Coongulla

Coongulla is a small settlement 12 km north of Heyfield and 207 km east of Melbourne. The township is situated on the northern shore of Lake Glenmaggie. Glenmaggie weir, on the Macalister River, was constructed in the 1920s, and its wall raised in the 1950s.

In the late 1950s farmland surrounding three coves was subdivided into housing allotments, with some larger acreages. The name Coongulla is from an Aboriginal word thought to mean little sandy place or wild black. Holiday homes were built by families keen on water skiing and yachting. The first residents were mainly from Melbourne, including a number of Czechs who planted many pines which are now large trees. Soon many people from the surrounding local area also established holiday homes there.

By the late 1970s many of the houses were occupied permanently. With improved roads and transport residents were able to work in Maffra, Sale and the Latrobe Valley. There is now a general store and hall and social organisations such as Ratepayers Association and tennis club. Bushfires surrounded Coongulla in 2013.

Census populations for Coongulla have been:

The median age of residents at the 2011 census was 53 years compared with the Australian median of 37. There were 322 houses counted and 112 were occupied on census night in 2011.