Metung, Victoria
Encyclopedia
Metung is a small town in East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia
, 314 km east of the state capital Melbourne
. It is situated between the larger towns of Bairnsdale
and Lakes Entrance
. It is on a small peninsula
31 km south-east of Bairnsdale, separating Lake King and Bancroft Bay on the Gippsland Lakes. At the 2006 census
, Metung had a population of 1207.
Metung Post Office opened on 2 June 1879.
Metung is a popular holiday spot, near to larger towns, but off any main routes itself. Many of the permanent inhabitants commute to work at Bairnsdale or Lakes Entrance.
Golfers play at the course of the Kings Cove Metung Golf Club on Kings Cove Boulevard.
The original inhabitants of the area, people of the Aboriginal
Gunai or Kurnai
tribe, told a story about an unusual group of rocks now found alongside the boardwalk in the Metung Marina
on Bancroft Bay. This legend
or fable
indicates how greed will be punished.
The legend goes that some fishermen made a good catch and ate the fish around their campfire. The fishermen, however, did not share their catch with their dogs, despite having more than enough to eat. As a punishment, the women, who were guardians of social law, turned the greedy men to stone.
Originally there were three rocks found at this location that related to the legend, but two of them were destroyed during road works. The remaining Legend Rock is now protected.
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...
, 314 km east of the state capital Melbourne
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...
. It is situated between the larger towns of Bairnsdale
Bairnsdale, Victoria
Bairnsdale is a small city in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. With a population at the 2006 census of 11,282, it is a major regional centre of eastern Victoria along with Traralgon and Sale....
and Lakes Entrance
Lakes Entrance, Victoria
Lakes Entrance is a tourist resort and fishing port in eastern Victoria, Australia. It is situated approximately east of Melbourne, near a managed, man-made channel connecting the Gippsland Lakes to the Bass Strait. At the 2006 census, Lakes Entrance had a population of 4,094.The township was...
. It is on a small peninsula
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
31 km south-east of Bairnsdale, separating Lake King and Bancroft Bay on the Gippsland Lakes. 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,...
, Metung had a population of 1207.
Metung Post Office opened on 2 June 1879.
Metung is a popular holiday spot, near to larger towns, but off any main routes itself. Many of the permanent inhabitants commute to work at Bairnsdale or Lakes Entrance.
Golfers play at the course of the Kings Cove Metung Golf Club on Kings Cove Boulevard.
Legend Rock
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
Gunai or Kurnai
Gunai
The Gunai or Kurnai is an Indigenous Australian nation of south-east Australia whose territory occupied most of present-day Gippsland and much of the southern slopes of the Victorian Alps. The nation was not on friendly terms with the neighbouring Wurundjeri and Bunurong nations...
tribe, told a story about an unusual group of rocks now found alongside the boardwalk in the Metung Marina
Marina
A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....
on Bancroft Bay. This legend
Legend
A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
or fable
Fable
A fable is a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, mythical creatures, plants, inanimate objects or forces of nature which are anthropomorphized , and that illustrates a moral lesson , which may at the end be expressed explicitly in a pithy maxim.A fable differs from...
indicates how greed will be punished.
The legend goes that some fishermen made a good catch and ate the fish around their campfire. The fishermen, however, did not share their catch with their dogs, despite having more than enough to eat. As a punishment, the women, who were guardians of social law, turned the greedy men to stone.
Originally there were three rocks found at this location that related to the legend, but two of them were destroyed during road works. The remaining Legend Rock is now protected.