Colac

Overview

Colac is a commercial and civic service centre located at the eastern edge of the world's third-largest volcanic plain which is scattered with craters and cones.

Evidence of the area's long-established prosperity is evident in a number of fine colonial homesteads which still exist in a district known as the lakes area. Colac is situated on the southern shore of Lake Colac which is one of more than 50 lakes in the district.

History

Prior to European settlement the area was occupied by the Kolijon or Coladjin Aborigines and the town's name is thought either to derive from this tribal name or from a Kolijon word.

An early European visitor to the area was novelist Rolf Boldrewood (nee Thomas Alexander Browne) who, in Old Melbourne Memories (1884), recalls visiting Lake Colac in 1843 and finding it full of wild ducks, geese and cranes. 'It was a scene of surpassing beauty and rural loveliness... this Colac country was the finest, the richest as to soil and pasture that I had up to that time ever looked on'. His son bought a local property in 1885, there entertaining his father and guests such as Dame Nellie Melba.

Places of interest

Barongarook Creek Walk
Lake Colac and Foreshore
Botanic Gardens
Historic buildings
Memorial Square
Red Rock Volcanic Reserve Drive

Accommodation

Quality accommodation is on offer in Colac. Within the town centre and surrounds you find motels, bed & breakfasts, caravan parks, and cottages.

Colac Visitor Information Centre
Address: Cnr Murray & Queen St, Colac VIC 3250
Phone: 03 5231 3730
Fax: 03 5232 2764
Email: colacvic@colacotway.vic.gov.au

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