Colac, Victoria
Encyclopedia
Colac is a small city located in the Western District of Victoria, Australia, situated approximately 150 kilometres south-west of Melbourne
on the southern shore of Lake Colac
and the surrounding volcanic plains, approximately 40 km inland from Bass Strait. Colac is the largest city in and administrative centre of the Colac Otway Shire
. At the 2006 census
, Colac had a population of 10,857.
A commercial centre for a major agricultural district, it was named after nearby Lake Colac
and was proclaimed a city in 1960.
people occupied the region of Colac, living a semi-nomadic life.
The area was first settled by Europeans in 1837 by Hugh Murray, and proclaimed a town, Lake Colac, in 1848.
The Post Office opened on 1 July 1848 as Lake Colac and was renamed Colac in 1854.
Colac Botanic Gardens
in Queen Street located on the shores of Lake Colac, were established in 1868.
. Brookhouse had his head smashed in. It took Police two years to track Patrick Geary and charge him with Brookhouse's murder. A friend of Geary told the court that Geary had killed Brookhouse with an axe to stop him from informing Murray of Geary's sheep stealing activities. Geary was hanged in Melbourne in 1871.
, and followed the next night by Prime Minister Joseph Cook
. The two speeches declared Australia's commitment to follow Britain into World War I
, with Fisher declaring "Australia will stand by the mother country to our last man and our last shilling" and Cook's famous reiteration that "If the old country is at war, so are we."
's largest natural lake, Lake Corangamite
, is nearby.
In the Summer of 2008-2009, Lake Colac completely dried up. Due to high rainfall in August and September 2009, the lake was somewhat restored to its former condition, However over time the lake has once again dried up.
. The Princes Highway
(part of Australia
's circumnavigational Highway 1
) runs through the city and forms its main street
, Murray Street. The highway runs west toward Camperdown
and east to Geelong and beyond to Melbourne. Several secondary sealed roads including the C161, C155 and C154 run south toward Apollo Bay and the coastal tourism areas of the Otway Ranges Great Ocean Road
, Twelve Apostles
and the Shipwreck Coast
. The Colac-Ballarat Road runs north connecting Colac to Ballarat via Cressy
.
The railway through the town was opened in 1877,
and extended from 1883 as part of the line to the south west of the state.
The Irrewarra-Cressy line towards Ballarat
also ran from Colac between 1889 and 1953
and the Alvie line opened in 1923 and closed in 1954.
A narrow gauge branch line also originated from the town, the branch line to Beech Forest and Crowes opened in 1902 and closed in 1962. The route of the abandoned railway has been developed as the Old Beechy Rail Trail
.
The local railway station
is served by V/Line
passenger services on the Warrnambool line. The train stops at Camperdown and Terang.
The town is also located on the Princes Highway
.
". The event occurred for over 20 years until 2006 and is a running/walking event. It was held on the Memorial Square which is right in the Heart of Colac and attracted entries from all over the world.
, CRF Colac Otway Pty Ltd, Fonterra
Cororooke, and AKD Softwoods.
While historically the region supported numerous successful brickworks, nowadays the major primary industries are agriculture such as the dairying, beef, lamb and finewool merino industries.
1134AM, MIXX FM 106.3 MHz, and OCR FM Community Radio Station 98.3 MHz 88.7 MHz.
Most digital terrestrial television services are received via UHF from Ballarat Lookout Hill. In addition to the Ballarat service, a local repeater on nearby Warrion Hill provides an alternative source of television reception. Television channels available include WIN Television
, GEM HD and GO!
(sub-licensees of the Nine Network
) Prime7, 7TWO
, 7mate
(a sub-licensee of the Seven Network
). These two stations broadcast relayed services throughout regional Victoria. The city also receives Southern Cross Ten
, One HD and Eleven
(sub-licensee's of Network Ten
). In addition to commercial television services, Colac receives Government ABC Television
(ABC1, ABC2, ABC3, ABC News 24) and SBS
(SBS One and SBS Two) television services. Analog Television transmissions ceased on Thursday 5 May 2011 as part of the Federal Government`s nationwide plan for Digital terrestrial television in Australia, which involves switching over all television broadcast services from analog systems to digital DVB-T
systems.
