Morwell, Victoria
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Morwell is a town in the
Latrobe Valley The Latrobe Valley is an inland geographical district and urban area of the Gippsland region in the state of Victoria, Australia. The traditional owners are the Brayakaulung of the Gunai nation. The district lies east of Melbourne and nestle ...
area of
Gippsland Gippsland () is a rural region in the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains south of the Victorian Alps (the southernmost section of the Great Dividing Range). It covers an elongated area of east of th ...
, in South-Eastern
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
, Australia approximately 152 km (94 mi) 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 ...
. Morwell has a population of 14,389 people at the . It is both the
capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...
and administrative centre for the
City of Latrobe The City of Latrobe is a local government area in the Gippsland region in eastern Victoria, Australia, located in the eastern part of the state. It covers an area of and in June 2018 had a population of 75,211. It is primarily urban with the ...
and the city’s second most populous town after the neighbouring
Traralgon Traralgon ( , ) is a city located in the east of the Latrobe Valley in the Gippsland region of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia and the most populous city in the City of Latrobe and the region. The urban population of Traralgon at the ...
. Morwell is located in the centre of the Latrobe Valley urban area, which has a population of 77,168 at the 2021 Census and is home to many of the greater urban area's civic institutions, administrative functions and infrastructure. The city is known for its role as a major energy production centre for Victoria as the centre of a major coal mining and fossil-fuel power generation industry. Morwell's centenary rose garden located in the central business district, won an award in 2009 for being a 'garden of excellence'. Since 2018, the town has hosted the International Rose Garden Festival Morwell (IRGFM).


Naming

The name of the town of Morwell is likely to be derived from a local
Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...
word from the Gunai language that means ''inhabitants of the swamp'', referring to the Gunai clan that lived in the area. The nearby town of Moe was named after the Gunai word for ''swampland'', which is a reference to the swamp between Moe and
Yarragon Yarragon is a town in the Shire of Baw Baw in the West Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. The town lies on the Princes Highway and the Gippsland railway line approximately halfway between the major towns of Warragul and Moe. Hills of the ...
that was drained in the 1890s. From 1914, various newspaper editorials had stated that the name of Morwell comes from the Aboriginal words ''more willie'' meaning ''woolly possum''. However, the Gunai word for possum is ''wadthan'' and the words ''wile'' or ''wollert'' come from Kulin words from the
Woiwurrung The Woiwurrung, also spelt Woi-wurrung, Woi Wurrung, Woiwurrong, Woiworung, and Wuywurung, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Woiwurrung language group, in the Kulin alliance. The Woiwurrung people's territory in Central Victoria ex ...
language. The traditional lands of the Kulin nation intersect with the lands of the Gunai people to the west of
Warragul Warragul () is a town in Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne. Warragul lies between the Strzelecki Ranges to the south and the Mount Baw Baw Plateau of the Great Dividing Range to the north. As of the , the town had a population of ...
, a town 50 km to the west of Morwell, which makes the naming unlikely to originate from a Kulin language. The town of
Wollert, Victoria Wollert ( ) is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 26 km north of Melbourne's central business district, located within the City of Whittlesea local government area. Wollert recorded a population of 24,407 at the . History Etymolog ...
is named after this word for possum.
Morwell River The Morwell River is a perennial river of the West Gippsland catchment, located in the West Gippsland and South Gippsland regions of the Australian state of Victoria. Location and features Formed by the confluence of the West Branch and East Bra ...
was the first place to be recorded with the name Morwell, using the inconsistent spelling of ''Morewill River'' in the 1847 diary of
Charles Tyers Captain Charles James Tyers RN FRSV (13 September 1806 – 20 September 1870) was a 19th-century Anglo-Australian surveyor and explorer, and the Commissioner of Crown Lands for Portland (1842–1843) and Gippsland (1844–1867). There are m ...
, ''Morewell River'' on an 1847 survey map and ''River Morewelle'' in an 1848 notice of
pastoral lease A pastoral lease, sometimes called a pastoral run, is an arrangement used in both Australia and New Zealand where government-owned Crown land is leased out to Pastoral farming, graziers for the purpose of livestock grazing on rangelands. Austral ...
s. Peter Jeremiah Smith established the Morewell Hotel on the river in 1858 and the name of the early settlement around the hotel was recorded as Morwell Bridge in a government survey in 1861. The name of Morwell was used for the new location of the town centre that surrounded the
Morwell railway station Morwell railway station is a regional railway station on the Gippsland line, part of the Victorian railway network. It serves the town of Morwell, in Victoria, Australia. Morwell station is a ground level unstaffed station, featuring one sid ...
after it opened in 1877. In 1942, station-hand Llew Vary suggested that the name of Morwell is derived from the English town of Morwell on the Morwell River in Cornwall, but lacked any records of the naming. Members of the Morwell Rotary Club and Methodist Church developed the idea further in 1946 and historian Ivan Maddern strongly advocated for the idea from 1962. Methodist ministers communicated with their counterparts in England, who explained that there was a Morwellham on the
River Tamar The Tamar (; ) is a river in south west England that forms most of the border between Devon (to the east) and Cornwall (to the west). A large part of the valley of the Tamar is protected as the Tamar Valley National Landscape (an Area of Outsta ...
, a 100m-high cliff-face by the river known as Morwell Rocks, a Morwell Barton and a Morwell Priory. Another theory is that "Morewell" is a corruption of "Mary Ville", the original name of the Maryvale pastoral run established in 1845. The run was thought to be named after Mary, daughter of the Bennetts who established the Hazelwood station with Albert Brodribb to the south of Maryvale. However, the Morwell Historical Society wrote that the first recorded reference to "Morewell" was 1844.


