Lake Illawarra

Lake Illawarra

Lake Illawarra is a coastal lagoon that receives runoff from the Illawarra escarpment primarily through Macquarie Rivulet and Mullet Creek. The catchment area is 238 square kilometres. The lake has an average depth of 2.1 metres and covers a surface area of 35.8 square kilometres.  The maximum volume of water held in the lake is 74,275 megalitres.  The lake was important to the Tharawal and Wadi Wadi peoples as a source of food and spirituality. Burial sites and middens discovered at Windang and surrounding areas indicate that the Wadi Wadi used the area extensively and performed various corroborees and ceremonies in the area.  Four of the first five European land grantees selected land near the lake in 1817.

Lake Illawarra Vegetation Study