Murtoa

Murtoa
Victoria
McDonald Street, Murtoa
Murtoa
Coordinates36°36′S 142°29′E / 36.600°S 142.483°E / -36.600; 142.483
Population865 (2016 census)
Postcode(s)3390
Location
LGA(s)Shire of Yarriambiack
State electorate(s)Lowan
Federal division(s)Mallee

Murtoa is a town in Victoria, Australia, situated around Lake Marma on the Wimmera Highway, 305 kilometres (190 mi) north-west of the state capital, Melbourne. The town is in the Shire of Yarriambiack local government area. At the 2016 census, Murtoa had a population of 865 and is located around 30 kilometres from Horsham, a major city in the Wimmera region.

The name Murtoa is believed to come from a local Aboriginal word meaning "home of the lizard". Murtoa's post office opened on 1 August 1874. Many of Murtoa's pioneer farmers were German immigrants, attracted from South Australia by Victorian government incentives.

The working section of the present-day Murtoa Grain Receival Centre can hold up to 400,000 tonnes of grain and is the largest inland Receival Centre in Australia.