History

The earliest inhabitants of the Morwell district were the
Braiakaulung people The Braiakaulung are an Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of A ...
, one of the five
Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...
clans of the Gunai/Kurnai nation. The Braiakaulung people manufactured stone tools, as long as 5,000 years ago, from
silcrete Silcrete is an indurated (resists crumbling or powdering) soil duricrust formed when surface soil, sand, and gravel are cemented by dissolved silica. The formation of silcrete is similar to that of calcrete, formed by calcium carbonate, and ferri ...
quarries in the Haunted Hills, west of Morwell and the Gunai/Kurnai had lived in the region for more than 20,000 years, according to evidence found at the
New Guinea II cave New Guinea II is a limestone cave and rockshelter on the Snowy River at the end of New Guinea Track, near Buchan, Victoria. The cave was within the country of the Krowathunkooloong clan of the Gunaikurnai nation. The deep cave system has an overh ...
near
Buchan, Victoria Buchan ( ) is a town in the east Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. The town is situated adjacent to the Buchan River, in the Shire of East Gippsland, upstream from the river's junction with the Snowy River. At the 2011 census, Buchan ...
. The first Europeans to travel through the area include party of Count Paweł Strzelecki on their journey from the
Snowy Mountains The Snowy Mountains, known informally as "The Snowies", is an IBRA subregion in southern New South Wales, Australia, and is the tallest mountain range in mainland Australia, being part of the continent's Great Dividing Range, a cordillera syste ...
in April 1840, after Strzelecki had named Australia's highest peak as
Mount Kosciuszko Mount Kosciuszko ( ; ; Ngarigo: ) is the highest mountain of the mainland Australia, at above sea level. It is located on the Main Range of the Snowy Mountains in Kosciuszko National Park, a part of the Australian Alps National Parks and ...
. In 1838, Scottish pastoralist
Angus McMillan Angus McMillan (14 August 1810 – 18 May 1865) was a Scottish-born explorer, pioneer pastoralism, pastoralist, and perpetrator of several of the Gippsland massacres of Gunai people. Arriving first in New South Wales in 1838, McMillan rose sw ...
rode horses up the Latrobe River near Sale, but not as far as Morwell, then made further journeys to Latrobe River after Strzelecki had visited the area. McMillan named the region as 'Caledonia Australis' after his homeland, but the preferred name was 'Gipps Land', later becoming
Gippsland Gippsland () is a rural region in the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains south of the Victorian Alps (the southernmost section of the Great Dividing Range). It covers an elongated area of east of th ...
, as chosen by Strzelecki in honour of
New South Wales Governor The governor of New South Wales is the representative of the monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia, Governor-General of Australia at the national level, the governor ...
George Gipps Sir George Gipps (23 December 1790 – 28 February 1847) was the Governor of New South Wales, Governor of the British Colony of New South Wales for eight years, between 1838 and 1846. His governorship oversaw a tumultuous period where the rights ...
. The first Europeans to take land in Morwell were called squatters and ran
pastoral lease A pastoral lease, sometimes called a pastoral run, is an arrangement used in both Australia and New Zealand where government-owned Crown land is leased out to Pastoral farming, graziers for the purpose of livestock grazing on rangelands. Austral ...
