Business categories in Lara, VIC

Welcome to Lara, VIC

The inland residential town of Lara is located 18km north-east of Geelong. Town has several heritage-listed sites including the Hume and Hovell Monument which is situated near the Princes Highway. The area has a population of almost 13,000 people.

History

Hume and Hovell discovered the area almost by accident in 1824 when they thought they were travelling to Westernport Bay. The area was once called among other things, Kennedy’s Creek and the earliest settlers were mainly farmers.

The railway arrived in 1857 followed later by the Post Office in 1858. By 1890 the population had grown to a few hundred and the first schools and churches were built. A working water supply was finally up and running by 1947 and in 1969 17 people lost their lives in severe bushfires in the area.

Lifestyle and Entertainment

The history of Lara has been preserved by a museum on the corner of Forest and Canterbury Road in a historic building that was once the Lake Bank Hotel. The town is home to two high-security prisons and a welfare run Girls Home.

There are good primary and secondary schools in Lara and it is also the home of the Avalon College. Transport is provided via the V/Line train services on the main Geelong to Sydney line and there are good links with the Princes Highway.