Dozens of hardworking committees have ensured this town in the Mallee has a wealth of facilities.
Story + Photos Stuart Walmsley
When temperatures hit 48.9°C in the northern Mallee earlier this year, breaking the Victorian heat record, Stacey Sutton knew exactly where she was headed: Ouyen Lake. “I went down there with a friend and her family, and the kids were having so much fun after being cooped up all day,” the 33-year-old says. “It is so nice for the community to feel like it had somewhere to go to breathe and cool off.”
That heat record came midway through a run of nine days above 40°C. Stacey reflects on the experience over Friday drinks with fellow Ouyen P-12 College teacher Dee Amos. “We’re flat, we’re dusty, we’re quite barren. So, what’s the antidote to that? A big, recreational lake,” Dee says of the former reservoir that was transformed and reopened in 2018 for swimming, fishing, water skiing, wakeboarding and bird watching. “What it’s done for the longevity of this town … it’ll probably never be fully known.”
This story excerpt is from Issue #169
Outback Magazine: Oct/Nov 2026