FM radio services direct from Melbourne can be received in Colac but signal levels are low. Television services direct from Melbourne can be received in Colac but large antenna arrays must be used with mixed results.
Colac is serviced by Austar
Subscription Television delivered by DTH satellite transmission, via Optus
C1 Ku Band Satellite located at 156E.
,Colac Imperials and South Colac, and a team (Colac Tigers) competing in the Geelong Football League
.
Colac has a horse racing club, the Colac Turf Club, which schedules around four race meetings a year including the Colac Cup meeting in February. It also has a picnic horse racing club
, Colac St Patrick Picnic, which holds its one race meeting a year in March.
Golfers play at the Colac Golf Club on Colac - Lavers Hill Road, Elliminyt.
Colac has a swimming club which trains swimmers and has athletes competing at Region, State and national competitions.
Colac has a baseball club, the Colac Braves, a team which competes in the Geelong Baseball Association winter competition and the Pan Pacicific Masters Games on the Gold Coast. The Colac Braves also cater for Junior Baseballers aged 5 to 15. The Braves have claimed recent premiership success in the Geelong Baseball Association with wins in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
on the southern shore of Lake Colac
Lake Colac
Lake Colac is situated to the north of the Colac town centre in Victoria, Australia. The lake provides a home for the Yacht Club, Rowing Club and water skiers during the summer months and has many birds. The foreshore has a playground, boat ramp and the Colac Botanical Gardens. Midway through...
and the surrounding volcanic plains, approximately 40 km inland from Bass Strait. Colac is the largest city in and administrative centre of the Colac Otway Shire
Colac Otway Shire
Colac Otway Shire is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the south-western part of the state. It includes the towns of Apollo Bay and Colac. It has an area of 3,416 square kilometres. In 2006 it had a population of 20,295...
. At the 2006 census
Census in Australia
The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...
, Colac had a population of 10,857.
A commercial centre for a major agricultural district, it was named after nearby Lake Colac
Lake Colac
Lake Colac is situated to the north of the Colac town centre in Victoria, Australia. The lake provides a home for the Yacht Club, Rowing Club and water skiers during the summer months and has many birds. The foreshore has a playground, boat ramp and the Colac Botanical Gardens. Midway through...
and was proclaimed a city in 1960.
History
For thousands of years clans of the GulidjanGulidjan
The Gulidjan, also known as the Colac tribe, Colijan, Colagdians, Kolakgnat, are an indigenous Australian tribe whose traditional lands cover the Lake Colac region of Victoria, Australia. They occupied the grasslands, woodlands, volcanic plains and lakes region east of Lake Corangamite, west of the...
people occupied the region of Colac, living a semi-nomadic life.
The area was first settled by Europeans in 1837 by Hugh Murray, and proclaimed a town, Lake Colac, in 1848.
The Post Office opened on 1 July 1848 as Lake Colac and was renamed Colac in 1854.
Colac Botanic Gardens
Colac Botanic Gardens
The Colac Botanic Gardens is a regional botanical garden, located at the corner of Fyans and Gellibrand streets, on the shores of Lake Colac in Colac, Victoria, Australia...
in Queen Street located on the shores of Lake Colac, were established in 1868.
Brookhouse Mystery
In 1854 town founder Hugh Murray employed a couple of shepherds named Thomas Brookhouse and Patrick Geary. Brookhouse who was looking for missing sheep disappeared without a trace. Patrick Geary and his wife soon left the district. Fifteen years later a boy out rabbiting found the skeletal remains of Thomas Brookhouse under a pile of rocks near Lake CorangamiteLake Corangamite
Lake Corangamite is Victoria’s largest natural lake, located near Colac in south-west Victoria, Australia in the Lakes and Craters region of the Victorian Volcanic Plains. The lake is hypersaline, and salinity levels have increased dramatically as the lake level has dropped in recent decades...
. Brookhouse had his head smashed in. It took Police two years to track Patrick Geary and charge him with Brookhouse's murder. A friend of Geary told the court that Geary had killed Brookhouse with an axe to stop him from informing Murray of Geary's sheep stealing activities. Geary was hanged in Melbourne in 1871.
