Paynesville, Victoria

Paynesville is a tourist/holiday resort town in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. At the 2006 census, Paynesville had a population of 2967. The town is located 293km east of the state capital, Melbourne. It is known as the boating capital of Victoria.HistoryPaynesville was originally called Toonalook, which is an aboriginal name for "place of many fish". The post office opened on 8 November 1879 as Toonalook and was renamed Paynesville in 1886 by the Dickson family, who still reside in the area.Raymond IslandRaymond Island is a small island accessible via the Raymond Island Ferry. The island is predominantly residential and is well known for its large koala population. It has been at the centre of continued local debate over the construction of a bridge to allow for better access and further development.The town todayPaynesville is a thriving town well served by a range of shops, cafes, a bank and a newly built community centre and library. Much of the town's recent growth has stemmed from the development of a network of canals and prestige homes which have created two artificial islands within the township. Burrabogie Island is north of the waterfront shopping district, and Fort King Island is a residential area north of Burrabogie Island. Although Burrabogie and Fort King Island are separated only by an approximate 45-metre-wide man-made canal, they are the most distant points in Paynesville by road.SportsPaynesville is also well represented in the sporting arena, with sailing, bowls, tennis and netball clubs in the town, as well as a thriving local football and cricket club, the latter having won back to back Grand Finals in the Bairnsdale Cricket Association for 2007 and 2008. The town has an Australian Rules football team competing in the East Gippsland Football League. The team last won a premiership in 2013.