Digby, Victoria

Digby Victoria
Memorial hall.
Digby
Coordinates	37°48′0″S 141°32′0″E / 37.80000°S 141.53333°E / -37.80000; 141.53333
Population	124 (2016 census)[1]
Postcode(s)	3309
Location	366 km (227 mi) W of Melbourne 47 km (29 mi) W of Hamilton 10 km (6 mi) S of Merino
LGA(s)	Shire of Glenelg
State electorate(s)	Lowan
Federal division(s)	Wannon

Digby is a town in the Western District of Victoria, Australia. The town is in the Shire of Glenelg, 366 kilometres (227 mi) west of the state capital, Melbourne, on the Stokes River, a tributary of the Glenelg. At the 2006 census, Digby and the surrounding area had a population of 369.^[2] The town is believed to be named either after Digby, Lincolnshire, in England, or in honour of a legendary early rural Australian identity, "Digby" McCabe.^[3]

The Henty Brothers established the first European settlement in the Digby area in 1837. In 1843, the Woolpack Inn was established near modern Digby; it burnt down in 1887. By 1847 the town consisted of the inn, a blacksmith and a series of huts. The town was officially surveyed in 1852.^[3] On 1 June 1858, Digby Post Office opened.^[4] In 1857, a second inn—the Digby Hotel—was established. It still exists today, although it was rebuilt after a fire in 1935.^[3]

The Digby Mechanics Institute was built in 1868 and has continually operated since. The first sitting of the Supreme Court of Victoria outside Melbourne was in Digby in 1869.^[3] By 1874 the town had a post office, two hotels, four shops and a school.^[3]

The formally recognised traditional owners for the area in which Digby sits are the Gunditjmara People^[5] who are represented by the Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation.^[6]

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