East Gippsland enormous old growth 01 Pengo

East Gippsland is the eastern region of

Gippsland Gippsland is a rural region that makes up the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains to the rainward (southern) side of the Victorian Alps (the southernmost section of the Great Dividing Range). It cove ...

Victoria, Australia Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in ...

covering 31,740 square kilometres (14%) of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. It has a population of 80,114. Australian Bureau of Statistics
2006 Census Community Profile Series: East Gippsland (Statistical Division). Released at 29/02/2008. LOCATION CODE: 250 STATE: VIC
/ref>

History

The

Shire of East Gippsland The Shire of East Gippsland is a local government area in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, located in the eastern part of the state. It covers an area of and in June 2018 had a population of 46,818. It includes the towns of Bairnsdale, Benambra ...

, also called Far East Gippsland, covers two-thirds (66%) of East Gippsland's area and holds half (50%) of its population. Australian Bureau of Statistics
2006 Census. Community Profile Series: East Gippsland Shire (Statistical Subdivision). Released at 29/02/2008. LOCATION CODE: 25005 STATE: VIC
/ref> The Shire of East Gippsland is confusingly also referred to simply as East Gippsland. It excludes the

Shire of Wellington The Shire of Wellington is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the eastern part of the state. It covers an area of and in June 2018 had a population of 44,019. It includes the towns of Heyfield, Rosedale, Maffra, ...

(

Central Gippsland The area known as Central Gippsland, also termed North Gippsland, is a region of Gippsland in Victoria, Australia, roughly corresponding to Shire of Wellington. Often this region is considered part of a larger "East Gippsland". Central Gippsl ...

). This article (currently) refers mainly to "Far East Gippsland". East Gippsland's major towns include, from west to east,

Bairnsdale Bairnsdale () ( Ganai: ''Wy-yung'') is a city in East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia in a region traditionally owned by the Tatungalung clan of the Gunaikurnai people. The estimated population of Bairnsdale urban area was 15,411 at Ju ...

(the largest town and administrative centre), Paynesville,

Lakes Entrance Lakes Entrance is a seaside resort and fishing port in eastern Victoria, Australia. It is situated approximately east of Melbourne, near a managed, artificial channel connecting the Gippsland Lakes to Bass Strait. At the 2016 census, Lakes Ent ...

Orbost Orbost is a historic early settlers town in the Shire of East Gippsland, Victoria, east of Melbourne and south of Canberra where the Princes Highway crosses the Snowy River. It is about from the surf and fishing seaside town of Marlo on th ...

and

Mallacoota Mallacoota is a small town in the East Gippsland region in the state of Victoria, Australia. At the 2016 census, Mallacoota had a population of 1,063. At holiday times, particularly Easter and Christmas, the population increases by about 8,000 ...

. Smaller, but significant, towns in the more mountainous northern areas include Ensay, Swifts Creek,

Omeo Omeo ( ) is a town in Victoria, Australia on the Great Alpine Road, east of Mount Hotham, in the Shire of East Gippsland. At the 2016 census, Omeo had a population of 406. The name is derived from an Aboriginal word for 'mountains' or 'hills ...

, and

Buchan Buchan is an area of north-east Scotland, historically one of the original provinces of the Kingdom of Alba. It is now one of the six committee areas and administrative areas of Aberdeenshire Council, Scotland. These areas were created by ...

. East Gippsland extends from the western watershed of the

Mitchell Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territo ...

and Thomson River catchments east and north to the

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

border. Rugged terrain makes farming difficult, even with fertilisers. The major industry is often considered to be forestry, which provides less than 1 percent of employment for the region. The East Gippsland

Regional Forest Agreement The Regional Forest Agreements (RFA) are 20 year plans for the conservation and sustainable management of Australia's native forests, and are intended to provide certainty to commercial forestry operations while protecting environmental values. The ...

(RFA) was signed by Commonwealth and Victorian governments on 3 February 1997, and is Australia's first RFA. It covers a region similar, but not identical to the

East Gippsland Shire The Shire of East Gippsland is a local government area in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, located in the eastern part of the state. It covers an area of and in June 2018 had a population of 46,818. It includes the towns of Bairnsdale, Benam ...

