Region, southeastern Victoria , Australia.
It extends northwest from Western Port (near Melbourne ) to the New South Wales border and south from the Eastern Highlands to the coast; it has an area of 13,600 sq mi (35,200 sq km). Fertile and well watered, Gippsland is the focus of the state's dairy industry, while its petroleum and natural gas are tapped from offshore wells in the Bass Strait . Tourism is also important in the southeastern area, which has coastal resorts and the Lakes National Park. The first settlers were attracted by gold finds in the 1850s; farmers arrived after the completion of a rail line from Melbourne in 1887.