Sea Lake is a town in the Mallee district of north-west

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 ...

, Australia and is situated on the southern shores of Lake Tyrrell. The town is located on the

Calder Highway Calder Highway is a rural highway in Australia, linking Mildura and the Victoria/New South Wales border to Bendigo, in North Central Victoria. South of Bendigo, where the former highway has been upgraded to freeway-standard, Calder Freeway lin ...

, north-west of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, and west of Swan Hill. Sea Lake is in the heart of Australia's wheat belt, and is the main township for a number of wheat farms in the region. At the , Sea Lake had a population of 619.

History

The site upon which Sea Lake is situated was first visited by colonists in 1838. Sea Lake may have been given its name by an early settler,

Edward Eyre Edward John Eyre (5 August 181530 November 1901) was an English land explorer of the Australian continent, colonial administrator, and Governor of Jamaica. Early life Eyre was born in Whipsnade, Bedfordshire, shortly before his family moved to ...

, from the Port Phillip area. Purportedly, the sea-like appearance of

Lake Tyrrell Lake Tyrrell (also known as Lake Tyrrell Wildlife Reserve) is a shallow, salt-crusted depression in the Mallee district of north-west Victoria, in Australia. The name 'Tyrrell' is derived from the local Wergaia word for 'sky', the Boorong ...

inspired Eyre. An alternative version of the naming of Sea Lake comes from a surveyors report of the time when planning the township (which lies to the south of Lake Tyrrell). It is purported that a surveyor mistook a mark on hand drawings "see lake" which had been used by the author of the drawings to mark a landmark. Lake Tyrrell is the largest salt lake in Victoria, covering approximately . Much of the time, Lake Tyrrell is dry. However, the lake is occasionally fed by Tyrrell Creek. There is a salt extraction plant located in Sea Lake, processing the lake's salt deposits. A community was established after the arrival of the

Kulwin railway line The Kulwin railway line is located in north-western Victoria, Australia. It junctions from the Robinvale line at Korong Vale and only sees usage by freight trains. History The line was opened from Korong Vale to Wycheproof in 1883, and ext ...

in 1893. The post office opened on 2 October 1895. The Sea Lake Magistrates' Court closed on 1 January 1983. Sea Lake has a rich grain farming history and one of the first recorded stations in the area is Tyrrell Downs.

Local interest

Sea Lake is located in fairly close proximity to several major national parks, including

Wyperfeld National Park The Wyperfeld National Park is the third largest national park in Victoria, Australia, located in the Mallee district, approximately northwest of Melbourne, The national park was declared in 1921 and expanded significantly to protect of mal ...

and

Hattah-Kulkyne National Park The Hattah-Kulkyne National Park is a national park in the Mallee district of Victoria, Australia. The national park is situated adjacent to the Murray River, approximately northwest of Melbourne with the nearest regional centre being Mildur ...

. The town of Sea Lake is known for its once-yearly rally car race called the Mallee Rally, held on the Queens Birthday holiday in June and for its

silo art A silo (from the Greek σιρός – ''siros'', "pit for holding grain") is a structure for storing bulk materials. Silos are used in agriculture to store fermented feed known as silage, not to be confused with a grain bin, which is used t ...

. Sea Lake's main newspaper is called the ''Times Ensign''.''Times Ensign''
/ref> The paper was established in 1897. With its neighbouring townships

Culgoa Culgoa is a town in the Mallee region in the north west of the Australian state of Victoria. The town is approximately from the state capital, Melbourne. At the 2021 census, Culgoa had a population of 86, declining from 101 in 2016. Primary ...

, Berriwillock and Nandaly, Sea Lake has football and netball teams (Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers) competing in the

North Central Football League The North Central Football League is an Australian rules football league based in North Central Victoria, Australia. The League was formed in 1930. Previous leagues in the area were the Birchip Football Association (as it was last called until ...

. Golfers play at the course of the Sea Lake Golf Club. The township has one hotel, the Royal Hotel (locally known as the Top Pub) and two motels: Lake Tyrrell Accommodation and the Thisledome Motel. A visitors centre is located on Main Street. At least two local footballers have played at VFL/AFL level. Geoff McMillan (Nandaly) played for

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

in 1978–79 and

Greg Daniels Gregory Martin Daniels (born June 13, 1963) is an American screenwriter, television producer, and director. He has worked on several television series, including writing for ''Saturday Night Live'' and ''The Simpsons'', adapting ''The Office (Am ...

(Sea Lake) played for Collingwood in 1986. To the south of Sea Lake (some ) lies the fresh water lake - Green Lake. This lake has served the surrounding communities well over the years for water sports recreation and as a holiday retreat. The lake was at its hey day in the 70s particularly when many speed boats and families spent hot summers at the lake. The lake is part of a natural depression and is fed by water by channel. It was dry for many years but around 2009 it was refilled. Sea Lake also have a

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

side with the neighboring town Woomelang forming the Sea Lake Woomelang Cricket Club.

Flora, fauna, and environment

The

Mallee fowl The malleefowl (''Leipoa ocellata'') is a stocky ground-dwelling Australian bird about the size of a domestic chicken (to which it is distantly related). It is notable for the large nesting mounds constructed by the males and lack of parental ca ...

is found in Sea Lake. The region has been suffering from the effects of a long running

drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...

now for many years.

References

External links

Sea Lake, Victoria community websiteThe Sea Lake Mallee Rally on Australia's official tourism site''Encyclopædia Britannica'' entry about Sea Lake''Encyclopædia Britannica'' entry about Lake TyrrellSea Lake Woomelang Inc. Cricket Club
{{authority control Towns in Victoria (Australia) Mallee (Victoria)