The original aboriginal inhabitants had a name for the river that flowed through the plains of
‘Imaroo”, it was ‘Werribee’, meaning spine or backbone.
On the 19th. December 1824 Hume and Hovell, who were experienced pastoralists,
camped in the Werribee area and upon return to Sydney presented a glowing report of the country they had explored.
In July 1835 John Helder Wedge, the ex-Government surveyor of Van Diemens Land,
crossed Bass Strait to make a detailed survey of land that John Batman had acquired..
He divided the huge area into 17 Lots, five of these being the Werribee area.
Due to a reliable water supply from the river, and an overnight stop being required
for the trip between the developing cities of Melbourne and Geelong,
a small village soon developed and became known as Werribee.
In the late 1840’s Thomas Chirnside moved to the Werribee area and later built the Mansion at Werribee Park.
In 1858 a site near the present Hoppers Crossing Railway Station was chosen to be the
starting point of the first accurate surveying of the whole of Victoria.
From these early beginnings, Werribee and the Shire of Wyndham has since developed,
now boasting a thriving farming, industrial, technological and educational precincts and a population in excess of 120,000.
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