Role in World War I
A plaque on the southern side of the Memorial Square commemorates two historic speeches given on consecutive nights in Colac, beginning on 5 September 1914 with the then Federal opposition leader, Andrew FisherAndrew Fisher
Andrew Fisher was an Australian politician who served as the fifth Prime Minister on three separate occasions. Fisher's 1910-13 Labor ministry completed a vast legislative programme which made him, along with Protectionist Alfred Deakin, the founder of the statutory structure of the new nation...
, and followed the next night by Prime Minister Joseph Cook
Joseph Cook
Sir Joseph Cook, GCMG was an Australian politician and the sixth Prime Minister of Australia. Born as Joseph Cooke and working in the coal mines of Silverdale, Staffordshire during his early life, he emigrated to Lithgow, New South Wales during the late 1880s, and became General-Secretary of the...
. The two speeches declared Australia's commitment to follow Britain into World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, with Fisher declaring "Australia will stand by the mother country to our last man and our last shilling" and Cook's famous reiteration that "If the old country is at war, so are we."
Natural features
The plains around Colac are the third largest volcanic plain in the world. Australia's largest permanent salt lake and VictoriaVictoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
's largest natural lake, Lake Corangamite
Lake Corangamite
Lake Corangamite is Victoria’s largest natural lake, located near Colac in south-west Victoria, Australia in the Lakes and Craters region of the Victorian Volcanic Plains. The lake is hypersaline, and salinity levels have increased dramatically as the lake level has dropped in recent decades...
, is nearby.
In the Summer of 2008-2009, Lake Colac completely dried up. Due to high rainfall in August and September 2009, the lake was somewhat restored to its former condition, However over time the lake has once again dried up.
Transport
The main form of transport in Colac is the automobileAutomobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
. The Princes Highway
Princes Highway
The Princes Highway extends from Sydney to Port Augusta via the coast through the states of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, a distance of 1941 km or 1898 km via the former alignments of the highway ....
(part of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
's circumnavigational Highway 1
Highway 1 (Australia)
Australia's Highway 1 is a network of highways that circumnavigate the Australian continent, joining all mainland state capitals. At a total length of approximately it is the longest national highway in the world, longer than the Trans-Siberian Highway and the Trans-Canada Highway...
) runs through the city and forms its main street
Main Street
Main Street is the metonym for a generic street name of the primary retail street of a village, town, or small city in many parts of the world...
, Murray Street. The highway runs west toward Camperdown
Camperdown, Victoria
Camperdown is an historically significant rural town in southwestern Victoria, Australia, south west of the state capital, Melbourne. At the 2006 census, Camperdown had a population of 3,165.-History:...
and east to Geelong and beyond to Melbourne. Several secondary sealed roads including the C161, C155 and C154 run south toward Apollo Bay and the coastal tourism areas of the Otway Ranges Great Ocean Road
Great Ocean Road
The Great Ocean Road is a stretch of road along the south-eastern coast of Australia between the Victorian cities of Torquay and Warrnambool. The road was built by returned soldiers between 1919 and 1932, and is the world's largest war memorial; dedicated to casualties of World War I...
, Twelve Apostles
The Twelve Apostles, Victoria
The Twelve Apostles is a collection of limestone stacks off the shore of the Port Campbell National Park, by the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia...
and the Shipwreck Coast
Shipwreck Coast
The Shipwreck Coast of Victoria, Australia stretches from Moonlight Head to Cape Otway, a distance of approximately 130km. This coastline is accessible via the Great Ocean Road, and is home to the limestone formations called The Twelve Apostles....
. The Colac-Ballarat Road runs north connecting Colac to Ballarat via Cressy
Cressy, Victoria
Cressy is a country town in Victoria, Australia, about 38 km north of Colac on the Ballarat road. At the 2006 census, Cressy and the surrounding area had a population of 122.-History:...
.
and extended from 1883 as part of the line to the south west of the state.