s such as the 17,300 acre Hasellwood (later called Hazelwood) established by Albert Eugene Brodribb and William Bennett in October 1844, the 22,900 acre Mary Ville (later called Maryvale) established by Thomas Gorringe in February 1845, the 24,780 acre Merton Rush station established by Henry Scott in 1846 and the 5,730 acre Scrubby Forest established by Nicol Brown and William Hunter in 1848. The 1870s were a time of railway building in Victoria. In 1873, the government approved the construction of a railway line from Melbourne to Sale and it was this decision which gave rise to the development of the township of Morwell. The railway station was approximately 3 miles (5 km) from the settlement by the river, leading to new development occurring around the railway station. The first public sale of land in the town took place in January 1879 but there were at least ten traders operating in the town by that time, a Post Office in the township having been open since 1875 (an earlier PO having served the rural area from 1870 to 1873). On 1 January 1880 Morwell PO was renamed Morwell Bridge and Morwell Railway Station PO (open since 1877) became the main Morwell PO. A major Research and Development project into the conversion of
brown coal Lignite (derived from Latin ''lignum'' meaning 'wood'), often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, Combustion, combustible sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35% and is considered ...
into oil, (Brown Coal Liquefaction Victoria or BCLV) was established in Morwell in 1983/84. Funded by the Japanese Government at a cost of over one billion dollars this project established a 50 tonne per day pilot plant which ran until 1991. Thriving on the success of the power industry, Morwell developed into a city offering substantial housing and financial opportunities for its many residents. With the general growth of the Latrobe Valley, Morwell's success appeared destined to continue. However, the approval by the City of Morwell to build the Mid Valley Shopping Centre complex away from the CBD led to the decline of the CBD, with many empty shopfronts the result. Further, restructuring and privatisation of the State Electricity Commission in the 1990s led to massive job losses in the region, which accelerated the decline of Morwell's central business district. Many shops are now empty and in a state of disrepair. Amalgamation of the local councils following a Statewide review of local government boundaries in 1994 saw Morwell become part of the City of Latrobe and the civic centre established in Traralgon. With the re-establishment of an elected council, the civic centre was moved back to Morwell and the new council building constructed in 2005 in the hope of leading to a revitalisation of the city centre. Unfortunately, that revitalisation failed to eventuate. The new justice precinct was completed in 2006 and has somewhat increased CBD activity as alleged criminals come to the Morwell justice precinct for processing through the Justice System. Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in March 2011 show the average wage of Morwell residents to be the lowest of the three major Latrobe Valley towns. Morwell is the headquarters of the Central Gippsland Institute of
Technical and Further Education Technical and further education or simply TAFE () is the common name in Australia for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational courses. Colloquially also known ...
. It contains a major regional art gallery with an excellent local collection and is noted for its extensive rose gardens. Nearby at Churchill is the Gippsland Campus of Federation University. A commemorative bust of Lt Gen Sir
Stanley Savige Lieutenant general (Australia), Lieutenant General Sir Stanley George Savige, (26 June 1890 – 15 May 1954) was an Australian Army soldier and officer who served in the First World War and Second World War. In March 1915, after the outbr ...
was erected in 2006. Born in Morwell, Savige founded
Legacy Australia Legacy is an Australian non-profit organisation established in 1923 by ex-servicemen. Legacy provides support to the families of Australian Defence Force men and women who have lost their life or health in conflicts such as World War I, World W ...
following World War 1 to assist widows and families of servicemen. Morwell is home to the Morwell Centenary Rose Garden, a parkland of over 2 hectares on a former railway reserve that showcases over 3500 roses. In 2009, the garden was presented an 'Award of Garden Excellence' by the World Federation of Rose Societies.


Geography


Climate

Morwell experiences an
oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...
(
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
''Cfb''). Nights in Morwell are about 2 °C colder than in
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 ...
.


