Orbost, Victoria: Travel guide and things to do

Located 375 km from Melbourne and 670 km from Sydney, Orbost is a medium-sized township on the river flats of the Snowy Mountains. Close to the coast it is only 45 m above sea level.

The town is a service centre for the surrounding primary producers who raise beef and dairy cattle, grow beans and maize, and operate no fewer than 27 sawmills. If you stay in Orbost for a few hours you will quickly realise its dependence on the timber industry. Huge timber trucks pass through the town centre on their way to the mills.

The Orbost area was first settled by Europeans in 1842 when Peter Imlay (one of the famous Imlay brothers) took up grazing land which he called the Snowy River Station. Three years later he sold the land to Norman McLeod, a Scot who named the area Orbost. There a number of explanations for the word. Some sources claim it was the name of a town on the Isle of Skye, others claim it was the McLeod seat on the island, while others claim it is a Gaelic word meaning 'winged island' which was common on the Isle of Skye, the birthplace of McLeod.

The historical sources are similarly confusing. In their excellent book on the Aborigines of the area, The Kurnai of Gippsland, Phillip Pepper and Tess de Araugo describe the area in 1851 in the following terms: 'Archibald Macleod and his son John held a run of 24 322 acres in the fertile country of the Snowy River. The station was named Orbost and it extended from the Brodribb River on the east to the Snowy River on the south and west and about fifteen miles below the Buchan River junction to the north.' No mention of Norman McLeod.

Certainly a township didn¹t emerge until the late 1870s. However by 1880 the Snowy River Shipping Company was shipping produce (mainly vegetables) from the area to Melbourne. The arrival of the railway in 1915-16 stopped this trade. Since then the town has grown as a major service centre for the surrounding area.

Like many country towns, Orbost is a one-street town. Most of the town's hotels and businesses are located on Nicholson Street which runs north-south through the town centre and features a large, well-grassed median strip.

Things to see

Tourist Information and Forest Park
The Snowy River Orbost Visitors Centre is located in Locheil St, tel: (03) 5154 2424. It has all the information you need regarding the area's tour operators and accommodation (they can execute bookings for you if you ring 1800 637 060). The centre also has free tourist drive brochures, maps, national park information, local arts and crafts, souvenirs, and information relating to museums, wineries etc. The centre is open from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. daily.

There are rainforest audiovisuals and a number of rainforest walks head off from the centre through Forest Park in Nicholson St. There is also a Koori Sensory Trail which focuses on local plantlife. One of the trails leads to a slab hut relocated from the Upper Snowy River. It has been furnished as a period settler's home with bric-a-brac, furnishings etc. It is open seven days a week and also sells souvenirs. The park also contains ducks, hens, a mill race, a mill which is attached to a crusher and an old timber jinker - a suitable symbol of the industry which has sustained the town.