TRARALGON

city, Victoria, Australia. It lies in the La Trobe River valley, West Gippsland, southeast of Melbourne. First settled in the 1840s, its name is Aboriginal for crane feeding on frogs. It serves a dairying, sheep-raising, and fruit-farming district that has become increasingly industrialized since the end of World War I, with the availability of inexpensive electric power from Yallourn (114 miles west). Limestone is quarried, and cement, paper, and clothing are manufactured. Nearby Maryvale is the site of vast pulp and paper mills. A rail junction and situated on the Prince's Highway, Traralgon is also a tourist centre for part of the Eastern Highlands. It became a borough in 1961 and a city in 1964. Pop. (1989 est.) 20,720.