Population 4,569 (2011 census) State electorate(s) Gippsland East Elevation 2 m Federal division Division of Gippsland | Postcode(s) 3909 Mean max temp Mean min temp Postal code 3909 | |
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Location 321 km (199 mi) E of Melbourne
40 km (25 mi) SE of Bairnsdale LGA(s) Shire of East Gippsland | ||
Lakes Entrance is a seaside 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.
Contents
Map of Lakes Entrance VIC 3909, Australia
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, and a McDonald's restaurant that opened in September 1997. The town's main residential areas lie farther inland.
Lakes Entrance is a very popular spot for camping in caravan parks, and in free camping spots in Colquhoun State Forest.
Nearby major towns include Bairnsdale and Orbost. Lakes Entrance falls within the Shire of East Gippsland. The current mayor, Cr Richard Ellis, is a Lakes Entrance resident.
Minor towns include Swan Reach, Johnsonville, Kalimna, Nicholson, Metung and Lake Tyers.
Sports
The town has an Australian rules football team competing in the East Gippsland Football League.
The town is home to a hockey club in the East Gippsland Hockey Association, although the club still plays under the name of its original home town, Swan Reach.
Golfers play at the course of the Lakes Entrance Golf Club on Golf Links Road.
Notable people
Lakes Entrance is the hometown of: