Coldstream is a town in the

Shire of Yarra Ranges The Shire of Yarra Ranges, also known as Yarra Ranges Council, is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the outer eastern and northeastern suburbs of Melbourne extending into the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges. It has ...

, Victoria,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, located in

Greater Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung/ or ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second most-populous city in Australia, after Sydney. The city's name generally refers to a metropolitan area also known ...

beyond the Melbourne metropolitan area Urban Growth Boundary. Coldstream is located 36 km north-east from Melbourne's

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

. Coldstream recorded a population of 2,199 at the 2021 census.

History

Aerial panorama of Coldstream and the Great Dividing Range on the horizon

The township developed around the

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

after the

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

arrived in 1888. The Post Office opening on 7 February 1889. Prior to that the locality was known as "The Lodge". In 1909, Dame

Nellie Melba Dame Nellie Melba (born Helen Porter Mitchell; 19 May 186123 February 1931) was an Australian operatic lyric coloratura soprano. She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian era and the early twentieth century, and was the f ...

bought Coombe Cottage at Coldstream. The house is located at the junction of Maroondah Highway and Melba Highway (named in her honour). It became the home of Melba's granddaughter, Lady Pamela Vestey, until her death in 2011. It is now owned by the Vestey family.

Today

Coldstream has a local primary school,

community centre A community centre, community center, or community hall is a public location where members of a community gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may be open for the whole community or for a sp ...

landfill A landfill is a site for the disposal of waste materials. It is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of waste with daily, intermediate and final covers only began in the 1940s. In the past, waste was ...

and several farms. It had a

that closed to passengers in 1983, but was used for freight purposes up until 1992 when it closed after the buildings were destroyed by fire. The

Bureau of Meteorology The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM or BoM) is an executive agency of the Government of Australia, Australian Government that is responsible for providing Weather forecasting, weather forecasts and Meteorology, meteorological services to Australia a ...

operates an automatic weather station at Coldstream Airfield. A private automatic weather station is also maintained on Coldstream Estate.

Commerce

Coldstream is the site of a few commercial interests, including Coldstream Timber & Hardware, Coldstream Brewery and the Chandon Australia winery, sister to Domaine Chandon California.

Airport

Coldstream Airport is owned by the Doake family and has been in operation since the early 1960s. It is home to: * Coldstream Flying School, operated by Yarra Valley Flight Training * The Coldstream Flyers Club * Private aircraft

Fire brigade

Coldstream has an active CFA (Country Fire Authority) volunteer fire brigade established after the serious fires of 1962. This was a name change from the Lilydale Rural Fire Brigade originally established in 1939 as the Lilydale Bushfire Brigade, changing its name in 1945 on the establishment of the CFA (Country Fire Authority).

Population

In the 2016 Census, there were 2,164 people in Coldstream. 83.3% of people were born in Australia. The next most common country of birth was England at 4.9%. 91.4% of people spoke only English at home. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 42.5%, Catholic 20.5% and Anglican 12.1%.

Climate

Coldstream has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

that is transitional with the inland climates of southern Victoria, resulting in higher summer daytime temperatures than on the Victorian coastline. Averages even out due to lower overnight temperatures, where Coldstream can get close to freezing even in the midst of summer. Rainfall peaks in late winter and spring.

Sport

The town has an

Australian Rules Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

football team, the Coldstream Cougars, competing in the Eastern Football League. Coldstream also has a standalone betball club.

References

External links

Australian Places - ColdstreamColdstream Flyers Club ACMA Coldstream Group Page for Locals
{{authority control Yarra Valley Yarra Ranges Shire