Lake Leake, Tasmania

Lake Leake (palawa kani: kunawi) is the name of both a man-made water storage reservoir and a small township in the eastern midlands of Tasmania. The locality is split between two local authorities, as follows:

Lake Leake
Tasmania
Aerial photo from the east of Lake Leake (kunawi) showing Rawlinna Village (Kalangadoo) at the left of the lake
Lake Leake is located in Tasmania
Lake Leake
Lake Leake
Coordinates42°01′S 147°48′E
Population176 (2006 census)[1]
Postcode(s)7210
LGA(s)Northern Midlands Council (53%), Glamorgan-Spring Bay Council (47%)
State electorate(s)Lyons
Federal division(s)Lyons

The lake can hold 22.076 gigalitres (779,600,000 cu ft) of water.[2] The lake was named after Charles Henry Leake (1819-1889), a member of the Tasmanian Legislative Council.[3] At the 2006 census, Lake Leake had a population of 176.[1]

Features and location
Lake Leake
Lake Yaleena, south of Lake Leake
Lake Leake is located in Tasmania
Lake Leake
Lake Leake
LocationTasmania
Coordinates42°0′30″S 147°49′30″E
TypeReservoir
Basin countriesAustralia
Water volume22.076 gigalitres (779,600,000 cu ft)

The lake is used for recreational fishing, for brook trout, brown trout and rainbow trout.[4]

The village is built on land owned by the Northern Midlands Council. Inhabitants must purchase a license to have a building there are restricted in the number of days per year they can live there. The main purpose is to accommodate recreational anglers.

Water flowing out from the lake has an electrical conductivity of 56 μS/cm.

Rawlinna is a locality located between the south side of the lake and Lake Yaleena, another water impoundment. Lake Yaleena is a privately built dammed lake, specifically for fishing. It is a business that includes accommodation in cabins.

History

The traditional custodians of the area were the Peenrymairmemener clan of the North Midlands nation.[5] The area was originally a wetland, or series of lagoons, and was transcribed by Europeans as koan.ner.we (written in palawa kani as kunawi).[5][6] The area was described by contemporary colonial British as a "resort of the natives" - an Aboriginal meeting place, and contemporaries describe finding several Aboriginal huts in the area.[7] The area contains remains of Aboriginal artefacts and a quarry where the Peenrymairmemener crafted stone tools.[7]

The area was renamed by colonials "Kearney's Bogs" and then Lake Leake after the dam was constructed. The reservoir was constructed after a long debate. A 5-metre (16 ft) high dam was finished in 1884. The initial capacity was 19.9 cubic metres (700 cu ft) and an area of 6 square kilometres (2.3 sq mi). In 1971 the spillway highest point was raised by 18 centimetres (7.1 in) to increase storage capacity. Water is released for irrigation and also stored to maintain a fishing facility. Lake Leake is usually at least half full.[8]

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Lake Leake (State Suburb)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
  2. "Lake Level Database". Archived from the original on 4 November 2014.
  3. "Charles Henry Leake". Members of the Parliament of Tasmania. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  4. "Lake Leake — IFS Portal". Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  5. Plomley, Brian (1991). The Tasmanian Tribes and Cicatrices as Tribal Indicators among the Tasmanian Aborigines. Launceston,Tasmania: QVMAG. p. 23.
  6. "Palawa kani map". Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  7. Kee, Sue (1990). Midlands Aboriginal Archeological Site Survey. Hobart Tasmania: National parks, wildlife and heritage Occasional Paper number 26. ISBN 07246-1738-8.
  8. "Macquarie Catchment" (PDF). South Esk Basin State of Rivers Report. 8 September 2004. p. 172.
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