Lara
Postcode: 3212
Lara is a semi-rural township in the state of Victoria in Australia. It lies north of Geelong. As of 2005, Lara’s population is approximately 9,000.
The explorers Hume and Hovell arrived at Lara on December 16, 1824, believing that they had reached Westernport Bay. They recorded that the Aboriginals described the bay as Jullong and land as Corago, suggesting origins for the names of Geelong and Corio.
The area was originally named Kennedy’s Creek but was also given several different names including Duck Ponds, Hovell’s Creek, Cheddar, Swindon and Lara Lake. The area of Lara was no more than a few farms until the railway line and station were established. Several subdivisions were then announced. The population grew to a few hundred by 1890, and several facilities like schools and churches were built, but town water did not extend to the town until 1947.
In January, 1969, 17 people were killed in bushfires which ravaged Lara over the summer period. Several scenes from the 1979 feature film Mad Max where shot on location around Lara.