Lake Bolac, Victoria

Lake Bolac is a town in the Western District region of Victoria, Australia, in the Rural City of Ararat, 91km west of Ballarat. At the 2016 census, Lake Bolac and the surrounding area had a population of 330. The town is on the shores of Lake Bolac, a freshwater lake popular with anglers. The Glenelg Highway passes through the town. Lake Bolac Post Office opened on 1 November 1864.Lake Bolac has a Prep to year 12 school. There is a caravan park on the lake that is popular in summer with holidaying families.The football team is combined with nearby town Wickliffe known as the Magpies and plays in the Mininera & District Football League.Golfers play at the course of the Lake Bolac Golf Club on Mortlake Road.Aboriginal inhabitantsGeorge Augustus Robinson recorded in 1841 that 800 Aborigines had gathered at Lake Bolac - 'Lake Boloke' - to feast on plentiful eels, when "...local tribes numbered only sixty individuals".2006 TornadoAt roughly 11pm on 19 January 2006 Lake Bolac was hit by what has been described as a "mini-twister". Power lines were torn down, several buildings suffered mild to severe damage, more than 100 trees were uprooted, and eight grain silos were either damaged or destroyed. A ute's windscreen was smashed by a falling tree at the caravan park, and a grain silo was lifted off the ground and was found 3 km away. It is estimated 400 residents lost power due to the tornado. The damage bill was estimated at two million dollars.