Raymond Island (Gunai/Kurnai language: Bunjil-baul) is a small island in the Gippsland Lakes in eastern Victoria, Australia, about from Melbourne. The island is approximately long by wide, and is just off the coast, across from the town of Paynesville. The island is named after William Odell Raymond, originally a magistrate from New South Wales, who established himself as a squatter in Gippsland in the 1840s. Raymond Island is well known locally for its large koala population, originally introduced to the island in 1953, and for the Raymond Island Ferry, a chain ferry that links the island to Paynesville on the mainland. Raymond Island Ferry The Raymond Island Ferry, operated by the East Gippsland Shire Council, provides the only link between the island and the mainland, but also acts as an effective barrier to faster development of the island community. A ferry has run between Paynesville and Raymond Island since 1889, and has been an integral and sometimes controversial feature of life on Raymond Island. Some continue to call for the ferry to be replaced by a bridge, but others believe the ferry is an integral part of life on the island. In 2011, the East Gippsland Shire Council conducted another review of "Raymond Island Access", based on an action in the Council Plan 2009–2013 to "develop a plan to resolve access to Raymond Island". That followed earlier studies which supported the maintenance of the existing ferry service (e.g., in 2003 ). Before the inauguration of the current chain ferry in 1997, the topic was the subject of an academic paper in the Rural Society Journal, which examined "the controversy over the proposal to link Raymond Island, Victoria to the mainland through construction of a bridge, to replace the current ferry service". Opinions remain divided about the relative merits of a ferry and a bridge. Raymond Island Institutions The Raymond Island Community Association (RICA) hosts regular meetings for residents and ratepayers, and has roots that go back to 1949. The RICA was formed in 2003 as an amalgamation of the Raymond Island Advancement League (RIAL) which was started in 1949, and Raymond Island Protection (RIP) which was formed in 1988. The Raymond Island Landcare Group formed in 1994 and reportedly covers 759 hectares. Its stated mission is to "protect and enhance the natural environment of Raymond Island by maintaining and protecting the natural attractions of the Island and development of low