[3][4] William Fowler Pickering, the colonial government surveyor who in 1845 was tasked with the initial planning of the township, chose to name the town Warrnambool.

These people constructed large stone and timber weirs called yereroc across various waterways in the region in order to facilitate the trapping of eels.

[7] A popular legend is that the first Europeans to visit the region were Cristóvão de Mendonça and his crew who surveyed the coastline nearby and were marooned near the site of the present town as early as the 16th century, based on the unverified reports of local whalers' discovery of the wreck of a mahogany ship.

[citation needed] This was followed by that of the English navigator Matthew Flinders in the Investigator, and the French explorer Nicholas Baudin, who recorded coastal landmarks, in 1802.

[citation needed] British settlement of the land in the region began in 1838 when Captain Alexander Campbell, a whaler based at nearby Port Fairy, took possession of 4,000 acres around the mouth of the Merri River.

The airport is slightly north and inland of Warrnambool, featuring warmer days and cooler nights.

[citation needed] Outside the CBD, the Warrnambool Botanic Gardens feature wide curving paths, rare trees, a lily pond with ducks, a fernery, a band rotunda, and was designed by notable landscape architect, William Guilfoyle.

[14] The Lady Bay Lighthouse complex is on the Victorian heritage register due to its significance as an example of early colonial development.

The city has been a popular destination for beachgoers for 150 years, with the first public bathing area built in 1876 on the south end of Gilles Street, and was later moved to the current location with the advent of the railway.

The sea baths were filled with water drawn from Lady Bay, initially by windmill and later by gas pump.

[17] Today, Warrnambool continues to be a popular destination for bathing, with world class facilities available for locals and tourists alike.

Warrnambool is also served by local transmission of free-to-air television networks ABC, SBS, Seven, Southern Cross and WIN.

Warrnambool is home to the Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic, a race which attracts Australian and international drivers on the Australia Day long weekend, especially because of its position in the motorsport calendar.

[22] The club is located centrally in the Warrnambool Showgrounds Precinct on Koroit Street and opened on 27 July 1978.

Since 1973 the speedway has been home to the Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic, the biggest single sprint car racing meeting in Australia, and on occasion has outdrawn the famed Knoxville Nationals in the United States for number of competitors entered, as better known drivers enter both races.

Gunditjmara Bulls and North Warrnambool Warriors play rugby league in NRL Victoria.

[24] The sport is highly popular in Warrnambool which has a competitive local league and is the origin of many high-profile AFL players.

In the winter months, Southern Right whales can be seen in the waters near the city at the Logan's Beach nursery, and boats make whale-watching tours.

Other major industries and services include retail, education, health, meat processing, clothing manufacture and construction.

At the federal level, Warrnambool is the largest town in the division of Wannon, which has been a safe Liberal seat since 1955.

Logan's Beach on the eastern side of the city is recognised as a nursery site for the southern right whale Eubalaena australis, and many tourists have been attracted to opportunities for land-based observations.

During the winter and early spring albatross cruise along the coastline and can be sighted from Thunder Point, a popular coastal lookout in the town.

[37] Local buses under the Transit South West brand cover Warrnambool's city and suburbs and extend to the nearby towns of Port Fairy and Koroit.

V/Line coaches connect Warrnambool with Mount Gambier, Ballarat, Ararat, Casterton and the Great Ocean Road to Geelong.