Prior to European settlement the Cranbourne area is thought to have been occupied by the Boonwurrung Aboriginal people.

[3] Progress in developing the land around Cranbourne was hampered by the Koo Wee Rup swampland.

Prior to 1978, Council met at the Old Shire Offices, on the corner of Sladen Street and South Gippsland Highway.

[4] Cranbourne possesses an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb), with tepid, relatively dry summers and cool, wetter winters.

But due to the "bay-effect", rainfall is frequent, as Cranbourne receives 182.4 precipitation days annually (with a maximum frequency of rain in winter).

The next most common countries of birth were India 5.4%, England 3.3%, New Zealand 3.1%, Afghanistan 1.9% and Philippines 1.4%.

Other languages spoken at home included Punjabi 2.6%, Hazaraghi 1.2%, Samoan 1.2%, Hindi 1.2% and Dari 1.1%.

A standalone Aldi supermarket is located on Bakewell Street, ~400 metres from Cranbourne Park.

There are an additional 8 courts (sand-filled artificial grass) available inside the Terry Vickerman Centre at the Casey Indoor Leisure Complex.

This hosts the horse racing club called the Cranbourne Turf Club, which schedules around 22 race meetings a year including the Cranbourne Cup meeting in October.

The MRA Cranbourne GP Run is held each year on the Saturday of the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix.

The Cranbourne line is part of the South Gippsland Railway, which is currently disused between Cranbourne and the start of the private South Gippsland Tourist Railway in Nyora (now closed).

Stevensons Brothers Industries (SBI) Landfill in Cranbourne emitted odour pollution which impacted nearby residents.

After receiving more than 5,000 complaints between mid 2021 to mid 2023, EPA Victoria took Stevensons Brothers Industries (SBI) Landfill to court claiming that the company failed to fulfil their general environmental duty due to the landfill's continued odour impact on nearby communities.