Merino is a town in the Western District of Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. The town is located in the Shire of Glenelg Local Government Area, 363 kilometres west of the state capital, Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

. At the 2006 census

Census in Australia

The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...

, Merino had a population of 400.

The first European settlement of the area was in 1837, when Francis Henty, brother of Edward Henty

Edward Henty

See also Western District Edward Henty ,was a pioneer and first permanent settler in the Port Phillip district , Australia....

, established Merino Downs station

Station (Australian agriculture)

Station is the term for a large Australian landholding used for livestock production. It corresponds to the North American term ranch or South American estancia...

. Henty established the station after a report on the high quality pasture from explorer Major Thomas Mitchell at the Henty property near Portland

Portland, Victoria

The city of Portland is the oldest European settlement in what is now the state of Victoria, Australia. It is the main urban centre of the Shire of Glenelg. It is located on Portland Bay.-History:...

. A store and post office agency was established in 1854 and the first town lots were sold the next year. An official Post Office opened on June 1, 1858. The town continued to grow through the 1850s and 1860s with the construction of churches, hotels and schools. In 1870, the courthouse was moved from Digby

Digby, Victoria

Digby is a town in the Western District of Victoria, Australia. The town is in the Shire of Glenelg, west of the state capital, Melbourne on Stokes River, a tributary of the Glenelg. At the 2006 census, Digby and the surrounding area had a population of 369...

 to Merino. The Merino co-operative butter factory was established around 1885. After World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, the area was opened up for soldier settlement

Soldier settlement (Australia)

Soldier settlement refers to the occupation and settlement of land throughout parts of Australia by returning discharged soldiers under schemes administered by the State Governments after World Wars I and II.- World War I :...

. In 1955, Merino was finally connected to the electricity grid.

Golfers play at the course of the Merino Golf Club on Digby Road.