Orbost, Victoria

Orbost Victoria
Marshall's Commonwealth Hotel in Orbost
Orbost
Coordinates	37°42′0″S 148°27′0″E / 37.70000°S 148.45000°E / -37.70000; 148.45000Coordinates: 37°42′0″S 148°27′0″E / 37.70000°S 148.45000°E / -37.70000; 148.45000
Population	2,493 (2011 census)
Postcode(s)	3888
Elevation	41 m (135 ft)
Location	375 km (233 mi) E of Melbourne 235 km (146 mi) S of Canberra 93 km (58 mi) E of Bairnsdale 60 km (37 mi) NE of Lakes Entrance
LGA(s)	Shire of East Gippsland
State electorate(s)	Gippsland East
Federal Division(s)	Gippsland
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall 20.2 °C 68 °F 8.8 °C 48 °F 846.4 mm 33.3 in

Orbost is a town in the Shire of East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, 375 kilometres (233 mi) east of Melbourne and 235 kilometres (146 mi) south of Canberra where the Princes Highway crosses the Snowy River. It is about 16 kilometres (10 mi) from the town of Marlo on the coast of Bass Strait. At the 2006 census, Orbost had a population of 2452. Orbost is the service centre for the primary industries of beef, dairy cattle, and sawmilling. More recently, tourism has become an important industry, being the major town close to several national parks, including the Snowy River National Park, Alpine National Park, Errinundra National Park, Croajingolong National Park and Cape Conran Coastal Park.

Peter Imlay established the Snowy River Station for grazing in 1842, and his brother the Newmerella run nearby. In 1845 the land was sold to Norman McLeod, who named the area after Orbost farm in the northwest of Isle of Skye, in Scotland.

Gold was discovered in the mid-1850s in the Bendoc area, in the mountains north of Orbost, which brought an influx of people to the district. By 1868 it was estimated that there was a population of 500 miners and squatters in the vicinity of Bendoc.

The Cameron family settled on the rich alluvial river flats in 1876, followed by many other selectors, many of them Scottish migrants. The Post Office opened on 1 December 1880 named Neumerella (sic) and was renamed Orbost in 1883. A Newmerella office opened in 1889 and closed in 1897, then reopened in 1921. The township was proclaimed in 1890 and a bridge constructed across the Snowy River and a telegraph office established. Sawmills were established in the area and the first batch of sawn timber was cut at Orbost in 1882. By the late 1890s produce was regularly being exported to Melbourne via coastal trading vessels sailing up the Snowy River to Orbost. The railway from Melbourne arrived in 1916, allowing further agricultural settlement up the valley, and exploitation of native hardwood forests for timber and railway sleepers.