The Irrewarra-Cressy line towards Ballarat
Ballarat, Victoria
Ballarat is a city in the state of Victoria, Australia, approximately west-north-west of the state capital Melbourne situated on the lower plains of the Great Dividing Range and the Yarrowee River catchment. It is the largest inland centre and third most populous city in the state and the fifth...
also ran from Colac between 1889 and 1953
and the Alvie line opened in 1923 and closed in 1954.
A narrow gauge branch line also originated from the town, the branch line to Beech Forest and Crowes opened in 1902 and closed in 1962. The route of the abandoned railway has been developed as the Old Beechy Rail Trail
Old Beechy Rail Trail
The Old Beechy Rail Trail is a 45–kilometre rail trail running from Colac to Beech Forest along to the route of the disused Crowes railway line. The historic "Beechy" train ran on this line from 1902 to 1962...
.
The local railway station
Colac railway station, Victoria
Colac is a railway station in Colac, Victoria, Australia. It is serviced by V/Line passenger trains on the Warrnambool line, with all services stopping here. Goods facilities included a brick goods shed, and a steel shelter provided with the freight gate during the 1980s...
is served by V/Line
V/Line
V/Line is a not for profit regional passenger train and coach service in Victoria, Australia. It was created after the split-up of VicRail in 1983. V/Line is owned by the V/Line Corporation which is a Victorian State Government statutory authority...
passenger services on the Warrnambool line. The train stops at Camperdown and Terang.
The town is also located on the Princes Highway
Princes Highway
The Princes Highway extends from Sydney to Port Augusta via the coast through the states of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, a distance of 1941 km or 1898 km via the former alignments of the highway ....
.
Events
Colac was the home of the annual "Cliff Young Australian 6-day raceCliff Young Australian 6-day race
The Cliff Young Australian 6 Day Race is an ultramarathon race that takes place in Colac, Victoria. One of a small handful of Six Day races around the world, the Cliff Young has had many fine performances culminating in November 2005 with Yiannis Kouros, arguably the best multiday runner in the...
". The event occurred for over 20 years until 2006 and is a running/walking event. It was held on the Memorial Square which is right in the Heart of Colac and attracted entries from all over the world.
Industry
With a wealth of natural resources, such as agriculture and timber, Colac has a strong manufacturing background, with major local employers including Bulla Dairy FoodsBulla Dairy Foods
Bulla Dairy Foods is a major Australian dairy company that manufactures a national and export range of ice cream, table cream, yoghurt, sour cream, cottage cheese, and imitation cream under various brands. The business was established in 1910 and subsequently became a partnership among three...
, CRF Colac Otway Pty Ltd, Fonterra
Fonterra
Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited is a New Zealand multinational dairy co-operative owned by almost 10,500 New Zealand farmers. The company is responsible for approximately 30% of the world's dairy exports and with revenue exceeding NZ$19.87 billion, is New Zealand's largest company.- History :In...
Cororooke, and AKD Softwoods.
While historically the region supported numerous successful brickworks, nowadays the major primary industries are agriculture such as the dairying, beef, lamb and finewool merino industries.
Media
Colac has its own newspaper, The Colac Herald, published on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Colac is serviced by a number of local radio stations: 3CS3CS
3CS is a radio station broadcasting in the South-West Victoria region, but based in Colac. Its format is based on Classic Hits, talk, sports and news. Many programs are taken from 3AW Melbourne...
1134AM, MIXX FM 106.3 MHz, and OCR FM Community Radio Station 98.3 MHz 88.7 MHz.
Most digital terrestrial television services are received via UHF from Ballarat Lookout Hill. In addition to the Ballarat service, a local repeater on nearby Warrion Hill provides an alternative source of television reception. Television channels available include WIN Television
WIN Television
WIN Television is an Australian television network owned by the WIN Corporation that is based in Wollongong, New South Wales. WIN commenced transmissions on 18 March 1962 as a single Wollongong-only station, and has since expanded to 24 owned-and-operated stations with transmissions covering a...
, GEM HD and GO!
Go! (Australian TV channel)
GO! is an Australian free-to-air standard definition digital television channel launched by the Nine Network on Sunday 9 August 2009.-Origins:...
