Coburg Lake Reserve (Coburg North)
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Coburg Lake Reserve is a popular picnic spot on the Merri Creek. The land was purchased in 1912 and a weir was constructed in 1915 to form a lake. The reserve was popular with diving boards, wading pools, kiosk and gardens and continues to be a favourite picnic spot.
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The reserve is accessible by the Merri Creek Trail (watch out for fast cyclists on the trail) and the Reserve is close to public transport and has car parking available (the main car park is in Lake Grove).
The Coburg Lake Reserve has a lake, fish ladder, three playgrounds, BBQ facilities, toilets, lookout position, public art and monuments, contemplative garden, Avenue of Honour, area of big rocks along the creek, a weir, outdoor gym plus walking and bike paths. It is located opposite the old Pentridge Prison.
Playgrounds
The main playground with a huge tower slide is beside the lake on the south side (Murray Road).
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There is a beautifully created Outdoor Lounge playspace on the upper side.
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There is another playground on the west side at Carr Street.
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Fish Ladder
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The fish ladder, resembling a gently sloping stream with a series of rocky ponds, is designed to help fish migrate up and downstream along the Merri Creek. Two native migrating fish species - the short-finned Eel and the Common Galaxias benefit from the Coburg Fish Ladder, since it allows unimpeded passage for spawning migrations, recolonization and general movement along the creek to find good habitat.
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Feeding Ducks - Whilst it can be fun to feed the ducks, it can be very harmful for them. Processed foods such as bread, are high in salt and energy, and birds can become overweight or suffer from other illnesses. It also attracts unwelcome rats and mice. Feeding birds can also cause aggression and stress amongst flocks as they lose their natural instincts to feed and become reliant reliant on humans.
If you still want to feed the ducks, try the following alternatives to bread:
Sculptures in the Park - There are a number of public artworks in the park. They are:
"Fish Out of Water" by Lisa Jane Miller
"Ship to Wharf" by Liz Hewitt
"Man of the Valley" by Antonio Masini
Monument
Moreland City Council and the Alevi Federation of Australia erected a monument in recognition of the Alevi Elders and Alevi people who migrated to Moreland and the contribution that the Alevi community of Turkish, Kurdish, Zaza and Albanian origin made to the City of Moreland on the 13th October, 2012.
Avenues of Honour - A memorial avenue of 164 trees was planted in a ceremony at Lake Reserve on 30th August 1919 to commemorate soldiers from Coburg and Brunswick who had died in the Great War 1914-1918.
Later plaques were placed on every tree, each bearing the name of a fallen soldier. These plaques have gradually disappeared over the years. Three types of trees lined the main walkways on the southern side of the reserve: Dutch Elms lined the two main intersecting paths, known as the 'Cross of Honour'; Monterey Cypress lined the western and southern avenues; and Plane Trees lined the northern and eastern avenues.
Tree 43 commemorates Private George Harold Fowler who embarked from Melbourne in 1916. After transferring to the 60th Battalion A.I.F. he was awarded the Military Medal. His citation reads "During the operations near Villers-Bretonneux, east of Amiens on 25th-27th April, 1918. Private Fowler displayed conspicuous courage in performing the duties of stretcher-bearer. He continued with ceaseless energy to attend and to carry wounded to the Dressing Station despite heavy sniping and artillery fire from the enemy. By unselfish devotion to duty he was instrumental in the saving of life, and his cool and gallant bearing set a splendid example to all. He was killed in action near Bullecourt, France on 29th September 1918 aged 22.
Swimming in the Lake - Once the weir was built across the Lake in 1914 swimmers were attracted to Lake Reserve. In 1918 the Coburg Amateur Life Saving and Swimming Club was formed. It struggled during the war years, however it regrouped and members garnered numerous state swimming awards, including the Lifesaving Championship of Victoria in 1941. They had plenty of practice as their members made 15-plus rescues at the lake each year.
Diving boards, a landing place and steps (remnants of which can still be seen on the Murray Road side of the Lake) were built in 1929. Council also erected toilets, a dressing shed, boathouse, diving tower and kiosk.
Wading pools were an extremely popular element of Lake Reserve. They were built around 1928 and included both adult and children's pools. They were filled with fresh water piped from the reservoir at Yan Yean (which also supplied water to Pentridge Prison and the local market gardens). Lifesaving equipment was installed the following year, although drownings were a frequent occurrence.
In the 1950's the quality of the water in the wading pools came into question and water needed to be replaced every two days. Swimming in the Lake was banned in 1958 as a result of pollution up stream. Boating and other sailing craft then used the Lake up until the late 60's. The wading pools were finally filled with soil during the early 1970's.
One can see the outline of one of the original wading pools immediately north of the main playground at the Lake's edge.
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Location
Cnr Champ St and Murray Road, Coburg North 3058 Map
