Paynesville

Distinguished and Famous people from Paynesville

⚓ William Carstairs

William Carstairs brought fishing boats to the Gippsland Lakes in 1878 as rail connections opened a stronger market for fresh fish in Melbourne. His family settled at the place that became Paynesville in 1879. The enterprise depended on nets and boats, but equally on steamers, carts and trains moving a perishable catch. Fish pens later helped regulate supplies for the market. Carstairs’ importance lies in that practical development of an industry and settlement, linking life on the lakes with customers far inland. The boats were only one part of a surprisingly elaborate journey to the dinner table.

📝 Jock Carstairs

Jock Carstairs arrived in the lakes district as a child and began fishing with his father William while still a boy. His later recollections describe cold nights, changing methods and the difficulty of getting fish to market without adequate cooling. Written down in 1937, the account preserves people and working details that formal town histories can miss. Paynesville Maritime Museum has republished portions from the manuscript held by the National Library. His contribution is both participation and memory: he helped work the fishery, then left later readers an account of how the work actually felt.