. It sets aside 5,811 km² from logging, an increase of 1.3% over pre-RFA reserves.Australian Bureau of Statistics
Environment by Numbers: Selected Articles on Australia's Environment
Dennis Trewin. 21 Feb 2003. ABS Cataloge No. 4617.0. . p18. Central Gippsland is covered by the Gippsland RFA (signed 31 March 2000), which covers an area similar to the

, and places 7,805 km² in reserves. Logging of native forests has caused sustained controversy in East Gippsland, particularly due to the unique species found in areas east of the Snowy River, and the contentious public debate surrounding native forest, particularly old-growth, harvesting. This is despite managed forest having a mitigation effect in

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

. The major river basins of the Mitchell, Tambo and Nicholson drain into the

Gippsland Lakes The Gippsland Lakes are a network of coastal lakes, marshes and lagoons in East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia covering an overall area of about between the rural towns of Lakes Entrance, Bairnsdale and Sale. The largest of the lakes are L ...

, which in turn empty into the sea through an artificially maintained opening at

The area is a major tourist destination, especially for watersports, and is noted for its mild climate. The

Great Alpine Road } The Great Alpine Road (B500) is a country tourist road in Victoria, Australia, running from Wangaratta in the north to Bairnsdale in the east, and passing through the Victorian Alps. The road was given its current name because it was consid ...

leads north from Bairnsdale into the

Australian Alps The Australian Alps is a mountain range in southeast Australia. It comprises an interim Australian bioregion,0042-5184 However, the moth has also been a biovector of arsenic, transporting it from lowland feeding sites over long distances int ...

via Swifts Creek and

, and onto the major ski resorts of

Dinner Plain Dinner Plain is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Great Alpine Road, 13 kilometres from Mount Hotham Alpine Resort, and 375 kilometres from Melbourne. At the , Dinner Plain had a population of 230, yet has over 200 lodges and chalets ...

and

Mount Hotham Mount Hotham is a mountain located in the Victorian Alps of the Great Dividing Range, in the Australian state of Victoria. The mountain is located approximately north east of Melbourne, from Sydney, and from Adelaide by road. The nearest ...

. This area is also very popular for bushwalking in the summer. The

district is popular with tourists for its

limestone caves Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms when t ...

. Further east, the

Snowy River The Snowy River is a major river in south-eastern Australia. It originates on the slopes of Mount Kosciuszko, Australia's highest mainland peak, draining the eastern slopes of the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales, before flowing through the ...

and several smaller stream catchments, including the Thurra, Wingan, Genoa,

Bemm River The Bemm River is a perennial river, located in the East Gippsland region of the Australian state of Victoria. Course and features Formed by the confluence of the Errinundra and Combienbar rivers, the Bemm River rises below near Boulder Fl ...

and

Cann River The Cann River is a perennial river located in the East Gippsland region of the Australian state of Victoria. Course and features The Cann River rises southwest of Granite Mountain in remote country on the eastern boundary of the Errinundra N ...

, enter the

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea ( Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer ...

. More than 17,000 km² of East Gippsland is public land with 2,680 km² being national parks, two of the largest being

Snowy River National Park The Snowy River National Park is a national park located in the alpine and East Gippsland regions of Victoria, Australia. The national park is situated approximately northeast of Melbourne and southwest of Canberra, south of the Black-Allan ...

and

Errinundra National Park The Errinundra National Park is a national park located in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. The national park is situated east of Melbourne via the Princes Highway and is centred on the Errinundra Plateau, a southwards extension of ...

. Both are remote and inaccessible, but they are otherwise entirely different. Snowy River National Park features dramatic gorges and powerful rapids formed by the descent of the

. Apart from gorges and southern slopes, this park is in a rain-shadow area forming the southern border of the Monaro Tableland. Consequently, many species more typical of inland New South Wales and Victoria are found here. Errinundra National Park is much wetter - inaccessible from June to October in most years - and features some of the most ancient forests in Australia, a matter of controversy as employment in the remote areas east of the Snowy is mainly dependent upon timber milling.

Croajingolong National Park The Croajingolong National Park is a coastal national park located in the East Gippsland region of the Australian state of Victoria. The national park is situated approximately east of Melbourne and south of Sydney. The name ''Croajingolo ...

between

Marlo Marlo is a name which may refer to: People Given name or nickname Notable people with the given name or nickname include: *Marlo Dahl (born 1972), Canadian curler *Marlo Hoogstraten (also known as MaRLo), Dutch DJ * Martin "Marlo" Hyland (1969–2 ...

and

features extensive coastal heathlands and tea tree scrub, as well as the only major area of warm temperate rainforest in Victoria. The 4,193 km² of privately owned land is mainly red gum plains, coastal plains, mountain plateaux and fertile river valleys.

References

External links

Official East Gippsland tourism website
{{coord missing, Victoria (Australia)

History

See also

References

External links