Editing Traralgon (section)

=== Township established ===
The township was established in the early 1860s, the first Post Office opening on 1 January 1861.<ref name="a">{{Citation | last = Phoenix Auctions History | title = Post Office List | url = http://www.phoenixauctions.com.au/cgi-bin/wsPhoenix.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=VIC&filter=*Traralgon* | access-date = 21 January 2021 }}</ref> In 1877 the [[Gippsland railway line]] from [[Melbourne]] was completed with a [[Traralgon railway station|railway station]] at Traralgon giving the town a major economic boost.

Traralgon was part of the area administered by the Rosedale Roads Board, before the [[Shire of Traralgon]] was established in 1879. In the latter part of the 19th century the Shire grew strongly.
[[Image:Traralgon Post Office.jpg|thumb|alt=Traralgon Post Office|right|The current Post Office building, a local landmark, was completed in 1886]]
It was not until the 1930s however that Traralgon began to move away from a farming based economy. In 1939, [[Amcor|Australian Paper Manufacturers]] established a paper mill at Maryvale, around {{convert|8|km|mi|0}} from Traralgon.<ref>[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/63268400 Maryvale Paper Mill] ''[[Gippsland Times]]'' 25 September 1939 page 3</ref>

Queen [[Elizabeth II]] and [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh]] visited on 3 March 1954. The president of the Shire of Traralgon, Cr Clem Little met and welcomed the Queen, who was flown by the [[Royal Australian Air Force]] from [[Sale, Victoria|Sale]]. She returned to Melbourne by train.<ref>Chapter 7 [http://www.traralgonhistory.asn.au/rolf/chapter7.htm The River of Little Fish by WJ Cuthill]</ref>

In 1961, Traralgon formed its own borough, the [[City of Traralgon|Borough of Traralgon]] following a decade of lobbying to separate the urban areas of Traralgon from the Shire. Traralgon was proclaimed a city in 1964.

The old town hall and mechanics institute were demolished in 1973.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.traralgonhistory.asn.au/mechanics.htm |title=Traralgon Mechanics Institute |access-date=2012-06-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324181853/http://traralgonhistory.asn.au/mechanics.htm |archive-date=24 March 2012}}</ref>

Further development resulted from the expansion of the [[Energy in Victoria|power generation industry]] following World War II, particularly through the now defunct [[State Electricity Commission of Victoria]]. This included large expansions at [[Yallourn Power Station|Yallourn]] and [[Hazelwood Power Station|Hazelwood]] Power Stations and the construction of the massive [[Loy Yang Power Station]] in the 1970s and 1980s.

An [[Australian Securities & Investments Commission]] information processing centre was established in the early 1990s, at the time employing around 400 people.{{cn|date=January 2023}}

The City of Traralgon and Shire of Traralgon continued a separate existence until they were amalgamated into the Shire of Latrobe in 1994.

Completion of the Loy Yang power stations, extensive voluntary departures{{Vague|date=March 2011}} from the electricity industry and privatisation of the Victorian electricity industry in the early 1990s had devastating effects on the economy of the [[Latrobe Valley]]. Traralgon, with a more diversified economy, suffered to a lesser extent than the neighbouring towns of [[Morwell, Victoria|Morwell]] and [[Moe, Victoria|Moe]] both of which relied almost exclusively on the power stations for their livelihood.

Traralgon grew strongly in the mid 2000s, with a figure of 2.7% making it the largest and fastest growing city in the Latrobe Valley.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.latrobe.vic.gov.au/MediaRoom/NewsReleases/Details/Default.aspx?PrintFriendly=1&NewsID=769 |title=Latrobe City Council - Details |access-date=2010-04-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614054826/http://www.latrobe.vic.gov.au/MediaRoom/NewsReleases/Details/Default.aspx?PrintFriendly=1&NewsID=769 |archive-date=14 June 2011}}</ref>