East
Gippsland (excluding Central Gippsland)
covers 21,300 km2, or nearly 10% of Victoria,
but is home to only 38,000 people. As
noted above there is sometimes some confusion
over the naming of these regions, with
Central and East Gippsland as termed in
this article referred to overall as East
Gippsland, and the East Gippsland Shire
discussed in this section distinguished
roughly as Far East Gippsland. East Gippsland's
major towns include, from west to east,
Bairnsdale (the largest town and administrative
centre), Lakes Entrance, Orbost and Mallacoota.
Smaller, but significant, towns in the
more mountainous northern areas include
Swifts Creek, Omeo, and Buchan. East Gippsland
extends from the western watershed of
the Mitchell and Thomson River catchments
east and north to the New South Wales
border. Rugged terrain makes farming difficult,
even with fertilisers, and the major industry
of the region is thus forestry, which
has caused a lot of controversy because
of the unique species found in areas east
of the Snowy River.
The
major river basins of the Mitchell, Tambo
and Nicholson drain into the Gippsland
Lakes, which in turn empty into the sea
through an artificially maintained opening
at Lakes Entrance. The area is a major
tourist destination, especially for watersports,
and is noted for its mild climate. The
Great Alpine Road leads north from Bairnsdale
into the Australian Alps via Swifts Creek
and Omeo, and onto the major ski resorts
of Dinner Plain and Mt Hotham. This area
is also very popular for bushwalking in
the summer. The Buchan district is popular
with tourists for its limestone caves.
Further east, the Snowy River and several
smaller stream catchments, including the
Thurra, Wingan, Genoa, Bemm and Cann Rivers,
enter the Tasman Sea. Thurra River in
Croajingalong National ParkMore than 17,000
km2 of East Gippsland is public land with
2,680 km2 being national parks, two of
the largest being Snowy River National
Park and Errinundra National Park. Both
are remote and inaccessible, but they
are otherwise entirely different.
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