Lake Victoria

Lake Victoria is a captivating place that embodies both Aboriginal and military history in addition to being a major water source for people in New South Wales, Victoria and other major towns and cities throughout South Australia. In 1994 when the lake level was lowered for maintenance, a wealth of Aboriginal history was discovered. Artefacts such as campsites, stone tools, grindstones, shell middens and hearths and many more, along with extensive aboriginal burial sites were uncovered. It was estimated that up to three or four thousand individual graves existed in the large burial grounds throughout the lake system. The significant number of remains provided evidence that dense populations of Aboriginal people had lived around the lake for many thousands of years. During World War II, Lake Victoria was used as a training ground for the R.A.A.F.'s two operational training units. Six fatalities resulted from these activities and to this day two airmen and their aircraft remain missing in the lake bed. For people visiting Lake Victoria, there is a viewing point from which to overlook the magnificent lake, or contact the Wentworth Visitor Information Centre for any enquiries you may have about Lake Victoria.