, butteroil and milk powders to Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

Existing roads were re-named ‘Princes Highway’ after the visit to Australia in 1920 of the Prince of Wales (who later became King Edward VIII). The highway was officially opened on August 10 1920 at a ceremony in Warragul.

Warragul is also home to the annual "Warragul Show", which is held on the first Friday of March each year. The Warragul Show includes rides, stalls, games, fireworks and showbags. It is a festival enjoyed by everyone and is held at the Warragul showgrounds.

Warragul has two weekly local newspapers, "The Warragul and Drouin Gazette" and a free publication, "The Trader". According to the Warragul Regional Newspapers website, The Gazette and The Trader are distributed to locations from as far as Pakenham to Moe and from Poowong to Noojee covering over 40,000 readers.

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Coordinates: 38°10′S 145°56′E

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