The Orbost area was first settled by Europeans in 1842. Peter Imlay took up a run of 24 322 acres of grazing land extending from the Brodribb River on the east, the Snowy River on the south and west and about 24 km below the Buchan River, which he called the Snowy River Station. In 1845 the land was sold to Norman McLeod who named the area Orbost. Certainly a township didn't emerge until the late 1870s. By 1880 the Snowy River Shipping Company was shipping produce (mainly vegetables) from the area to Melbourne. The arrival of the railway in 1915-16 stopped this trade. Since then the town has grown as a major service centre for the surrounding area.