| Brimbank Park | |
|---|---|
 Brimbank Park overlooking the Maribyrnong River | |
 | |
| Type | Metropolitan park |
| Location | Keilor East, Victoria, Australia |
| Coordinates | 37°44′02″S144°50′13″E / 37.734°S 144.837°E |
| Area | 328.7 hectares (3.29 km2) [1] |
| Opened | 1976 |
| Managed by | Parks Victoria |
Brimbank Park is a metropolitan regional park managed by Parks Victoria situated in the north-western Melbourne suburb of Keilor East, Victoria, Australia.
About 40,000 years ago: first signs of possible human habitation along the Maribyrnong River. The Keilor Cranium and femur of a person, found in 1940 in a sand bank, has been carbon dated at about 12,000 years. [2]
In the late 1830s, Europeans first settled the area and used the fertile river valley as stock runs. They often drove stock around the brim of the bank, thus the park's name, Brimbank. The river flats on the east bank were used for market gardening until 1983. [3]
In 1976, Brimbank Park opened to the public as part of the Maribyrnong Valley Park, combined with the adjacent Horseshoe Bend Children's farm and Greenvale Reservoir Park. The Maribyrnong River has hollowed out a valley some 55 metres below the Keilor Plain, with a steep bank on the northern side and gentle terraces on the southern side. [4]
In 2016, the park was implemented a Victorian-first pilot project to help children on the autism spectrum play more freely, with Parks Victoria creating a digital "script" showing items and sights they would encounter at the park. This was designed to alleviate anxiety, particularly when moving from one place to another, and was designed alongside autism advocacy organisation Amaze. [5] [6]
In 2021, Parks Victoria began helping plant trees at the park as part of the "More Trees for a Cooler, Greener West" project which aims to plant trees in urban areas of Melbourne's western suburbs with the lowest tree canopy covers. This was done to help increase urban shade cover with phase two commencing in 2022 and stage three completed by mid-2023. [7]
The park fields recreational activities with facilities including walking and cycling tracks, playgrounds, picnic areas, amenities and a café. [8] The park is located along Old Calder Highway with an entrance off Keilor Park Drive.
The Maribyrnong River flows through the park, which holds as one end of the 25km Maribyrnong River Trail. At Keilor, the river winds back on itself in a horseshoe bend, before winding south again at Brimbank Park. Brimbank Park is home to wildlife including swamp wallabies, blue tongued lizards and echidnas. Birds including parrots, herons, galahs, blue wrens, yellow-tailed thornbills, rosellas, flame robins and the peregrine falcon can also be seen in the park. [4]
parkrun volunteers organise a free, weekly, 5km timed event at Brimbank Park at 8 o'clock every Saturday morning [9] . The single lap parkrun course starts next to the café and follows a combination of bitumen and dirt trails, which cross the Maribyrnong River [10] .
The City of Brimbank is a local government area located within the metropolitan area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It comprises the western suburbs between 10 and 20 km west and northwest from the Melbourne city centre.
Maribyrnong is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 8 km (5.0 mi) north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Maribyrnong local government area. Maribyrnong recorded a population of 12,573 at the 2021 census.
The Maribyrnong River is a perennial river of the Port Phillip catchment, located in the north–western suburbs of Melbourne, in the Australian state of Victoria.
Essendon is an Inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 8 km (5.0 mi) north-west of Melbourne's central business district, located within the City of Moonee Valley local government area. Essendon recorded a population of 21,240 at the 2021 census.
Niddrie is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 11 km (6.8 mi) north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Moonee Valley local government area. Niddrie recorded a population of 5,901 at the 2021 census.
Keilor is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 16 km (9.9 mi) north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Brimbank and Hume local government areas. Keilor recorded a population of 5,906 at the 2021 census.
Keilor Downs is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 18 km (11 mi) north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Brimbank local government area. Keilor Downs recorded a population of 9,857 at the 2021 census.
The Maribyrnong River Trail is a shared use path for cyclists and pedestrians, which follows the Maribyrnong River through the north western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Avondale Heights is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 11 km (6.8 mi) north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Moonee Valley local government area. Avondale Heights recorded a population of 12,388 at the 2021 census.
Westerfolds Park is a metropolitan park situated in Templestowe, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Australia.
Keilor Park is a mini suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 15 km (9.3 mi) north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Brimbank local government area. Keilor Park recorded a population of 2,684 at the 2021 census.
Melbourne is Australia's second largest city and widely considered to be a garden city, with Victoria being nicknamed "the Garden State". Renowned as one of the most livable cities in the world, there is an abundance of parks, gardens and green belts close to the CBD with a variety of common and rare plant species amid landscaped vistas, pedestrian pathways, and tree-lined avenues, all managed by Parks Victoria.
Keilor East or East Keilor is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 13 km (8.1 mi) north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Brimbank and Moonee Valley local government areas. Keilor East recorded a population of 15,073 at the 2021 census.
The City of Keilor was a local government area about 13 kilometres (8 mi) northwest of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The city covered an area of 99.70 square kilometres (38.49 sq mi), and existed from 1863 until 1994.
Horseshoe Bend Farm is a 26 hectares (0.10 sq mi) park in the western suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, adjacent to Brimbank Park on the Maribyrnong River. Formerly a commercial farm, it is now managed by Parks Victoria, but no longer has any livestock. An original 1930s weatherboard cottage still exists on the site. Previously the park was closed for nearly five years but has recently opened again.
The Organ Pipes National Park, abbreviated as OPNP, is a national park located in the Central region of Victoria, Australia. The 121-hectare (300-acre) protected area was established with the focus on conservation of the native flora and fauna, and preservation of the geological features in the Jacksons Creek, a part of the Maribyrnong valley, north-west of Melbourne. It is situated in a deep gorge in the grassy, basalt Keilor Plains.
The Keilor archaeological site was among the first places to demonstrate the antiquity of Aboriginal occupation of Australia when a cranium, unearthed in 1940, was found to be nearly 15,000 years old. Subsequent investigations of Pleistocene alluvial terraces revealed hearths about 31,000 years BP, making Keilor one of the earliest sites of human habitation in Australia. Remains of megafauna suggest a possible association with Aboriginal hunting.
The Woiwurrung, also spelt Woi-wurrung, Woi Wurrung, Woiwurrong, Woiworung, and Wuywurung, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Woiwurrung language group, in the Kulin alliance.
The Division of Fraser is an Australian electoral division in the state of Victoria, which was contested for the first time at the 2019 federal election.
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