[1] Warragul forms part of a larger urban area that includes nearby Drouin that had an estimated total population of 42,827 as of the 2021 census.
The surrounding area is noted for dairy farming and other niche agriculture and has long been producing gourmet foods.
Warragul (or warrigal, worrigle, warragal) is a New South Wales Indigenous word from the Darug language meaning dingo.
[9] In 1851, British botanist Daniel Bunce recorded warragul as a Boonwurrung language word meaning wild, ferocious and enemy.
[8] Hugh Copeland wrote in his 1934 history of Warragul that the place name was an Indigenous word meaning wild.
[13] John Lardner surveyed the townships along the line in 1877 and noted that the early arrivals in the area were squatters, who had erected their shops and dwellings on Crown land.
[13] In November 1873, The Victorian Parliament passed an Act approving the construction of a railway linking Oakleigh to Sale.
[14] The first Warragul post office opened on 16 March 1877 at the general store operated by James Biram, who became the first postmaster.
A contract to build an official post office was made on 4 April 1887 and a foundation stone was laid on 4 June 1887.
[16][17] Warragul's Petersville Milk Products Factory in Queen Street supplied the famous Peters Ice Cream brand's factory in Mulgrave with all the dairy raw material (fresh cream and concentrated skim milk) for 35 years.
Warragul has an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb), with warm summers and cool, rainy winters.
Three major events are held at Lardner Park each year—the Farm World agricultural show, Trucks in Action, and Harvest of Gippsland.
The Central Gippsland Institute of TAFE has a campus located to the south of the CBD adjacent to the railway station.
The Education Centre Gippsland has recently taken over the courses previously provided by the McMillan Institute of Land and Food Resources, a former campus of the University of Melbourne.
The Warragul bus network was recently upgraded with the Myki technology, fitted to all town buses.
Warragul United Soccer Club[27] was founded in 1963 and represent the town in Association Football, playing in the Victorian State League Division 1 South East.
They have a long history of success, most recently winning the Gippsland and State titles in the Country Basketball League.
Warragul's Wild Dog Triathlon Club also meets on Saturdays throughout the summer season for a swim/cycle/run event.
This race features one of the hardest[citation needed] climbs in the country and has been won by riders such as 2000 Cyclist of the year, Dave McKenzie, Tour de France Stage Winner, Simon Gerrans and 2009 Australian Road Champion, Peter McDonald.
According to the Warragul Regional Newspapers website,[35] The Gazette and The Trader are distributed to locations from as far as Pakenham to Moe and from Poowong to Noojee, covering over 40,000 readers.
During World War II, Warragul was the location of RAAF No.2 Inland Aircraft Fuel Depot (IAFD), completed in 1942 and closed on 14 June 1944.