Lake Guthridge
Lake Guthridge is a small artificial lake in Sale, Victoria, Australia. It is named after the first mayor of Sale, Nehemiah Guthridge. The lake is supplied by stormwater from a catchment area of around 70% of the town. Water from the lake is used for irrigation of open spaces in the town of Sale. Lake Guyatt acts as an overflow waterway.
In 1850, the area of the lake on the south side of Sale was a low-lying wetland, and had been used for drainage and sewerage discharges. In 1874, the Minister of Lands offered support for the idea of converting the lagoon between York Street and the Botanic Garden into an ornamental lake. The wetland area was developed into a lake in 1884.
There is a accessible walking track around the perimeter of the lake. The area is known as a bird-watching site, where diverse native and migratory species can be seen. Royal spoonbills were recorded breeding around the lake in 2016 and 2019, joined by yellow-billed spoonbills and Australian white ibis in 2020. The Sale Botanic Gardens are located on a site on the eastern shore of the lake.
As part of an initiative to provide recreational fishing opportunities for families in Gippsland, the lake has been regularly stocked with rainbow trout of a size that is "ready to catch", in readiness for the school holidays in June and September. The lake has also been stocked with Australian bass fingerlings. In 2025, the Victorian Fisheries Authority restocked the lake with 800 rainbow trout and 5,000 bass.
Grey-headed flying foxes roost around the shores of Lake Guthridge and Lake Guyatt. There has been a colony of these flying foxes in Sale since around 2014. The large size of the colony may result from the loss of suitable habitat in Eastern Victoria following bush fires.
The Lake Wellington Yacht Club has operated an accessible sailing programme known as Sailability on Lake Guthridge since 2000. In 2003, the Wellington Shire Council constructed a jetty at the lake to improve access to the sailing dinghies for those with a disability.
There have been instances of blue-green algal blooms on the lake, temporarily making it unsafe for water-based recreation.