Darnum is a town in

West Gippsland West Gippsland is a region of Gippsland in Victoria, Australia. It covers an area of around the eastern shores of the Western Port Bay, extending from San Remo in the west to the Strzelecki Ranges in the east, up to Mount Howitt in the north. ...

, Victoria,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, located 110 km east of

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and a short distance to Warragul, in the

Shire of Baw Baw The Shire of Baw Baw () is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, in the eastern part of the state. It covers an area of and in 2021 had a population of 57,626. It includes the towns of Drouin, Longwarry, Neerim South, Trafalgar ...

. It is nestled between the Great Dividing Range and Strzelecki Ranges. The Moe River meanders through the edge of the township which the historic Darnum Butter Factory overlooks. The town's name comes from a word for "parrot", specifically, Rosella in the local indigenous

Boonwurrung language The Boonwurrung, also spelt Bunurong or Bun wurrung, are an Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal people of the Kulin nation, who are the traditional owners of the land from the Werribee River to Wilsons Prom, Wilsons Promontory in the Australian s ...

. The post office opened on 1 December 1882 after the arrival of the

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

. Darnum was originally a timber producing town and boasts a large stump in memory of the original timber mill's owner Clarrie Weir. Today the principal industry is

dairy A dairy is a place where milk is stored and where butter, cheese, and other dairy products are made, or a place where those products are sold. It may be a room, a building, or a larger establishment. In the United States, the word may also des ...

farming, with

Fonterra Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited is a New Zealand Multinational corporation, multinational publicly traded dairy cooperative, co-operative owned by New Zealand farmers. The company is responsible for approximately 30% of the world's dairy ex ...

, previously Bonlac Foods, operating a milk processing plant just north of town. Between 1981 and 2017, Darnum was also home to the Darnum Musical Village. A large and important collection of musical instruments, where concerts and events were held. Visitors could play some of the exhibits as tour guides explain the history of different pieces. The town in conjunction with neighbouring township Nilma has an

Australian Rules Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

football team competing in the Ellinbank & District Football League. Mal Michael is a notable player for the team.

References

External links

Darnum Musical VillageBonlac Foods
Towns in Victoria (state) Shire of Baw Baw {{Gippsland-geo-stub