Лара, Виктория: История и современность города

Lara is a town in Victoria, 18 km north east of the Geelong CBD, inland from the Princes Freeway to Melbourne. Its population at the 2021 census was 19,014.

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 Djillong and land as Corayo, 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 through the town was opened in 1857 along with the local railway station, with several subdivisions then announced. A Post Office opened on 1 March 1858 as Duck Ponds, renamed Hovell's Creek in 1872, and finally Lara in 1884. The population grew to a few hundred by 1890, and several facilities like schools and churches were built, but a municipal water supply was not completed until 1947. In January 1969, 17 people were killed in bushfires which ravaged Lara. Most of the victims were trapped by the fast moving grass fire while travelling on the Princes Highway. Several scenes from the 1979 feature film Mad Max were shot on location around Lara, as well as several scenes from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation mockumentary We Can Be Heroes: Finding The Australian of the Year, in which the town carried the fictional name "Dunt". On February 13, 2024, a freak storm hit, leaving thousands without power. It reached just before 2 pm, before a wind gust of 122km/h was recorded at Avalon. During the thunderstorm, the temperature dropped to before briefly rising back up to A cool change arrived at 4 pm. of rain was recorded at Avalon. The town's history is being preserved at the Lara Museum and Historical Centre on the corner of Forest and Canterbury Roads. This historic property, formerly the Lake Bank Hotel (circa 1860), was renovated by local businessman Lino Bisinella and provided in 2013 to the community group which runs the museum, Lara Heritage and Historical Inc.

According to the 2021 census, there were 19,014 people in Lara. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 2.1% of the population. 79.5% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 3.6%, India 1.9%, Philippines 1.7% and New Zealand 1.2%. 80.2% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Punjabi 1.4%, Tagalog 0.9%, Croatian 0.6%, and Italian 0.5%. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 41.5% and Catholic 22.6%. A more recent development on the eastern edge of Lara is Lakeside Lara, "a retirement or over 55's lifestyle community" with more than 200 cottages. Ford Australia operates a proving grounds for automotive testing and evaluation at the north end of the You Yangs.

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 Lara railway station. Lara has become a popular place to live for those wishing to work in Melbourne and have ties to Geelong. After the extension of Myki ticketing to the Geelong line in 2013, Lara became a Myki Zone 2, 3 & 4 station. Following the introduction of 20 minute off peak services in 2015, there has been an increase in passenger traffic by train between Geelong and Lara. Under contract to Public Transport Victoria, CDC Geelong operates bus services in the Lara area on routes 10, 11 and 12, running to and from Lara station. Taxis are also available. Avalon Airport is nearby but there is no regular public transport from Lara station to the airport terminal.

Lara has a post office, two banks, several hairdressers, a barber, a travel agency, a butcher, a greengrocer, a Woolworths supermarket (opened in 2016) and a Coles supermarket. The Coles supermarket opened in December 2014 as part of the town centre expansion on the site of Austin Park, as well as a re alignment of Waverley Road to create a more spacious site for the supermarket and the re configuration of the park. There are four real estate agencies and one newsagency. The Lara Library opened in 2011. There are several eat in bakery/coffee/cake shops, three Thai restaurants, two Indian restaurants, three pizza shops, three fish and chip shops, McDonald's, Subway, three Chinese and noodle shops and other take aways. There are two petrol stations, one of which is open for business 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Lodging and entertainment are provided by a pub/hotel, sports club, and a lawn bowls club.

Lara has an Australian rules football team competing in the Geelong Football League. There are two soccer clubs in Lara: North Geelong Warriors FC play in the National Premier Leagues Victoria 2 and Lara United FC play in division 5 of the Victorian State League. Lara is also home to the Lara Giants Basketball club that was established in 1992 and competes in Geelong United Basketball association. Lara Golf Club (known as Elcho Park Golf Club until 2014) is an 18 hole course and driving range on Elcho Road.

C&D recycling, a recycling facility on Broderick Road, failed to comply with its permit conditions for several years before going into liquidation in 2019. EPA Victoria estimated that 286,200m3 of waste was stockpiled at the site, creating a high fire risk. The cleaning up started in September 2019 and ended in June 2022, contractors handling large amounts of timber and soil as well as concrete, bricks, plaster, plastic, glass and ceramics. Soil contaminated with asbestos was also removed. The Victorian state government provided $30 million to the operation in order to minimise fire risk.