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Merrijig

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Coordinates: 37°06′S 146°15′E / 37.100°S 146.250°E / -37.100; 146.250
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Merrijig
Victoria
War memorial at Merrijig
Merrijig is located in Shire of Mansfield
Merrijig
Merrijig
Coordinates37°06′S 146°15′E / 37.100°S 146.250°E / -37.100; 146.250
Population721 (2021 census)[1]
Postcode(s)3723
Location
LGA(s)Shire of Mansfield
State electorate(s)Eildon
Federal division(s)Indi

Merrijig is a town in North-East Victoria, Australia, located between Mount Buller and Mansfield. At the 2021 census, Merrijig and the surrounding area had a population of 721.[1]

The first Merrijig Post Office opened on 4 October 1866 and was replaced by Boggy Creek in 1867. Another Merrijig Post Office opened on 1 April 1866 (known as Delatite from 1872 until 1924) and closed in 1970.[2]

A second placename in Victoria named "Merrijig" exists in East Gippsland, about 10 kilometres north of Lindenow.

The long held school of thought pertaining to the name Merrijig was that it was named for the town of Merrijig in Ireland of which the landscape resembles, there is a possible connection to Port Fairy where there is a ‘Merrijig Inn.’ Another school of thought is that it is an Aboriginal word meaning "good, well done".[3] Merrijig is not a Taungurung (ie: local) language word, but rather a word drawn from early Aboriginal 'pidgin' English (other examples being 'budjeri' for 'good'; 'baal' for 'no' and 'yarraman' for 'horse').[4] Most other nearby area names derived from Indigenous Elders (& relatives) names, and end in the suffix “ite”; for example, Delatite, Booralite & Beolite. As there are Merrijigs in Ireland, New Zealand and so forth, it is unlikely that the name is of Australian indigenous origins.

The Man from Snowy River was shot in Merrijig. It is also the location of Nevil Shute's novel The Far Country.

References

  1. ^ a b "2021 Census QuickStats Merrijig (Mansfield - Vic)". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  2. ^ Phoenix Auctions History, Post Office List, retrieved 24 March 2021
  3. ^ The Aboriginal and Other Meanings of many of our Region's Town Names
  4. ^ Barry Blake and Julie Reid, ‘The Dhudhuroa language of northeastern Victoria: a description based on historical sources,’ Aboriginal History, 2002, VOL 26, pp: 177-210.

Media related to Merrijig at Wikimedia Commons

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