Lake Condah, also known by its

Gunditjmara The Gunditjmara or Gunditjamara, also known as Dhauwurd Wurrung, are an Aboriginal Australian people of southwestern Victoria. They are the traditional owners of the areas now encompassing Warrnambool, Port Fairy, Woolsthorpe and Portland. Th ...

name Tae Rak, is in the Australian state 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 ...

, about 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 north-east of Heywood by road. It is in the form of a shallow basin, about in length and wide. The lake is located in the Newer Volcanics Province, a geologically-defined area of western Victoria with the youngest volcanoes in Australia, not far west of the Budj Bim (Mt Eccles) volcano. It lies just outside the boundary of

Budj Bim National Park __NOTOC__ The Budj Bim National Park, formerly known as Mount Eccles National Park, is a national park located in the Western District of Victoria, Australia. The national park is situated approximately west of Melbourne and approximately ...

, but within the

Budj Bim heritage areas Budj Bim heritage areas includes several protected areas in Victoria, Australia, the largest two being Budj Bim National Heritage Landscape and the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape. Within the latter, there are three Indigenous Protected Areas: the ...

, including the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape, added to the

World Heritage List A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

in 2019. The area is known for the extensive aquaculture systems created by the local

people.

Location and description

The closest town is Heywood, some west of Melbourne. The lake is shallow, and about 4km long and 1km wide. It lies within the

, an area known for the ancient aquaculture systems created by the Gunditjmara at least 6,600 years ago to trap

short-finned eel The short-finned eel (''Anguilla australis''), also known as the shortfin eel, is one of the 15 species of eel in the family Anguillidae. It is native to the lakes, dams and coastal rivers of south-eastern Australia, New Zealand, and much of t ...

s (''kooyang'') and other fish. See also attached documents: National Heritage List ''Location and Boundary Map'', and ''Government Gazette'', 20 July 2004.

History

The lake was probably created by lava flows during or after an eruption of Budj Bim. It is not a

crater lake Crater Lake ( Klamath: ''Giiwas'') is a volcanic crater lake in south-central Oregon in the western United States. It is the main feature of Crater Lake National Park and is famous for its deep blue color and water clarity. The lake partly fill ...

, but a shallow basin on the lava plain. The volcano last erupted about 36,900 years BP. The Kerrup-Jmara ("people of the lake") are a clan of Gunditjmara Aboriginal people, who lived around the shores of the lake, which they called Tae Rak, for thousands of years pre-dating the arrival of Europeans, and had specific responsibility for it. Lake Condah was first happened upon by European settlers in 1841, when David Edgar and William Thompson Edgar were travelling through the area. Edgar gave it the name Lake Condon. Anglican pastoralist Cecil Pybus Cooke, who in 1849 acquired Lake Condah station, changed the name of Lake Condon to Lake Condah in the mistaken belief that it meant " black swan", which lived on the lake. The Gunditjmara people were driven off their lands by the new settlers, and some were relocated to

Lake Condah Mission Lake Condah Mission, also known as Condah Mission, was established in 1867 as a Church of England mission, approximately from Lake Condah, which was traditionally known as Tae Rak, and about to south-east of the small town of Condah. The sit ...

, although not without resistance, in the Eumeralla Wars. Damaging floods in 1946 led to the construction of a large drain along the

swampland A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

, which was connected to the spring at the Mission that flowed into Darlots Creek, completed in 1954. Various plans to restore water to the lake were proposed in the late 20th century, until after March 2008, when Lake Condah was returned to Gunditjmara people. The Lake Condah Restoration Conservation Management Plan was completed in a way that ensured that cultural heritage values were maintained, and works were completed in 2010, winning the Civil Contractors Federation Earth Award.

References

{{Lakes of Victoria

Condah Condah is a small town in south west Victoria, Australia and is located on the Henty Highway north of Heywood. At the 2006 census, Condah and the surrounding area had a population of 272. It is about to north-west of Lake Condah, Budj Bim ...