Lake George

Yeah, I remember it well....used to travel fairly regularly between Melbourne Canberra & Sydney around the mid-late 60's and often wondered what it would take for the water to cover the road. Haven't been down that way for about 20 years so I guess things have changed :)

The last time I saw it full was about 1978/80. Lapping the road.

It fills up during thew years when we have above average rainfall. So the mid 50s, Late 70s were good candidates for a full lake.

Give us a couple more wet years and it'll fill again.

Hi Mike,

I also remember the lake lapping the road in the 50s. There is water now some distance from the road toward the south and east. There's no telling how deep it is but even near the road it looks boggy and there were no sheep grazing. I went by on the 7th Nov.

Min

There used to be several boats that professionally fished Lake George for years mainly for yellow belly. Hard to imagine but I guess the fish regenerate very quickly in flood and good times. That finished int he 60"s as my dad recalled, I just used to wonder how far those fences in the water actually went.

Ian

There's no big secret to the transient nature of Lake George, despite the many myths. Studies suggest simply that the catchment area is relatively small for the size of the lake and that LGeorge is essentially a vast evaporation pond - large spread with not much depth (around 1-5m, deepest about 7.5m when full).

The cadet drownings in 1956 certainly added to the 'mystery' of the lake. It appears that the tragedy occurred due to a combination of factors including poor weather (cold and windy conditions) and a lack of sailing experience. Another multiple drowning occurred in 1958.

The lake was full in the early 90s - the new road is only a couple of feet higher than the old road. It generally remained full or near full until the late 90s when the drought started to kick in. It was empty about 18 months ago but since the rains have come back it is starting to fill again. It is just a low spot in the terrain and has no major rivers or creeks flowing into it.

Some fisherman/men (not sure) were lost in the 90s - the lake is so shallow that when the wind blows short, tall waves are created that easily swamp tinnnies - most die from hypothermia.

Garry

I wasnt aware that the Lake was ever fished commercially. The only fish we caught back in the 60's were Redfin. My uncle, a keen speedboat enthusiast,
raced boats on the Lake around that time. The speedboat club operated at the
southern end ,about where the road now leaves the foreshore. As said ,the shallow waters became quite rough in windy conditions, & sadly, some deaths
have occurred. The range east of the Lake is now rimmed with Wind Turbines.
.....oldbaz.