Lake Murray is the largest lake in Papua New Guinea. It is located in Lake Murray Rural LLG, Middle Fly District, Western Province at , which covers approximately 647 km<sup>2</sup> and in the wet season increases to five times the size. It has a highly convoluted shoreline more than 2000 km long.
The lake has been a source of nourishment for many of the local peoples. Freshwater sawfish have been caught in its shallow waters to feed the crocodiles in a farming operation.
Indigenous tribes of around 5000 people own the lake and the surrounding one million hectares of forest.
Lake Murray is known for a large population of peacock bass that were introduced by Indian merchants.
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File:Lake Murray PNG NASA.jpg|From space (false color)
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History
The Lake Murray basin has long been inhabited by approximately 4000 Boazi- and Zimakani-speaking peoples who build their villages on the narrow sand ridges and islands that rise above the surrounding swamps.
The first recorded European visit was by the Italian naturalist Luigi d'Albertis, who ascended the Fly River in 1876 during a Royal Geographical Society expedition.
A government patrol led by Resident Magistrate G. H. Massey-Baker and Patrol Officer D. Burrows reached the lake in August 1913 and named it Lake Murray after Lieutenant-Governor Sir Hubert Murray. Murray himself visited the site the following year. The boundary marking was the precursor to a community based eco-forestry project. Ecotimber has since been harvested, shipped to Australia and sold with the benefit of Forestry Stewardship Council certification.
See also
- Lake Murray languages