Places for Recreation
A Mallee case study of Walpeup Lake
Grasping the intangible at heritage placesICOMOS Symposium Melbourne
18 October 2014
Museum of Victoria MM7687
Children, picnic teas, swimming and boating all happened here. Neighbours met each other and had time to talk, children could play with friends and cool off in the long summer evenings.
Water in the Mallee (or the lack of it) is a driving force in shaping the region, but this was different. This was about a particular type of water, open water, recreational water.
Museum of Victoria MM7629
No-one realized how important it was until it was gone, and the lake and the channels were dry.
'Don’t get me wrong, the pipeline is a wonderful thing for our economic growth, but
from a lifestyle point of view, we’ve probably gone backwards,'
Simon Grigg on Off Track , Radio National
People still remember those channels and they lead straight back to Walpeup Lake.
We see boats, we see a little caravan park perhaps, we see cabins, we seetents, we see camping sites, we see barbeques, we see lawn areas, we see just
a wonderful social environment for the whole community.’ Simon Grigg, Off Track on Radio National
It isn’t actually there. Yet.
