Lake Hindmarsh
Encyclopedia
Lake Hindmarsh in western Victoria is the state’s largest natural freshwater lake. The nearest towns are Jeparit
to the south and Rainbow
to the north.
The lake has filled after more than a decade of drought, due to floods in early 2011.
to Adelaide
. European pastoralists occupied land around the lake from 1845, and in 1859 the Moravian Ebenezer Mission
was established nearby.
. When full, the lake covers 13500 ha (33,359.2 acre), is 3.4 m (11.2 ft) deep and holds 378 GL of water. It is a wetland of national significance. On the rare occasions when Lake Hindmarsh overflows, water flows on to the deeper Lake Albacutya
, which has been recognised under the Ramsar
convention as a wetland of international importance.
Being flat and shallow, Hindmarsh is subject to very high evaporation. When it is full, evaporation from the lake is around 140,000 ML per year. With flows down the Wimmera River on average only half of that, the lake is rarely full. It takes 3 to 4 years to evaporate entirely.
The lake was full during the wet years of the early to mid 1970s. It supported a commercial fishing industry and was a major destination for tourism and watersports, with a waterskiing club whose membership was over 100. The lake filled most recently in 1996, but then received no further water from the Wimmera River, and had dried up by the year 2000. It remained dry for almost a decade.
In October 2009 water from the Wimmera River trickled into Lake Hindmarsh for the first time in thirteen years. The 2010 Victorian floods
of September raised lake water levels higher and triggered a revival of birdlife. The January 2011 Victorian floods
in the Wimmera catchment have raised hopes that the lake will fill, and possibly overflow into the northern lakes.
Jeparit, Victoria
Jeparit is situated on the Wimmera River in Western Victoria, Australia, 370 kilometres north west of Melbourne. At the 2006 census Jeparit had a population of 582.-History:...
to the south and Rainbow
Rainbow, Victoria
Rainbow is a town in north west Victoria, Australia, kilometres from Melbourne. The town is in the Shire of Hindmarsh and the nearest large towns are Warracknabeal, Dimboola and Nhill, all to the south...
to the north.
The lake has filled after more than a decade of drought, due to floods in early 2011.
History
The area around the lake is the traditional country of the Gromiluk, a branch of the Wotjobaluk people. Explorer Edward Eyre camped at Lake Hindmarsh in 1838 while searching for an overland route from MelbourneMelbourne
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...
to Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
. European pastoralists occupied land around the lake from 1845, and in 1859 the Moravian Ebenezer Mission
Ebenezer Mission
Ebenezer Mission station was established near Lake Hindmarsh, Victoria, Australia in 1859 by the Moravian Church on the land of the Wotjobaluk. The first missionaries were two Germans, Reverend Friedrich Hagenauer and Reverend F.W. Spieseke. In 1861 the Victorian Colonial Government gazetted as a...
was established nearby.
Geography
Lake Hindmarsh is the southernmost lake of the Wimmera River Terminal Wetlands, and receives water directly from the Wimmera RiverWimmera River
The Wimmera River is a river in Western Victoria, Australia. It begins in the Pyrenees, and flows into Lake Hindmarsh and Lake Albacutya, although in many years flows do not reach these terminal lakes and the river contracts to a series of pools of varying sizes...
. When full, the lake covers 13500 ha (33,359.2 acre), is 3.4 m (11.2 ft) deep and holds 378 GL of water. It is a wetland of national significance. On the rare occasions when Lake Hindmarsh overflows, water flows on to the deeper Lake Albacutya
Lake Albacutya
Lake Albacutya is in Victoria, Australia. The postcode there is 3424. It has been designated a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention....
, which has been recognised under the Ramsar
Ramsar
Ramsar is a city in and the capital of Ramsar County, Mazandaran Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 31,659, in 9,421 families....
convention as a wetland of international importance.
Being flat and shallow, Hindmarsh is subject to very high evaporation. When it is full, evaporation from the lake is around 140,000 ML per year. With flows down the Wimmera River on average only half of that, the lake is rarely full. It takes 3 to 4 years to evaporate entirely.
The lake was full during the wet years of the early to mid 1970s. It supported a commercial fishing industry and was a major destination for tourism and watersports, with a waterskiing club whose membership was over 100. The lake filled most recently in 1996, but then received no further water from the Wimmera River, and had dried up by the year 2000. It remained dry for almost a decade.
In October 2009 water from the Wimmera River trickled into Lake Hindmarsh for the first time in thirteen years. The 2010 Victorian floods
2010 Victorian floods
The 2010 Victorian floods were a widespread series of flood events across the state of Victoria, Australia. The floods, which followed heavy rain across southeastern Australia in early September 2010, caused the inundation of about 250 homes, hundreds of evacuations and millions of dollars of...
of September raised lake water levels higher and triggered a revival of birdlife. The January 2011 Victorian floods
2011 Victorian floods
High intensity rainfall between 12–14 January 2011 caused major flooding across much of the western and central parts of the Australian state of Victoria...
in the Wimmera catchment have raised hopes that the lake will fill, and possibly overflow into the northern lakes.