Metung

{{Infobox Australian place

| type = town

| name = Metung

| state = vic

| image = Shopping-Strip,-MetungRd, Vic.jpg

| caption = Town centre on Metung Rd

| lga = Shire of East Gippsland

| postcode = 3904

| est =

| pop = 1,449

| pop_year = {{CensusAU|2016}}

| pop_footnotes ={{Census 2016 AUS | id = SSC21662 | name = Metung (State Suburb) | accessdate = 5 September 2020 | quick = on}}

| elevation=

| use_lga_map = yes

| coordinates = {{coord|37|53|0|S|147|51|0|E|display=inline,title}}

| maxtemp = 19.2

| mintemp = 10.3

| rainfall = 731.7

| stategov = Gippsland East

| fedgov = Gippsland

| dist1 = 314

| dir1 = E

| location1= Melbourne

| dist2 = 31

| dir2 = SE

| location2= Bairnsdale

| dist3 = 20

| dir3 = W

| location3= Lakes Entrance

}}

Metung is a town in East Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. The town is {{convert|314|km}} east of the state capital Melbourne and between the larger towns of Bairnsdale and Lakes Entrance. It is on a small peninsula {{convert|31|km}} south-east of Bairnsdale, separating Lake King and Bancroft Bay on the Gippsland Lakes.

Metung is a popular holiday spot, near to larger towns but off any main routes itself. Many of the permanent inhabitants commute to work at Bairnsdale or Lakes Entrance.

Golfers play at the course of the Kings Cove Metung Golf Club on Kings Cove Boulevard.{{Citation |author=Golf Select |title=Kings Cove |url=http://www.golfselect.com.au/armchair/courseView.aspx?course_id=2228 |accessdate=2009-05-11}}

History

Metung Post Office opened on 2 June 1879.{{Citation| last = Premier Postal History | title = Post Office List | url = https://www.premierpostal.com/cgi-bin/wsProd.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=VIC&country= | accessdate = 2008-04-11}}

A sanitorium named 'Iona', was established by G.A. Stow in the early 1880s opposite the Rosherville Hotel, originally known as 'Stow's Sportsman's Home',{{Cite news |date=25 March 1882 |title=Advertising |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/11536032 |url-status=live |access-date=6 April 2025 |work=The Argus (Melbourne, Victoria) |pages=16}} or 'Stow's'. Stow attempted to rename 'Mosquito Point' to 'Point Normandby' with a view to attracting visitors.{{Cite news |date=2 December 1954 |title=A history of Metung |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article269521845 |url-status=live |access-date=6 April 2025 |work=Bairnsdale Advertiser and East Gippsland Stock and Station Journal |pages=7}} It was later owned by H. Teychenne.{{Cite news |date=29 November 1954 |title=A history of Metung |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article269520926 |url-status=live |access-date=6 April 2025 |work=Bairnsdale Advertiser and East Gippsland Stock and Station Journal |pages=10}}

Legend Rock

The original inhabitants of the area—the Aboriginal Gunai or Kurnai people—tell a story about an unusual group of rocks now found alongside the boardwalk in the Metung Marina on Bancroft Bay. This legend or fable indicates how greed will be punished.

The legend goes that some fishermen made a good catch and ate the fish around their campfire. The fishermen, however, did not share their catch with their dogs, despite having more than enough to eat. As a punishment, the women, who were guardians of social law, turned the greedy men to stone.{{Citation|title=Site 7 - Legend Rock|author=Bataluk Cultural Trail Site Signage|location=East Gippsland, Victoria}}

Originally there were three rocks found at this location that related to the legend, but two of them were destroyed during road works. The remaining Legend Rock is now protected.

Gallery

Image:Legend-Rock-NorthSide,-Metung, Vic.jpg|The remaining Legend Rock in the marina

Image:Metung-Wharf-Pano,-Vic.jpg|Metung Wharf on Bancroft Bay

References

External links

[http://www.visiteastgippsland.com.au Official East Gippsland tourism website]

Category:Coastal towns in Victoria (state)

Category:Towns in Victoria (state)

Category:Shire of East Gippsland