Editing Traralgon (section)

=== Pastoral leases ===

The area around Traralgon was first settled by Europeans in the 1840s. Due to the [[Latrobe Valley]] having relatively high rainfall, the land is very fertile, and farming was quickly established. As with much of central and western Gippsland, this was mainly dairy farming. In the Gippsland region between 1840 and 1860, the population of settlers grew from a few to 2,000 and the recorded Gunai population fell from 2,000 to a handful.<ref name="legg92" />

The first Europeans to take land in Traralgon were the brothers Dr Edmund Hobson and Edward Hobson who purchased a 19,000 acre [[pastoral lease]] in 1844, which they called Traralgon. In April 1844, Edward to a large mob of cattle out from their station near [[Arthur's Seat]] to Traralgon arriving two months later. Albert Brodribb and William Bennett started Hazelwood Station in 1844 and the following year James Rintoul had taken a run in Loy Yang and Thomas Gorringe had taken up a run at Maryvale.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Power |first1=J F |title=Traralgon: A Brief Introductory History (Circa 1995) |url=https://www.traralgonhistory.asn.au/history.htm |website=Traralgon & District Historical Society Inc. |access-date=18 August 2020}}</ref>