A company town, that company being the Victorian State Electricity Commission. The town will eventually be evacuated as the land beneath it is mined for the brown coal deposits it is built on. The Latrobe Valley and one of the largest deposits of brown coal in the world. Massive, bucket-wheel dredges 12 storeys high scoop 30,000 tones of brown coal a day from the Yallourn open cut mine. The coal, in turn, is railed to the huge electricity power stations which dot the valley.
Location: 144 km east of Melbourne.
Origin of name: Aboriginal name meaning 'yellow fire' referring to the flame of brown coal when it burns.
Brief history: see above
Natural features: brown coal deposits; The Haunted Hills; Mount Carmel; Mount Tanjil
Built features: Yallourn open cut mines; power station