town, south-central Victoria, Australia. It is situated in Gippsland, 64 miles (103 km) east-southeast of Melbourne. European settlement was established first about 1865 at Brandy Creek, about a mile from the present townsite. Warragul, which takes its name from an Aboriginal word for the dingo, was proclaimed a shire in 1881. The town is the service centre for a region of fertile volcanic soil given to dairying, fruit growing, and timber. Pop. (2001) urban centre, 9,011.