(sub-licensees of the Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
) Prime7, 7TWO
7Two
7TWO is an Australian free-to-air standard definition digital television channel which was launched by the Seven Network on Sunday 1 November 2009 at 12pm....
, 7mate
7mate
7mate is an Australian free-to-air high definition digital television channel, which was launched by the Seven Network on 25 September 2010.The network stated that 7mate would contain sport and regular programs aimed primarily at a male audience, with programming drawn from a combination of new...
(a sub-licensee of the Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
). These two stations broadcast relayed services throughout regional Victoria. The city also receives Southern Cross Ten
Southern Cross Ten
Southern Cross Ten is an Australian television channel broadcast by the Macquarie Media Group in Queensland, New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and South Australia. The channel is owned by the Macquarie Media Group as is affiliated to Network Ten...
, One HD and Eleven
Eleven (TV channel)
Eleven is an Australian free-to-air standard definition digital television channel, which was launched by ElevenCo, on 11 January 2011.-Joint venture:...
(sub-licensee's of Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
). In addition to commercial television services, Colac receives Government ABC Television
ABC Television
ABC Television is a service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched in 1956. As a public broadcasting broadcaster, the ABC provides four non-commercial channels within Australia, and a partially advertising-funded satellite channel overseas....
(ABC1, ABC2, ABC3, ABC News 24) and SBS
Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
(SBS One and SBS Two) television services. Analog Television transmissions ceased on Thursday 5 May 2011 as part of the Federal Government`s nationwide plan for Digital terrestrial television in Australia, which involves switching over all television broadcast services from analog systems to digital DVB-T
DVB-T
DVB-T is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting — Terrestrial; it is the DVB European-based consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television that was first published in 1997 and first broadcast in the UK in 1998...
systems.
FM radio services direct from Melbourne can be received in Colac but signal levels are low. Television services direct from Melbourne can be received in Colac but large antenna arrays must be used with mixed results.
Colac is serviced by Austar
Austar
Austar is an Australian telecommunications company. Its main business activity is Subscription Television but it is also involved with internet access and mobile phones...
Subscription Television delivered by DTH satellite transmission, via Optus
Optus
SingTel Optus Pty Limited is the second largest telecommunications company in Australia, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore Telecommunications...
C1 Ku Band Satellite located at 156E.
Sport
Colac has two Australian Rules football teams competing in the Colac & District Football LeagueColac & District Football League
The Colac & District Football League is based in South west Victoria.-History:The Colac & District Football League was formed in 1937, as a result of a merger of the Colac and District FA and the Corangamite Farmers FA.Over the years, a number of clubs moved between the CDFL and other local...
,Colac Imperials and South Colac, and a team (Colac Tigers) competing in the Geelong Football League
Geelong Football League
The Geelong Football League is an Australian rules football league in Victoria, Australia. It is the highest quality league in the Geelong area, with numerous former AFL players playing for various clubs.-History:...
.
Colac has a horse racing club, the Colac Turf Club, which schedules around four race meetings a year including the Colac Cup meeting in February. It also has a picnic horse racing club
Picnic horse racing
Picnic horse racing, or more usually picnic races or more colloquially "the picnics" refer to amateur Thoroughbred horse racing meetings, predominantly in Australia. The meetings are organized by amateur clubs, the jockeys are amateur riders, or sometimes former professional jockeys...
, Colac St Patrick Picnic, which holds its one race meeting a year in March.
Golfers play at the Colac Golf Club on Colac - Lavers Hill Road, Elliminyt.
Colac has a swimming club which trains swimmers and has athletes competing at Region, State and national competitions.
Colac has a baseball club, the Colac Braves, a team which competes in the Geelong Baseball Association winter competition and the Pan Pacicific Masters Games on the Gold Coast. The Colac Braves also cater for Junior Baseballers aged 5 to 15. The Braves have claimed recent premiership success in the Geelong Baseball Association with wins in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
External links
- Colac Herald Colac newspaper
- Colac Otway Web
- Colac Otway Shire Council information about local services, economic development and cultural activities in the Colac Otway Shire
- Colac - State tourism organisation official site