Lake Macquarie

Lake Macquarie or Awaba is Australia's largest coastal salt water lake.

Lake Macquarie or Awaba is Australia's largest coastal salt water lake. Located in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, it covers an area of 110 square kilometres (42.5 sq mi) and is connected to the Tasman Sea by a short channel. Most of the residents of the City of Lake Macquarie live near the shores of the lake.

Lake Macquarie is twice as large as Sydney Harbour and is one of the largest salt water lagoons in the Southern Hemisphere. It is slightly smaller than Port Stephens, which is about 43 kilometres (27 mi) to the northeast of the lake.

Aboriginal people of the Awabakal nation lived in the area surrounding what is now known as Lake Macquarie for thousands of years. The name Awaba, which means "a plain surface" was used to describe the lake. There are several significant sites in and around this country. Including; Butterfly Cave, Glenrock State Reserve and Pulbah Island Nature Reserve.Lake Macquarie was first encountered by Europeans in 1800, when Captain William Reid was sent from Sydney to retrieve a load of coal from Newcastle Harbour. Reid took a wrong turn and found himself in a lake rather than a river, with no coal to be seen anywhere. The name "Reid's Mistake" was retained until 1826, when it was renamed in honour of Governor Lachlan Macquarie.