Lara, Victoria
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Lara Geelong, Victoria |
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| Population: | 12,854 (2006)[1] | ||||||||||||
| Postcode: | 3212 | ||||||||||||
| Area: | 14.5 km² (5.6 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| LGA: | City of Greater Geelong | ||||||||||||
| State District: | Lara | ||||||||||||
| Federal Division: | Corio | ||||||||||||
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Lara is a semi-rural township in the state of Victoria in Australia. It lies north of Geelong.
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[edit] History
The explorers Hume and Hovell arrived at Lara on December 16, 1824, believing that they had reached Westernport Bay. They recorded that the Aboriginals described the bay as Jullong and land as Corago, suggesting origins for the names of Geelong and Corio.
The area was originally named Kennedy's Creek but was also given several different names including Duck Ponds, Hovell's Creek, Cheddar, Swindon and Lara Lake. The area of Lara was no more than a few farms at this time.
The railway though the town was opened in 1857 along with the local railway station,[2] with several subdivisions then announced. The population grew to a few hundred by 1890, and several facilities like schools and churches were built, but town water did not extend to the town until 1947.
In January, 1969, 17 people were killed in bushfires which ravaged Lara over the summer period. Several scenes from the 1979 feature film Mad Max where shot on location around Lara.
[edit] Retail
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To meet Wikipedia's quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup because it is in a list format that may be better presented using prose. You can help by converting this section to prose, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (December 2007) |
As of 2007:
2 x Pizza Shops
2 x Fish and Chip shops
and other take away
2 x Petrol Stations (one 24hours, 7 days)
1 x News Agencies
4 x Real estate Agencies
1 x Safeway
2 x Bank
1 x Post Office
1 x Pub/Hotel
1 x Sports Club (lots of types of sports)
1 x Lawn Bowl
Several eat in bakery/coffee/cake shops and much, much more
[edit] Education
Lara offers education through its three primary schools; St. Anthony's Primary School, Lara Lake Primary School and Lara Primary School. The town also has the recently opened Lara Secondary College, which accommodates years 7 - 12 and the VCE since 2008.
[edit] Geography
Lara is a residential and rural town, 15km north-east of Geelong, inland from the Princes Freeway to Melbourne. Hovells Creek runs through Lara and ends at Limeburners Bay, a small inlet of Corio Bay. Granite peaks known as the You Yangs rise dramatically to a height of 352m and can be seen from most areas of Geelong.
[edit] Industry
In the Lara outskirts are industry parks and several prisons, the maximum security HM Prison Barwon, opened in January, 1990, the medium security Marngoneet Correctional Centre, opened 3 March, 2006, and the former Pirra Girls' Home, a female juvenile detention centre closed during the 1960's.
The township of Lara is also home to St. Laurence Park, which is set on 42 acres of parkland and houses 86 fully self-contained cottages and 22 flats for the elderly [1].
Ford Motor Company of Australia operates a proving grounds for Automotive testing and evaluation.
[edit] Transport
Lara has regular V/Line passenger train services on the Geelong line to Melbourne and Geelong to cater for the many residents who commute to work each day via the Lara railway station. Lara has become a popular place to live for those wishing to work in Melbourne and have ties to Geelong.
Benders Busways also operate public transport services between Lara and the Geelong city centre. Taxis are also available.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). Lara (State Suburb). 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved on 2007-10-01.
- ^ Sid Brown (March 1990). "Tracks Across the State". Newsrail: pages 71-76. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division).
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