Governance

At local level, Morwell is governed by the City of Latrobe and is both the
seat of local government The seat of government is (as defined by ''Brewer's Politics'') "the building, complex of buildings or the city from which a government exercises its authority". In most countries, the nation's capital is also seat of its government, thus that ...
and administrative centre. It is represented at local level by two councilors in the Central Ward (formerly by three wards – Rintoull in the city's centre; Tanjil, the north and west; and Firmin, the south). In the
Government of Victoria The Victoria State Government, also referred to as the Victorian Government, is the Executive (government), executive government of the Australian state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. As a parliamentary system, parliamentary constitutiona ...
it is represented in the
Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the states and territories of Australia, state lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the state upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament H ...
by the
Electoral district of Morwell The electoral district of Morwell is an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It covers the regional centres of Moe, Morwell and Traralgon, as well as the surrounding rural areas in the middle of Gippsland. Created in 19 ...
. The state is responsible for law and order in Morwell. The Latrobe Valley Law Courts located opposite council headquarters in Commercial Road which has branches for the
Supreme Court of Victoria The Supreme Court of Victoria is the highest court in the Australian state of Victoria. Founded in 1852, it is a superior court of common law and equity, with unlimited and inherent jurisdiction within the state. The Supreme Court compri ...
,
Magistrates' Court of Victoria The Magistrates' Court of Victoria is the lowest court in the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. The court possesses original jurisdiction over summary offences and indictable offence, in ...
and
County Court of Victoria The County Court of Victoria is the intermediate court in the Australian state of Victoria. It is equivalent to district courts in the other states. The County Court is the principal trial court in the state, having a broad criminal and ci ...
. It is served by a single
Victoria Police Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It was formed in 1853 and currently operates under the ''Victoria Police Act 2013''. , Victor ...
police station on Hazelwood Road. In the
Government of Australia The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national Executive (government), executive government of Australia, a federalism, federal Parliamentary system, parliamentary con ...
, it is represented in
Parliament of Australia The Parliament of Australia (officially the Parliament of the Commonwealth and also known as the Federal Parliament) is the federal legislature of Australia. It consists of three elements: the Monarchy of Australia, monarch of Australia (repr ...
by the
Division of Gippsland The Division of Gippsland is an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian electoral division in the states and territories of Australia, state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. The division was proclaimed in 1900, and w ...
.


Education

Morwell has education facilities from
preschool education A preschool (sometimes spelled as pre school or pre-school), also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, play school, is an school, educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they ...
through to
vocational education and training Vocational education is education that prepares people for a Skilled worker, skilled craft. Vocational education can also be seen as that type of education given to an individual to prepare that individual to be gainfully employed or self em ...
. University-level qualifications are available nearby at
Federation University Australia, Gippsland campus Federation University Australia Gippsland Campus is an Australian university campus located in the town of Churchill 142 km east of Melbourne. Its main neighbouring towns in the region are Morwell and Traralgon. Formerly a branch of Monash ...
which is located in the adjacent town of Churchill. Other education and training provider are located in the wider Latrobe Valley urban area. The city has 4 primary schools - Morwell Central Primary School, St Vincent De Paul Primary, Sacred Heart Primary and Morwell Park Primary and a single junior secondary school – Kurnai College Morwell Campus (est 1963).
TAFE Technical and further education or simply TAFE () is the common name in Australia for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational courses. Colloquially also known ...
study in Morwell is available via TAFE Gippsland (initially GippsTAFE, then Federation Training later), as well as apprenticeships and traineeships through Apprenticeships Group Australia.


Transport

The
Princes Freeway Princes Freeway is a Australian freeway, divided into two sections, both located in Victoria, Australia. The freeway links Melbourne to Geelong in the west, and to Morwell in the east. It continues beyond these extremities as the Princes ...
(A1) bypasses the town to the south while the old Princes Highway which once passed through east–west through its centre is now Princes Drive and Commercial Road. The highway connects Morwell with other Latrobe Valley cities including Moe to the west and Traralgon to the east. Other main roads include the Strzelecki Highway (B460) running south toward
Leongatha Leongatha () is a town in the foothills of the Strzelecki Ranges, South Gippsland Shire, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, located south-east of Melbourne. At the , Leongatha had a population of 5,869. Canadian dairy company Saputo In ...
. Rail transport includes both
passenger rail A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line, as opposed to a freight train that carries goods. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) push-pull train, ...
and
freight rail Rail freight transport is the use of railways and trains to transport cargo as opposed to human passengers. A freight train, cargo train, or goods train is a group of freight cars (US) or goods wagons (International Union of Railways) hauled ...
. The town's only station is
Morwell railway station Morwell railway station is a regional railway station on the Gippsland line, part of the Victorian railway network. It serves the town of Morwell, in Victoria, Australia. Morwell station is a ground level unstaffed station, featuring one sid ...
which is on the Bairnsdale line. Both the
Traralgon V/Line rail service The Gippsland line is a regional passenger rail service operated by V/Line in Victoria, Australia. It serves 23 stations towards its terminus in the regional city of Bairnsdale, however most services terminate at Traralgon. History Althoug ...
and the
Bairnsdale V/Line rail service The Gippsland line is a regional passenger rail service operated by V/Line in Victoria, Australia. It serves 23 stations towards its terminus in the regional city of Bairnsdale, however most services terminate at Traralgon. History Althoug ...
stop there with a two way hourly service. Travel time to
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 ...
ranges from approximately 109 minutes during peak travel times.
General aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...
operates from Latrobe Regional Airport which services the whole Latrobe Valley urban area.


