Merrijig : Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Merrijig

Town in Victoria, Australia

37°06′S 146°15′E / 37.100°S 146.250°E / -37.100; 146.250Population721 (2021 census)^[1]Postcode(s)3723Location

201 km (125 mi) NE of Melbourne
19 km (12 mi) E of Mansfield
71 km (44 mi) NW of Mount Buller

LGA(s)Shire of MansfieldState electorate(s)Eildon Federal division(s)Indi

Merrijig is a town in North-East Victoria, Australia, located between Mount Buller and Mansfield. At the 2021 census, Merrijig and the surrounding area had a population of 721.^[1]

The first Merrijig Post Office opened on 4 October 1866 and was replaced by Boggy Creek in 1867. Another Merrijig Post Office opened on 1 April 1866 (known as Delatite from 1872 until 1924) and closed in 1970.^[2]

A second placename in Victoria named "Merrijig" exists in East Gippsland, about 10 kilometres north of Lindenow.

Merrijig is an Aboriginal word that may mean "good, well done".^[3] The word 'merri' appears in numerous other Victorian Aboriginal place names.^[4] Most other nearby area names derived from Indigenous Elders (& relatives) names, and end in the suffix “ite”; for example, Delatite, Booralite & Beolite.

The feature film The Man from Snowy River was shot in Merrijig. It is also the location of Nevil Shute's novel The Far Country.

Merrijig is also home to Timbertop, a campus of Geelong Grammar School at the foot of Mount Timbertop.

References

^ ^a ^b "2021 Census QuickStats Merrijig (Mansfield - Vic)". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
^ Phoenix Auctions History, Post Office List, retrieved 24 March 2021
^ The Aboriginal and Other Meanings of many of our Region's Town Names
^ [1]