Werribee is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 32 km south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District. Its local government area is the City of Wyndham. At the 2011 Census, Werribee had a population of 37,737.Werribee is situated on the Werribee River, approximately halfway between Melbourne and Geelong, on the Princes Highway. It is the administrative centre of the City of Wyndham Local Government Area and is the City's most populous centre. Werribee is considered part of the Greater Melbourne metropolitan area and is included in the capital's population statistical division.Since the 1990s the suburb has experienced rapid suburban growth into surrounding greenfield land, and becoming a commuter town in the Melbourne-Geelong growth corridor. Due to this urban sprawl Wyndham and its suburbs have merged into the Melbourne conurbation.It was established as an agricultural settlement in the 1850s, originally named Wyndham and was renamed Werribee (derived from the aboriginal name meaning "backbone" or "spine") in 1904.The suburb is best known for its major tourist attractions, which include the former estate of wealthy pastoralist Thomas Chirnside, known as Werribee Park, the Victoria State Rose Garden, the Werribee Park National Equestrian Centre and the Werribee Open Range Zoo.