Sport

Australian rules football 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 ...
is popular in Morwell. There are two senior clubs in the city: the Morwell Football Club (est 1905) based at the
Morwell Recreation Reserve Morwell Recreation Reserve is a multi purpose sport complex located in Morwell, Victoria, Australia. It is the home ground of the Gippsland Power Football Club NAB League team, the Morwell Football Club in the Gippsland Football League, and th ...
, compete in the
Gippsland Football League The Gippsland League (formerly known as the West Gippsland Latrobe Football League) is an Australian rules football and netball league in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. It is considered the only AFL Victoria major league in Gipps ...
, while the Morwell East Football Club (est 1973), based at the Morwell East Football Ground compete in the
Mid Gippsland Football League The Mid Gippsland Football League is an Australian rules football and netball league in the Latrobe Valley and South Gippsland regions of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. History The Mid Gippsland Football League (MGFL) was founded i ...
. The Morwell Football Ground is home to the
Gippsland Power The Gippsland Power is an Australian rules football team in the Talent League, the top statewide under-18 competition in Victoria, Australia. Honours *Premierships (1): 2005 *Runners-up (3): 1999, 2010, 2012 *Minor Premiers (3): 2005, 2007, 2 ...
(est 1993) which compete in the
TAC Cup The Talent League (also known as the Coates Talent League under naming rights and previously as the NAB League and TAC Cup) is an under-19 Australian rules football representative competition based in Melbourne and run by the Australian Foot ...
and has hosted
Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...
pre-season matches in 2005 and 2010.
Cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
is also popular with two senior cricket clubs, Morwell and Latrobe, the latter of which
Peter Siddle Peter Matthew Siddle (born 25 November 1984) is an Australian former cricketer. He was a specialist right-arm fast bowling, fast-medium bowler who played mostly for Victoria cricket team, Victoria in first-class cricket, first-class and List A ...
played for in his younger days. Soccer has a long history in Morwell. The Morwell Falcons were formed in 1961, were crowned State Champions in 1984 and 1989 and
Dockerty Cup The Dockerty Cup is an annual association football single-elimination tournament, knock-out competition open to all Victorian clubs across the Australian soccer league system, Victorian football league system. The tournament is named after the fo ...
champions in 1994. They were eventually promoted to the
National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its ...
in 1992, the top league in Australia at the time. The club is now known as Falcons 2000 and plays in the
Latrobe Valley Soccer League Latrobe Valley Soccer League (LVSL) is a soccer league encompassing much of Gippsland and the Latrobe Valley in ( Victoria. As the region with the National Soccer League's only regional participant, as well as being home to multiple Victorian s ...
, the eighth level of
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
in
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
, and the ninth nationally. The club's home ground is Latrobe City Stadium. Fortuna 60 and Morwell Pegasus both compete in the
Latrobe Valley Soccer League Latrobe Valley Soccer League (LVSL) is a soccer league encompassing much of Gippsland and the Latrobe Valley in ( Victoria. As the region with the National Soccer League's only regional participant, as well as being home to multiple Victorian s ...
, their home grounds being Crinigan Road South Reserve and Ronald Reserve respectively. From 2025 onwards, Fortuna 60 will compete in the
Victorian State League The Victorian State League, known as VETO Sports State League for sponsorship purposes is an Australian soccer league based in Victoria that was founded in 1958 and administered by Football Victoria. It consists of five divisions (separated by ...
, where they have been added to the Men's State League 5 South. The club's LVSL Men's 2nd Division, women's and junior teams will still play in the LVSL. The Morwell Cougars Baseball Club usually forms teams in three senior grades and all junior grades of the Latrobe Valley League. Their diamonds in Toners Lane are the only dedicated diamonds in the League.
American Football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
is played at Maryvale Recreation Reserve. This is also the home of the local club Gippsland Gladiators which has been based there since 2010, competing in Division 2, of the
Gridiron Victoria American Football Victoria (Formerly Gridiron Victoria) is the governing body for American football in the state of Victoria, Australia, Victoria, Australia. Formed in 1997, Gridiron Victoria was an Consolidation (business), amalgamation of the ...
league. There is also a 25-metre indoor swimming pool, used by the local swimming club for competitive swimming. Golfers play at the course of the Morwell Golf Club on Fairway Drive.


