Terang Dry Lake Walk
Step Into Nature on the Terang Dry Lake Walk
The Lions Club of Terang laid the 4.5km (1 hour) walk track in the 1990s and undertook an expensive tree planting project. The circuit provides charming perspectives on Terang and features 12 bluestone markers telling the stories of the lake and the history of the township.
This natural basin has been alternately wet and dry over tens of thousands of years, with the pollen record showing grasslands variously succeeded by woodlands and dense eucalypt forest, marked by layers of charcoal. The lake’s peat base is up to four metres deep overlaying its volcanic floor.
In 1805 the lake was dry. When the first town settlers arrived in 1840 it held 40 feet of water, approximately 12 metres, surrounded by thick tea-tree.
In 1905 the lake was dry again and on fire. Between 1905 and 1933 it held varying levels of water but in 1933 it was again dry and on fire. Because of the unpredictable water level and the porous peat base, the lake was drained and is now pumped in wet seasons.
This was the traditional land of the Kurrun Kopan Noot people, who fished the lake and lived on the abundant birdlife and animals attracted to the lake shore. The word ‘Terang’ is an aboriginal word said to mean ‘twig with leaves’.
