Hollands Landing

Hollands Landing is an embarkation point in the Gippsland lakes. It is at the western end of Lake Victoria, near McLennans Strait which joins the lake to Lake Wellington further west. Hollands Landing was also a census area which extended westwards from Lake Victoria, taking in the localities of Perry Bridge and Meerlieu.

Steven Holland fished on the Gippsland lakes, and his landing was used to transport fish to country towns and, later, to bring in farm supplies and fertiliser. A school was opened in Holland's house in 1910 for his and a neighbour's children.

The Hollands Landing census area includes Perry Bridge which is near the Strathfieldsaye homestead overlooking Lake Wellington. When about 40,000 acres were taken from the homestead's estate in the 1860s farm selections were sold off around Perry Bridge and Meerlieu. A school opened at Perry Bridge in 1869 and a church in 1904. The Ramahyuck Aboriginal mission (1863-1908) was a short way west.

At Meerlieu the earliest public building was an Anglican church (1878), where a school started in 1883. In 1912 the school moved to the church hall and in 1947 the Wuk Wuk school building was transported to Meerlieu. In 2014 Meerlieu school's enrolment was 10.

Hollands Landing has a caravan park, a general store and a boat ramp. The census area's population in 2006 was 655 and farming (non-dairy) accounted for 15.6% of employment. It was no longer recorded as a census area in the 2011 census.

Further Reading

Marjorie Simpson, S.S. 2535 Meerlieu 1883-1983, being a history of a rural school and its district, Meerlieu, 1983