Media

Commercial radio stations 531 3GG, 94.3/97.9 Triple M Gippsland, 99.5 TRFM & Gold 1242 service Morwell and the greater Gippsland region. National
public broadcaster Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...
ABC Gippsland ABC Gippsland (call sign: 3GLR) is an ABC Local Radio station in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. The station is based in Sale and covers from Warragul, through to Mallacoota. Mim Hook hosts the Breakfast program produced by Zaida Glibanovic, w ...
broadcasts on 100.7FM and community station Gippsland FM (Formerly 3GCR) on 104.7FM. Gippsland FM is the only station in the region with a studio complex in Morwell.


Notable people

*
Paul Abbott Paul Abbott (born 22 February 1960) is an English screenwriter and producer. He became one of the most successful television writers in Britain following his work on popular series such as '' Cracker'' (1995, 1996, 1999) and ''Coronation Street ...
, AFL Footballer * Ben Ainsworth, AFL Footballer *
Veronica Gorrie Veronica Gorrie (born 1971/1972), also known as Veronica Heritage-Gorrie, is an Aboriginal Australian writer. She is a Gunai woman of the Krauatungalang clan. Her first book, ''Black and Blue: A Memoir of Racism and Resilience'', a memoir ref ...
, Aboriginal Australian writer * John Hutchinson, Coach and former Soccer player * Changkuoth Jiath, AFL Footballer * Chips Mackinolty, Radical poster artist and journalist *
Rocky Mattioli Rocky Mattioli (born Rocco Mattioli, 20 September 1953) is an Italian-born Australian former boxer at junior middleweight, and former world champion. Rocky was the 2004 Inductee for the Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame Moderns catego ...
, Italian–Australian World Champion Boxer * Paul Morris, Motor racer *
Bryan Quirk Bryan Quirk (born 26 December 1946) is a former Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League. He was recruited from Morwell Football Club in the then Latrobe Valley Football League. He was Collingwood fan as a child. Quirk ma ...
, footballer *
Peter Siddle Peter Matthew Siddle (born 25 November 1984) is an Australian former cricketer. He was a specialist right-arm fast bowling, fast-medium bowler who played mostly for Victoria cricket team, Victoria in first-class cricket, first-class and List A ...
, Cricketer * Cathie Reid, businesswoman *
Archie Thompson Archie Gerald Thompson (born 23 October 1978) is an Australian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is also currently serving as a club ambassador for Melbourne Victory FC. Born in New Zealand, Thompson played youth foot ...
, footballer * John Trevorrow, Australian champion Road cyclist. *
Vin Waite Vincent Waite (26 February 1949 – 5 July 2003) was an Australian rules footballer who played for Carlton in the VFL. His son Jarrad followed in his footsteps and started his football career with Carlton, being drafted under the father–s ...
, footballer *
Ricky Harrison Richard Harrison (born May 26, 1936) is an American actor, writer, director and producer known for his work in European B-movies during the 1960s and 1970s, and exploitation films of the early 1970s. He has worked with directors such as Antoni ...
, Aboriginal Musician, * Nicky Moffatt, Aboriginal Musician,


See also

*
HM Prison Morwell River A nursery and workers camp was established by the Forests Commission Victoria (FCV) in 1949 at Olsens Bridge at the head of the Morwell River, which is just east of Boolarra, Victoria, Boolarra in Victoria. The nursery was established to grow ...


References


External links


ABS ProfileMorwell Historical SocietyMid Gippsland Family History Society
{{Authority control Mining towns in Victoria (state) Cities in Victoria (state) City of Latrobe