Gippsland

Gippsland is an economic rural region that occupies much of the south-eastern part of Victoria, Australia.

Covering an area of 41,556 square kilometres (16,045 sq mi), Gippsland lies to the east of the eastern suburbs of Greater Melbourne, to the north of Bass Strait, to the west of the Tasman Sea, to the south of the Black-Allan Line that marks part of the Victorian/New South Wales border, and to the east and southeast of the Great Dividing Range that lies within the Hume region and the Victorian Alps. The region is best known for its primary production such as mining, power generation and farming as well as its tourist destinations— Phillip Island, Wilsons Promontory, the Gippsland Lakes, Walhalla, the Baw Baw Plateau, and the Strzelecki Ranges.

As at the 2011 Australian census, the Gippsland region had a population of 255,718, that is generally broken down into the East Gippsland, South Gippsland, West Gippsland, and the Latrobe Valley statistical divisions. The principal centres of the region, in descending order of population, are Traralgon, Moe, Warragul, Morwell, Sale, Bairnsdale, Drouin, Leongatha, and Phillip Island.

Gippsland Lakes

The Gippsland Lakes are a network of lakes, marshes and lagoons in east Gippsland, Victoria, Australia covering an area of about 354 square kilometres (137 sq mi). The largest of the lakes are Lake Wellington (Gunai language: Murla), Lake King and Lake Victoria. The lakes are collectively fed by the Avon, Thomson, Latrobe, Mitchell, Nicholson and Tambo rivers.

History

The Gippsland Lakes were formed by two principal processes. The first is river delta alluvial deposition of sediment brought in by the rivers which flow into the lakes. Silt deposited by this process forms into long jetties which can run many kilometres into a lake, as exemplified by the Mitchell River silt jetties that run into Lake King. The second process is the action of sea current in Bass Strait which created the Ninety Mile Beach and cut off the river deltas from the sea.

Once the lakes were closed off a new cycle started, whereby the water level of the lakes would gradually rise until the waters broke through the barrier beach and the level would drop down until it equalised with sea-level. Eventually the beach would close-off the lakes and the cycle would begin anew. Sometimes it would take many years before a new channel to the sea was formed and not necessarily in the same place as the last one.

East Gippsland

East Gippsland is the eastern region of Gippsland, Australia covering 31,740 square kilometres (14%) of Victoria. It has a population of 80,114.

The Shire of East Gippsland, also called Far East Gippsland, covers two-thirds (66%) of East Gippsland's area and holds half (50.0%) of its population. The Shire of East Gippsland is confusingly also referred to simply as East Gippsland. It excludes the Shire of Wellington (Central Gippsland). This article (currently) refers mainly to "Far East Gippsland".

East Gippsland's major towns include, from west to east, Bairnsdale (the largest town and administrative centre), Paynesville, Lakes Entrance, Orbost and Mallacoota. Smaller, but significant, towns in the more mountainous northern areas include Ensay, Swifts Creek, Omeo, and Buchan.

East Gippsland extends from the western watershed of the Mitchell and Thomson River catchments east and north to the New South Wales border. Rugged terrain makes farming difficult, even with fertilisers.

Lakes Entrance, Victoria

Lakes Entrance is a tourist resort and fishing port in eastern Victoria, Australia. It is situated approximately 320 kilometres (200 mi) east of Melbourne, near a managed, artificial channel connecting the Gippsland Lakes to the Bass Strait. At the 2011 census, Lakes Entrance had a population of 4,569.

The township was originally named Cunninghame, the Post Office of that name opening on 5 February 1870. It was renamed Lakes Entrance on 1 January 1915.

Description

Lakes Entrance, which lies almost at sea level, can be reached from Melbourne via Bairnsdale and the town of Kalimna to the north-west by a stretch of the Princes Highway, which snakes down and around a point protruding into the Gippsland Lakes known as "Jemmy's Point". Spectacular views of The Entrance and of the Lakes can be seen from various look-outs on Jemmy's Point. The Princes Highway leaves the north-east side of the town through hilly countryside towards Nowa Nowa and Orbost.

Lakes Entrance is predominantly a fishing and tourism-driven town; the main beach front is a safe harbour for many major commercial fishing and recreational watersport operations. The surf beach is patrolled by the Lakes Entrance Surf Life Saving Club (SLSC) between November and March every summer, with lifeguard patrols from late December to late January. The waterfront is populated by the fishing fleet and two floating restaurants- Ferrymans Seafood Cafe and The Floating Dragon Dockside Restaurant. The main street consists of shops, caravan parks, a Safeway, a Target Country store that opened in 2007, a McDonalds restaurant that opened in September 1997.The town's main residential areas lie farther inland.