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Yarra Track | |
---|---|
A monument marking the site of The Oaks, a former shanty on the Yarra Track | |
Yarra Valley | |
Coordinates | |
General information | |
Type | Track |
Length | 193 km (120 mi) |
Opened | September 1862 |
Major junctions | |
West end | Healesville |
East end | Woods Point |
Location(s) | |
LGA(s) | Yarra Ranges Shire |
via | |
Highway system | |
The Yarra Track is the former name of the gold fields road from Healesville to the Woods Point and Jordan Goldfields, in Victoria, Australia.
A direct route via the Yarra River and the Great Divide was discovered by Reick in September 1862 and became known as the Yarra Track. Early in 1863, the Victorian Government decided to construct a 193-kilometre (120 mi) road along the route. Its original width varied between 4 and 6 metres (12 and 20 ft), and was designed to accommodate horse-drawn vehicles. This Track involved the climbing of the Black Spur, descent into the Acheron Valley, and then through Marysville to the Cumberland where it followed the existing route. The old route through Paradise Plains subsequently dropped out of vogue.
In 1865, the first drays and wagons reached Woods Point via the Yarra Track, but they could only get through during the summer months. The Yarra Track shortened the trip to Woods Point from Melbourne to a little over 161 kilometres (100 mi), compared with 354 kilometres (220 mi) via Jamieson.
Clement Wilks, an engineer with the Victorian Department of Roads and Bridges, was a member of the Yarra Track Committee responsible for building this coach and dray road, designing a number or small bridges and culverts including the Wilks Creek Bridge, [1] [2] on the Marysville Road, and the Big Culvert. [3] [4]
Two main construction camps were established in new localities on the Yarra Track at Healesville and Marysville. These were surveyed as towns to serve as base camps for construction teams and as staging towns when the coach route was completed. Marysville was founded and surveyed in August, 1864. Healesville was surveyed in September 1864, which resulted in the deviation of the settlement at New Chum. Healesville was at the furthest point coaches could travel along the route from Melbourne. From there, a packhorse track climbed through the mountains to the diggings. Shanties were built every five or six miles from New Chum to the diggings. Accommodation houses and stores were strung along the rest of the road.
The Black Spur section became a popular tourist destination and sought after location for notable early photographers in Victoria, such as Nicholas Caire and J. W. Lindt. In 1916 a bus service was introduced, taking travellers over the route in two twelve-seater Buick charabancs. The journey from Melbourne took four and a half hours.
Hume Highway, inclusive of the sections now known as Hume Freeway and Hume Motorway, is one of Australia's major inter-city national highways, running for 840 kilometres (520 mi) between Melbourne in the southwest and Sydney in the northeast. Upgrading of the route from Sydney's outskirts to Melbourne's outskirts to dual carriageway was completed on 7 August 2013.
Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of 1,941 kilometres (1,206 mi) or 1,898 kilometres (1,179 mi) via the former alignments of the highway, although these routes are slower and connections to the bypassed sections of the original route are poor in many cases.
Healesville is a town in Victoria, Australia, 52 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district, located within the Shire of Yarra Ranges local government area. Healesville recorded a population of 7,589 in the 2021 census.
Alphington is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 7 km (4.3 mi) north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Darebin and Yarra local government areas. Alphington recorded a population of 5,702 at the 2021 census.
Lilydale railway station is the terminus of the suburban electrified Lilydale line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the north-eastern Melbourne suburb of Lilydale, and opened on 1 December 1882 as Lillydale.
The Capital City Trail is a shared use path in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, which circles the city centre and some inner eastern and northern suburbs. It is 29km in length, and mostly consists of sections of other trails, such as the Merri Creek Trail, Main Yarra Trail, Moonee Ponds Creek Trail and Inner Circle Rail Trail.
Woods Point is a small town in Victoria, Australia and is located on the banks of the Goulburn River. At the 2021 census, Woods Point and the surrounding area had a population of 33, down from 37 in 2016 census.
Marysville is a town, 34 kilometres north-east of Healesville and 41 kilometres south of Alexandra, in the Shire of Murrindindi in Victoria, Australia. The town, which previously had a population of over 500 people, was devastated by the Murrindindi Mill bushfire on 7 February 2009. On 19 February 2009 the official death toll was 45. Around 90% of the town's buildings were destroyed. Prior to the Black Saturday fire the population in 2006 was 519. At the 2011 Census, the population had reduced to 226, by the 2016 census it had risen to 394.
Lake Mountain is a 1,433-metre-high (4,701 ft) mountain peak on a plateau that hosts a cross-country ski resort that is known by the same name. It is located in Victoria, Australia, approximately 120 kilometres (75 mi) north-east of Melbourne. The 1,483-metre-high (4,865 ft) Mount Bullfight, which is within the Mount Bullfight Nature Conservation Reserve, is the highest peak that can be reached by a cross-country ski trail from Lake Mountain. Access to Lake Mountain's summit is restricted to a snow shoe track in winter. The Lake Mountain Alpine Resort, located near Lake Mountain, is the most popular ski resort in Australia when measured in terms of total visitor numbers, including sightseers, due to its proximity to Melbourne.
The Chandler Highway is a short road in the inner eastern suburbs of Melbourne. It runs from Heidelberg Road in Alphington, crosses the Yarra River, then continues across the Eastern Freeway, then terminates at an intersection with Princess Street and Earl Street. Its total length is less than 2 kilometres, leading to the claim that it is "the shortest highway in the world". It was named after a prominent local businessman and politician A. E. Chandler, who was instrumental in pushing through the development of the Outer Circle railway.
Mount Donna Buang is a mountain in the southern reaches of the Victorian Alps of the Great Dividing Range, located in the Australian state of Victoria. Approximately 94 kilometres (58 mi) from Melbourne with an elevation of 1,250 metres (4,101 ft), Mount Donna Buang is the closest snowfield to Melbourne.
The Shire of Healesville was a local government area about 60 kilometres (37 mi) northeast of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of 466.20 square kilometres (180.0 sq mi), and existed from 1887 until 1994.
The Shire of Eltham was a local government area about 25 kilometres (16 mi) northeast of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of 277.13 square kilometres (107.0 sq mi), and existed from 1856 until 1994.
Clement Wilks was a notable civil engineer and architect in colonial Victoria, Australia.
Narbethong is a town in central Victoria, Australia. It is located on the Maroondah Highway, 87 kilometres (54 mi) north east of the state capital, Melbourne. At the 2016 census, Narbethong and the surrounding area had a population of 205.
Cambarville is a bounded rural locality in Victoria, Australia, located within the Shire of Yarra Ranges Local government area. Much of its area is part of the Yarra Ranges National Park.
The Big Culvert is a substantial granite and bluestone arch culvert bridge on the historic Yarra Track near Cambarville, Victoria, Australia.
The Watts River is a perennial river of the Port Phillip and Western Port catchment, located in the Healesville area, in the Central region of the Australian state of Victoria.
Wilks Creek Bridge is a former timber and bluestone road bridge on the Yarra Track, located just off the Black Spur route, between Narbethong and Marysville, Victoria, Australia.
Heidelberg Road is a major arterial road through the north-eastern suburbs of Melbourne. It was the first road in Victoria outside the township of Melbourne. Heidelberg Road was the main route for people travelling to Heidelberg, from the mid to late 1800s.
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