Lake Bolac, Victoria


Lake Bolac is a town in the Western District region of Victoria, Australia, in the Rural City of Ararat, west of Ballarat. At the 2016 census, Lake Bolac and the surrounding area had a population of 330. The town is on the shores of Lake Bolac, a freshwater lake popular with anglers. The Glenelg Highway passes through the town. Lake Bolac Post Office opened on 1 November 1864.
Lake Bolac has a Prep to year 12 school. There is a caravan park on the lake that is popular in summer with holidaying families.
The football team is combined with nearby town Wickliffe known as the Magpies and plays in the Mininera & District Football League.
Golfers play at the course of the Lake Bolac Golf Club on Mortlake Road.

History

recorded in 1841 that 800 Aborigines had gathered at Lake Bolac – 'Lake Boloke' – to feast on plentiful eels, when "...local tribes numbered only sixty individuals".
The Lake Bolac stone arrangement is an Aboriginal ceremonial site near the town, in the shape of a giant stone eel.

2006 Tornado

At roughly 11pm on 19 January 2006 Lake Bolac was hit by what has been described as a "mini-twister". Power lines were torn down, several buildings suffered mild to severe damage, more than 100 trees were uprooted, and eight grain silos were either damaged or destroyed. A ute's windscreen was smashed by a falling tree at the caravan park, and a grain silo was lifted off the ground and was found 3 km away. It is estimated 400 residents lost power due to the tornado. The damage bill was estimated at two million dollars.