It's the question that just won't go away. It's more persistent than this spring's seemingly incessant downpours. Just how full is Lake George (Weereewaa)?
When this column tackled this question earlier this year, I compared the question to asking how long is a piece of string.
That's because, as an endorheic lake, with no evident natural outflows (apart from through Geary's Gap, but for the lake to get that full both Bungendore and Collector would be under five to 20 metres of water), the only way to gauge just how "full" Lake George is, is to compare it to historical levels.
Luckily, as one of the most studied freshwater lakes in the world, that data stretches back almost 200 years.
Back in February, Michael Short, Lake George aficionado and lead author of Two Centuries of water-level records at Lake George, NSW, told this column the lake was then "about a quarter full by height and about a fifth by volume", when compared with the highest recorded level in 1874.
Then just last month Short reported that despite being in the grips of a third La Nina weather event, the lake was still 80 centimetres lower than the most recent high water mark of mid-1990.
Now, given the lake's relatively small catchment has since been lashed by record spring rains, Short reports the lake has reached those '90s levels and is fast approaching those not seen since the mid-1960s.
Who'd have thought we'd be saying that while in the grips of the recent long droughts.
"Images from one satellite source indicate that the depth at the lake's lowest point (672.8mAHD), which is at the south-east end of the lake, is about 3.2 metres in height," he explains.
That equates to the lake currently holding about 360 gigalitres of water, which is about 11 Lake Burley Griffins, or wait for it, almost three quarters of a Sydney Harbour. That's a lot of water for a lake only a few metres deep.
But with the six or so small creeks in its catchment still flowing strongly, and more rain on the horizon, the enigmatic lake is unlikely to have reached its peak.
"If it continues to rain and evaporation rates remain low, the lake will continue to rise over summer," Short says, "but there's still a long way to get to the highest recorded levels back in 1874 when the lake was 7.4 metres deep, a level which would lap the current Federal Highway." It's currently less than half that height.
Surely it won't rise to those levels again. Will it?
"Well, it did reach that height in the last 200 years, which is a relatively short time ago in climatic terms, so although it's highly unlikely, it's not impossible," he explains.
While studying the lake as part of his PhD, Short lived in Canberra from 2012 to 2016 and although he now lives in Adelaide, whenever he gets a chance he still loves to visit the lake.
Just a few months ago, while on a weekend getaway to Sydney, Short convinced his wife to take a detour to Canberra so he could check on the lake's levels.
"I just can't keep away from it," he laughs.
One person who vividly remembers the lake's high water levels of the 1960s is Julia Laybutt (nee Lamrock) of Goulburn.
"It's so wonderful to see so much water in the lake again, that's how it should be," says Julia, who regular readers of this column will recall became the first woman to swim the 8km across the lake more than 60 years ago.
Braving unseasonably cold weather and strong winds, 17-year-old Julia completed the Lake George Marathon Swim from Rocky Point on the eastern shores of the lake to Geary's Gap (now home to the Weereewaa Lookout) on March 12, 1961, in just under four hours.
Given the lake's recent rebirth, and the fact Julia still regularly churns out laps at the Goulburn pool, it's not surprising the idea of another swim has been raised.
"Yes, you could say a few people around town have asked if I'm going to swim it again," she reveals.
So will she?
"No way, not even for a million dollars," she retorts. "I'm not fit as I was 61 years ago.
"Besides, back then the purpose of the swim was to raise money for the Goulburn pool. The swim has been done before; it doesn't need to happen again."
However, in case anyone is tempted to dive into the lake's murky waters, Julia has a word of warning.
"It's not something you do for fun," she warns. "It was always a dangerous swim - the water can be extremely cold, and the waves can be very steep."
As for those submerged fences, "We had a couple of boats go ahead of us and with weights on ropes [to] check for any underwater obstacles - that's a must or you could come into difficulty."
She also suggests a variety of strokes to break up the monotony. "I swam a mix of backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle," she reveals, adding, "at one point I even broke into butterfly."
What's the highest you've seen the lake? Let me know.
Will the real Geary's Gap please stand up!
W Lamond, who lived and worked in Canberra from the mid-1930s until his retirement circa 1990, has always been fascinated with Lake George, both when dry and "full".
Not only did Lamond sail on the lake in the early 1960s "before the yacht club moved to the newly constructed Lake Burley Griffin", but later in his career as a land surveyor his services were called upon to help with a water speed record attempt on Lake George.
"For many years, proposals had arisen to use the lake as a venue for speed record attempts," Lamond says. "The first was for a motor vehicle attempt when the lake had practically dried out, but the organisation for this attempt was ponderous and eventually morphed into a speed boat record attempt when the waters rose again."
Sometime in the mid to late 1960s, he was asked to measure a "precise" mile (1.609km) and establish shore marks that could be used for ratifying the boat's speed.
But you guessed it, according to Lamond, "procrastination again triumphed and the cyclic drying of the lakebed also thwarted this attempt".
Lamond's markers remained in place for several decades until they met their fate "when the reconstruction of the Federal Highway into two carriageways in the late 1990s had them bulldozed into oblivion". I wonder if any were souvenired by workmen?
Lamond also points out that "Geary's Gap", as known today, is not the gap of yesteryear.
According to him, the original Geary's Gap was about 2.5km north of where the Federal Highway now climbs up past Weereewaa Lookout. "The name was subsequently adopted on the construction of a road upwards from the lake, this being near enough to the original "Geary's", lying a little further north in the ridge that follows along the western shore of the lake," he explains.
Oh, and by the way, does anyone know who Geary was?
WHERE IN CANBERRA?
Rating: Medium
Clue: Forever connected to the Canberra floods of 1851
How to enter: Email your guess along with your name and address to tym@iinet.net.au. The first correct email sent after 10am, Saturday November 19, wins a double pass to Dendy, the Home of Quality Cinema.
Last week: Congratulations to Leigh Palmer of Isaacs who was first to identify last week's photo as the Bushranger Hotel at Collector. The hotel changed its name from Kimberley's Inn to the Bushranger Hotel after the town's local policeman, Constable Samuel Nelson, was shot dead outside the historic watering hole by bushranger John Dunn of the Ben Hall Gang on January 26, 1865.
On being informed the Hall Gang was in town, the brave Nelson marched defiantly from the nearby police station towards the hotel with the aim of stopping the infamous mob of bushrangers in their tracks. Dunn had other ideas, peppering him with bullets. Next to the hotel is a memorial to Nelson, along with an old tree stump, which some believe is the very stump Nelson took shelter behind while being fired upon.
Unfortunately, there's precious little information available as to the state of the stump in 1865, so it's difficult to determine if it is in fact the original. However, if any suitably qualified foresters would like to offer an educated opinion, I'd love to hear from you.
CONTACT TIM: Email: tym@iinet.net.au or Twitter: @TimYowie or write c/- The Canberra Times, GPO Box 606, Civic, ACT, 2601
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