4 Marine Parade
P.O. Box 723
Lakes Entrance
Victoria 3909
Australia
Phone: 03 5155 3939
Fax: 03 5155 4110
Email:
info@lakeshistory.com
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Projects
Around the site of the construction of the Entrance, known locally
as the 'New Works', are scattered many interesting artefacts amid the remaining
infrastructure of the project. The Society has incorporated some of these features into a
signposted, interpretive walk which allows visitors to gain an insight into the scale of
this engineering achievement of 100 years ago
The 'Lady Harriet' was one of the early steamers on the Gippsland
Lakes. She towed barges carrying an assortment of goods up the Tambo River. Her principal
barge fell into disuse and lay rotting in the mud off Bullock Island until 1995
when the owners
of the barge donated her to the Society.
The barge has been partially restored and is now on permanent display at the New Works
site Lakes Entrance.
The New Works cottages are surviving links with the construction of
the Entrance. Built to house the construction workers and fishermen, this little township
in the dunes was for a short time named after the first contractor, John Carpenter. On
licence from the Crown, the cottages have for many years been restricted
to same family ownership, and have been passed down through the generations. This
remarkable social history is documented in the Society's publication Carpentertown:
"The New Works Cottages at Lakes Entrance".
Unfortunately, several of the buildings have been demolished.
The sites of the harbour master and engineer's
residences are now only barren areas scattered with rubble, empty
reminders of more industrious times. A series of interpretative signs
with a brief history of each cottage/site now in place.
Johnsonville School No. 2761 was built in 1900 at a cost of £278 to
accommodate 60 children. It was officially opened on 12th February 1901.
Enrolments dwindled over the years, until in 1986 there were only 17 children, and in the
late 1990s the decision was made to close the school.
In 1999 the Society purchased the building from Education Victoria and transported it in
two sections to Marine Parade, Lakes Entrance. After substantial refurbishment, the
building was reopened on 30th June 2000 as the Lakes Entrance History Centre & Museum.
In 1924/25 an avenue of 26 Monterey Cypress trees was planted along
The Esplanade in Lakes Entrance, in memory of the 26 men from this district who gave their
lives in World War 1.
Over the years the significance of the trees was almost forgotten and some had died and
been removed. When all the remaining trees were threatened with complete removal in 1997,
the Society campaigned for the preservation of the remainder.
We were only partly successful, as just five of the trees remain and the butts of a
further five have been sculpted by John Brady into figures depicting aspects of World War
1. A plaque honouring the 26 soldiers
has been erected by the Society and although 16 of the original trees have
gone, the significance of the trees has been
preserved. These wonderful sculptures are now a major tourist attraction in Lakes
Entrance. |
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The Society is active in ensuring that the ten remaining structures are
preserved and that this link with the region's past is not severed irretrievably. |
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History Centre & Museum |
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