Orbost () is a town of approximately 2000 inhabitants (2001 census) in the East Gippsland Shire, Victoria, Australia, located 375km east of Melbourne where the Princes Highway crosses the Snowy River. It is about 16km from the village of Marlo on the coast of Bass Strait. Orbost is the service centre for the primary industries of beef, dairy cattle, and sawmilling. More recently, tourism has become an important industry, being the major town close to several national parks, including the Snowy River National Park, Alpine National Park, Errinundra National Park, Croajingolong National Park and Cape Conran Coastal Park.

History

Croajingalong or Krauatungalung was the name used by the Kurnai aboriginal people for the Orbost district, now the name of the nearby coastal Croajingolong National Park. The Snowy River valley was occupied by them for thousands of years. Evidence of human occupation at Cloggs Cave, near Buchan, has been dated at up to 17,000 years.

European settlement was met by determined resistance by the Krauatungalung branch of the Kurnai people. Peter Imlay established the Snowy River Station for grazing in 1842, and his brother the Newmerella run nearby. In 1845 the land was sold to Norman McLeod, who named the area after Orbost farm on the Isle of Skye, in Scotland.