Lake Boga, Victoria

This article is about the town in The Mallee district of Victoria, Australia. For the lake of the same name located adjacent to the town, see Lake Boga (Victoria).

Lake Boga
Victoria
PBY Catalina flying boat at Lake Boga
Lake Boga is located in Rural City of Swan Hill
Lake Boga
Lake Boga
Coordinates35°28′0″S 143°39′0″E / 35.46667°S 143.65000°E / -35.46667; 143.65000
Population985 (2016 census)[1]
Postcode(s)3584
Location
LGA(s)Rural City of Swan Hill
State electorate(s)Murray Plains
Federal division(s)Mallee
Localities around Lake Boga:
Pental Island Pental Island Pental Island
Castle Donnington Lake Boga Fish Point
Kunat Tresco West Winlaton, Tresco

Lake Boga ( /ˈleɪk ˈboʊɡə/) is a town in Victoria, Australia, located next to the lake of the same name. It is situated within the Rural City of Swan Hill within the Mallee region of north-west Victoria. At the 2016 census, Lake Boga had a population of 985.[1] The town is located 325 kilometres (202 mi) north west of Melbourne and 17 kilometres (11 mi) south east of the regional centre Swan Hill.

History

The Wemba-Wemba Indigenous Australian people occupied the lake for thousands of years before the arrival of Major Sir Thomas Mitchell in June 1836.

Two German Moravian missionaries, Reverend A.F.C. Täger and Reverend F.W. Spieseke, established Lake Boga mission in 1851. The mission closed in 1856 due to lack of converts, disputes with local authorities and hostilities from local landholders.[2] The Moravian Church established a subsequent mission site near Lake Hindmarsh in 1859 (see Ebenezer Mission).[3]

The Post Office opened on 8 August 1887.[4]

During WW2, a secret air force base was located near the town.[5] The southern location was selected because it was considered to be beyond the range of Japanese aircraft advancing on Australia from the north.[6]

The town today

The town is located next to the lake of the same name, which is popular with water sports, particularly water skiing. The surrounding area is used for agriculture including fruit and vegetable growing and grain production. There is a sizable wine grape industry in the area and one local winery.

There is a PBY Catalina flying boat on display as Lake Boga was a Royal Australian Air Force flying boat maintenance facility during World War II, known as the Lake Boga Flying Boat Base.

The town has an Australian rules football team competing in the Central Murray Football League.[7]

Regional water shortage caused by drought resulted in Lake Boga becoming completely dry.[8] In March 2010, work began to refill the lake and by June the lake was full to the brim[9] The lake has an approximate capacity of 37,794 megalitres (8.314×10^9 imp gal; 9.984×10^9 US gal).[10]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lake Boga, Victoria.
  1. ^ a b "2016 Census QuickStats Lake Boga". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  2. ^ Felicity Jensz, pp 71-105, German Moravian missionaries in the British colony of Victoria, Australia, 1848-1908 in particular Chapter 3 Lake Boga, A Putrid Stain, IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP, 2010 via Google Books, ISBN 978-90-04-17921-9
  3. ^ Ian D. Clark, pp177-183, Scars on the Landscape. A Register of Massacre sites in Western Victoria 1803-1859, Aboriginal Studies Press, 1995 ISBN 0-85575-281-5
  4. ^ Phoenix Auctions History, Post Office List, retrieved 24 February 2021
  5. ^ Lake Boga's flying history ABC Local 13 November 2007
  6. ^ Goodall, Geoff. "LAKE BOGA DISPOSALS". www.goodall.com.au. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  7. ^ Full Points Footy, Lake Boga, archived from the original on 20 November 2008, retrieved 25 July 2008
  8. ^ "Flood, Drought, and Climate Change Photos -- National Geographic". environment.nationalgeographic.com. Archived from the original on 26 March 2010.
  9. ^ Hilliard, Leith. "Lake Boga full to the brim". CFA Connect. Country Fire Authority. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
  10. ^ "Lake Boga: Recreational Guide" (PDF). Goulburn–Murray Water (PDF). October 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 March 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2014.