Drouin, Victoria

An agricultural and pastoral town. Local factories producing lingerie, butter, cheeses and powdered milk, steel pipes and plastic are the major employers. The annual Ficifolia Festival is held in February.
Location: 96 km from Melbourne. Map
Origin of name: believed to be derived from the local Aboriginal word for 'north wind', though it has also been suggested it recalls a Frenchman who invented a chlorination process for extracting metals from ore.
Brief history: the town developed after the arrival of the railway at the end of the 1870s. Boxer Lionel Rose (born 1948) came from a humpy settlement at nearby Jacksons Track to win the world bantamweight boxing crown in 1968.
Natural features: West Drouin Nature Reserve; Camp Hill; Red Hill; Scotts Hill
Built features: The Farm Shed (shearing and sheep dog displays); Fruit and berry farm; Drouin West Angora & alpaca farm; the Gourmet Deli Trail