Lakes Entrance is a town in 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 as of the had a population of 48,715. It includes the towns of Bairnsdale, Benambra ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. It is situated approximately east of

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, near a managed, artificial channel connecting 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 ...

Bass Strait Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The ...

. At the 2016 census, Lakes Entrance had a population of 4,810. 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

via

Bairnsdale Bairnsdale (locally ) (Gunai language, Ganai: ''Wy-yung'') is a city in East Gippsland, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, situated in a region traditionally inhabited by the Tatungalung clan of the Gunaikurnai people. The estimated popu ...

and the town of Kalimna to the north-west by a stretch of the

Princes Highway Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of (along Highway 1) or via the former ...

, which snakes down and around a point protruding into the

known as "Jemmy's Point". Views of The Entrance and of the Lakes can be seen from various look-outs on Jemmy's Point. The

leaves the north-east side of the town through hilly countryside towards Nowa Nowa and

Orbost Orbost is a town in the Shire of East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, 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 the coast of Ba ...

. It has the largest number of inland waterways in the southern hemisphere. The ninety-mile beach is a big tourist attraction and the various national parks of Gippsland touch the coastline of Lakes Entrance. Two of the most scenic driving routes are also a part of this region, the Great Alpine Road and The Sydney to Melbourne Coastal Drive. Lakes Entrance is predominantly a fishing and tourism-driven town; the main beach front is a harbour for 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. The town's main residential areas lie farther inland. Lakes Entrance has a number of camping and caravan parks, and free camping spots in Colquhoun State Forest.Lakes Entrance Vic
/ref> It can be reached from Melbourne on a train to Bairnsdale, followed by an approximately 35 minute connecting bus ride. Nearby major towns include

and

. Lakes Entrance falls within the

. Other towns include Swan Reach, Johnsonville, Kalimna,

Nicholson Nicholson may refer to: People *Nicholson (name), a surname, and a list of people with the name Places Australia * Nicholson, Victoria * Nicholson, Queensland * Nicholson County, New South Wales * Nicholson River (disambiguation) * Nicholson Ro ...

Metung Metung is a town in East Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. The town is east of the state capital Melbourne and between the larger towns of Bairnsdale and Lakes Entrance. It is on a small peninsula south-east of Bairnsdale, separating ...

and Lake Tyers.

Population

According to the 2016 census of Population, there were 4,810 people in Lakes Entrance. * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 3.8% of the population. * 75.9% of people were born in Australia. The next most common country of birth was England at 3.9%. * 84.1% of people spoke only English at home. * The most common responses for religion were No Religion 32.5%, Catholic 20.6% and Anglican 15.9%.

Climate

Sports

The town has an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

team competing in the

East Gippsland Football League The East Gippsland Football League is an Australian rules football League in the East Gippsland region of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. History The East Gippsland FL in its present incarnation began in 1974 with the merger of the G ...

. The town is home to a

hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

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, which has 18 holes.

Gallery

Image:90 mile beach02.jpg, 90 mile beach File:Cunningham Arm at Lakes Entrance.JPG, Cunningham Arm Image:Lakes entrance - the entrance.jpg, The Entrance to Gippsland Lakes at Lakes Entrance Image:Entrance to beach02 - lakes entrance.jpg, The Lakes Entrance SLSC's Lookout Tower on the Main Surf Beach

References

External links

Official East Gippsland tourism website

Official East Gippsland tourism Facebook page

Lakes Entrance tourism Facebook page
{{Authority control Fishing communities in Australia Ports and harbours of Victoria (state) Towns in Victoria (state) Shire of East Gippsland