Pelican is a suburb within the local government area of the City of Lake Macquarie in New South Wales. It is located about 25 kilometres away from Newcastle’s central business district. Up until 1991, the suburb was known as the Pelican Flat. Pelican is near Lake Macquarie, which is known as Australia’s largest coastal salt water lake. The lake is twice the size of the Sydney Harbour and covers an area of 110 square kilometres. Captain William Reid discovered the lake in 1800 when he was sent from Sydney to retrieve coal from the Newcastle Harbour. The lake was named after him for a short while. It was called Reid’s Mistake, a reference to his wrong turn that led to him discovering what is now known as Lake Macquarie.