Lake Bolac
Victoria
Main street of Lake Bolac
Lake Bolac is located in Rural City of Ararat
Lake Bolac
Lake Bolac
Coordinates37°42′0″S 142°51′0″E / 37.70000°S 142.85000°E / -37.70000; 142.85000
Population368 (2021 census)[1]
Postcode(s)3351
Location
LGA(s)Rural City of Ararat
State electorate(s)Lowan
Federal division(s)Wannon

Lake Bolac is a town in the Western District region of Victoria, Australia. The town is on the shores of Lake Bolac, and the Glenelg Highway passes through the town. At the 2021 census, Lake Bolac and the surrounding area had a population of 368.

The name derives from bulluc, meaning swamp or lake in the Djab Wurrung language. The traditional owners of the area are the Girai wurrung people.

History

Pre-colonial inhabitation

Lake Bolac was the northern boundary of the Girai wurrung people's traditional lands, according to Norman Tindale, while large groups of up to 1,000 Djab wurrung and other peoples gathered here for a couple of months during the annual short-finned eel migration.[2][3] George Augustus Robinson recorded in 1841 that 800 Aboriginal people had gathered at Lake Bolac – 'Lake Boloke' – to feast on plentiful eels, when "...local tribes numbered only sixty individuals".[4]

The name of the lake and thence the town derives from bulluc, meaning swamp or lake in the Djab Wurrung language.[5]

Anthropologist Harry Lourandos noted evidence of semi-permanent settlement near the lake.[6]

European settlement

Lake Bolac Post Office opened on 1 November 1864.[7]

2006 tornado

On the night of 19 January 2006, Lake Bolac was hit by what has been described as a "mini-twister". Power lines were torn down, several buildings suffered mild to severe damage, more than 100 trees were uprooted, and eight grain silos were either damaged or destroyed. Around 400 residents lost power due to the tornado, and the damage bill was estimated at A$2m.[8]

Location

Lake Bolac is in the Western District region of Victoria, within the local government area of the Rural City of Ararat, 91 kilometres (57 mi) west of Ballarat. The town is situated on the shores of Lake Bolac, and the Glenelg Highway passes through the town.[9]

Facilities and places of interest

The Lake Bolac stone arrangement is an Aboriginal ceremonial site near the town, in the shape of a giant stone eel.[10]

Lake Bolac has a prep to year 12 school.

There is a caravan park on the lake that is popular in summer with holidaying families.

Recreation

The freshwater lake is popular with anglers.

The football team is combined with nearby town Wickliffe known as the Magpies and plays in the Mininera & District Football League.

The Lake Bolac Golf Club is on Mortlake Road.[11]

Demographics

At the 2021 census, Lake Bolac and the surrounding area had a population of 368.[1]

The language spoken by the traditional owners of the area is the Djab Wurrung language.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Lake Bolac (Suburbs and Localities)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  2. ↑ Clark, Ian D. (1995). Scars in the Landscape: a register of massacre sites in western Victoria, 1803–1859 (PDF). AIATSIS. pp. 57–84. ISBN 0-85575-281-5.
  3. ↑ Mallett, Ashley (2002). The Black Lords of Summer: The Story of the 1868 Aboriginal Tour of England and Beyond. University of Queensland Press. pp. 169–175. ISBN 978-0-702-23262-6.
  4. ↑ Vivienne Rae-Ellis (1988) Black Robinson: Protectors of Aborigines, University of Melbourne Press, Melbourne, p.244
  5. ↑ "Victorian Aboriginal Corporation Languages Djab Wurrung". Victorian Aboriginal Corporation Languages. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  6. ↑ Lourandos, Harry (1997). Continent of Hunter-Gatherers: New Perspectives in Australian Prehistory. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-35946-7.
  7. ↑ Premier Postal History, Post Office List, retrieved 11 April 2008
  8. ↑ The Ballarat Courier (21 January 2006), Two million dollars' worth of damage, retrieved 16 January 2010
  9. ↑ "Great Circle Distance between LAKE+BOLAC and BALLARAT". Geoscience Australia. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
  10. ↑ Flanagan, Martin (2 January 2009). "The lady of the lake". The Age. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  11. ↑ Golf Select, Lake Bolac, retrieved 11 May 2009
  12. ↑ "Victorian Language Corporation for Languages Djab Wurrung". Victorian Language Corporation for Languages. Retrieved 1 June 2021.

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