Mount Evelyn, Victoria

Mount Evelyn
Melbourne, Victoria
Mount Evelyn
Coordinates 37°46′59″S 145°23′06″E / 37.783°S 145.385°E / -37.783; 145.385Coordinates: 37°46′59″S 145°23′06″E / 37.783°S 145.385°E / -37.783; 145.385
Population 9,100 (2006 census)[1]
Postcode(s) 3796
Elevation 188 m (617 ft)
Location
LGA(s) Shire of Yarra Ranges
State electorate(s) Evelyn, Monbulk
Federal Division(s) Casey
Suburbs around Mount Evelyn:
Lilydale Lilydale Wandin North
Lilydale Mount Evelyn Wandin North
Montrose Kalorama Silvan

Mount Evelyn is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 37 km north-east of Melbourne's central business district. Its local government area is the Shire of Yarra Ranges. At the 2006 Census, Mount Evelyn had a population of 9100.

History

Mount Evelyn railway station mid-1940s. Incorrectly labelled 1920 when reprinted in 1986 to mark the opening of the library

Mount Evelyn nestles in a right-angled bend of the Olinda Creek, a large, permanent creek known originally as Running Creek. Different parts of the current Mount Evelyn area were first known as Olinda Vale, Billygoat Hill, McKillop/Valinda and South Wandin. When the (now closed) railway station was opened in 1901, it was named Olinda Vale. It was renamed Evelyn after the county in which it is centrally placed, possibly as part of an attempt by the Victorian Railways to shorten names of stations. By 1913 local progress association members persuaded the Railways to add the "Mount" to promote visitors to the healthy mountain area (which is the highest point on the railway (now Lilydale to Warburton Rail Trail).

The Post Office opened on 15 February 1904 as Valinda (derived from Olinda Vale). The name was changed to Evelyn (the name of the county) in 1908, then to Mount Evelyn in 1913.[2]

Most of the soil in the township is grey, nutrient-poor, and rocky, so attempts to farm at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries failed, making Mount Evelyn a treed and desirable dwelling place in the 21st century.

The volunteer members of the Mt Evelyn History Group collect and share information about the town.

The Town today

The Warburton Trail, a walking and cycling track, runs through Mount Evelyn. The trail runs between Lilydale and Warburton.

The Mount Evelyn Aqueduct Walk is another trail connecting Swansea Road to Hunter Road and the Mount Evelyn Forest (part of the Dandenong Ranges National Park).

The town has a volunteer managed website dedicated to the town, Mount Evelyn Online. The views expressed in the website are not moderated by any process by an elected township group, but are submitted by the groups, associations and individuals from Mount Evelyn and Montrose, thus ensuring community involvement. There is another volunteer managed website dedicated to the town, Mount Evelyn Village which is moderated by a sub committee of the Mt Evelyn Township Improvement Committee Inc (founded 1998).

The town has an Australian Rules football team competing in the Yarra Valley Mountain District Football League.[3] Morrisons created the Mt Evelyn Football and Netball Club History project.

References

  1. ↑ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Mount Evelyn (State Suburb)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 1 October 2007.
  2. ↑ Premier Postal History, Post Office List, retrieved 11 April 2008
  3. ↑ Full Points Footy, Mount Evelyn, retrieved 25 July 2008

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, November 30, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.