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Moe Victoria
Streetscape in central Moe
Population:	17,585 (2001 Census)
Postcode:	3825
Location:	135 km from Melbourne 21 km from Morwell
LGA:	Latrobe City
State District:	Narracan
Federal Division:	McMillan

Moe is a town in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. It is 134 km east of Melbourne and has a population of approximately 17,585 ^[1] . It is administered by the Latrobe City council.

Moe (pronounced MO-ee, /'moui/) was originally known as The Mowie, then Little Moi, and later The Moe. The town's name is believed to derive from an Aboriginal word relating to the swampy nature of the territory.

Contents 1 History 2 Population 3 Education 4 Transport 5 References 6 External links

The area was first settled in the 1840s and 1850s. While a small gold discovery was made in 1852, the town was a stopover en route to the Walhalla goldfields further north. The town was surveyed in 1879, following proclamation of the local Narracan shire the year before and the arrival of the railway from Morwell. Moe was declared a city in 1963.

Local industry is based around the brown coal deposits in the Latrobe Valley and electric power generation. The area is also noted for its dairy industry.

Moe High School opened in 1952. The school was closed and merged into Lowanna College and the buildings subsequently demolished. The previous Moe High School location has now become a housing development site, with several houses already complete.

In 1997, the town gained notoriety for the Jaidyn Leskie murder. The resulting publicity led to Moe acquiring an unwanted reputation as being a town with large social problems.^[2]

While still used by many tourists as a stopover en route to Erica and Walhalla, Moe is also home to Old Gipps Town, a recreated historic settlement, and the annual Moe Cup horse races. Nearby Lake Narracan is used for water sports.

On the night of the 2001 census there were 17,585 residing in Moe; 51.3% female and 48.7% male. At the time Moe had an indigenous (Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander) population of 1%, whilst 78.7% of the overall population were born in Australia. The other main countries of origin were: England (4.4%), Netherlands (1.6%), Malta (1.4%), Scotland (1.3%), and Germany (1.3%) ^[3].

Moe is serviced by a number of primary schools including:

• Moe (Albert Street) Primary School
• Moe (South Street) Primary School
• Moe Primary School (Elizabeth street)
• St Keiran's Primary School (Catholic)
• Barringa Special School (Day Special School)
• Newborough Primary (Murray Road)
• Newborough East Primary

Moe is also serviced by two high schools:

• Lowanna Secondary College, a single campus year 7-12 state secondary college located in nearby Newborough, and
• Lavalla Catholic College, a multi campus catholic secondary college with its year 7-10 Presentation Campus located in Newborough.

Tertiary education is offered through GippsTAFE (Yallourn, Warragul, Leongatha, Morwell). Monash University also has its Gippsland Campus at nearby Churchill.

Moe is located approximately one and a half hours' drive east of Melbourne along the Princes Highway. V/Line runs passenger rail services to Moe station and beyond from Melbourne's Southern Cross Station several times a day.

Local bus services in Moe are operated by Valley Transit, which also runs buses to nearby towns such as Morwell, Traralgon, Churchill and Yallourn North.

The town is approximately a 20 minute drive from Latrobe Regional Airport in Traralgon.

• Latrobe Valley tourism article on Moe
• Fairfax Travel Australian Walkabout guide to Moe
• A Project of The Moe Development Group featuring stories written by local Moe people that look at how the town and the area around it has shaped the lives and the value systems of its people.

Coordinates: 38°10′S 146°14′E