This table reports pollen and palynomorph abundances expressed as percentages from a 1 m sediment core at Purghagoolah (Lake Elusive), a lake of approximately 40 ha and 21 m depth in Croajingolong National Park, Gippsland, southeastern Australia, on Gunaikurnai Country (37°44'50"S, 149°27'9"E; decimal -37.747222, 149.452500, WGS84; 50 m a.s.l.), cored on 9 February 2021 with a Universal Corer (Aquatic Instruments), subsampled at 0.5 to 1 cm (approximately 844 to 2021 CE). Terrestrial taxon percentages were calculated from the terrestrial pollen sum; aquatic taxa, spores and microscopic charcoal were calculated from a sum of terrestrial pollen plus those palynomorphs. Melaleuca, locally confined to wetland margins, was excluded from the terrestrial sum. Percentages were derived from the raw counts provided separately in this submission and are reported by depth and modelled age. The data document vegetation composition and change before and after British colonisation of the region.