Gembrook is a town in 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 ...

, situated south-east of 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 ...

, within the

Shire of Cardinia The Shire of Cardinia is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, in the south-east of Melbourne between Western Port and the Yarra Ranges on the outskirts of Melbourne. It has an area of 1,283 square kilometres, and had a population of ...

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

. At the 2021 census, Gembrook recorded a population of 2,559. Nestled on the edge of the

Dandenong Ranges The Dandenong Ranges (commonly just the Dandenongs) are a set of low mountain ranges in Victoria, Australia, approximately east of the state capital Melbourne. A minor branch of the Great Dividing Range, the Dandenongs consist mostly of rol ...

, Gembrook is a popular day-trip and weekend destination for Melburnians, offering a scenic retreat less than 1.5 hours’ drive from the city.

History

Gembrook was settled in 1873 for farming and timber; the surrounding countryside was suitable for both dairy and orchards. Timber provided income while farms were established. The name Gembrook came from the small gems that were found in small creeks and watercourses in the surrounding area. The Post Office opened on 5 October 1877.

Puffing Billy railway

The Gembrook railway line was opened from

Upper Ferntree Gully Upper Ferntree Gully is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 32 km east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Knox and Shire of Yarra Ranges local government areas. Upper Ferntree Gully recorded a pop ...

on 18 December 1900. The narrow gauge line, these days known as Puffing Billy, brought tourists from Melbourne, as well as enabling timber and local produce, including fruit trees and potatoes, to be taken back to Melbourne. More than 20 timber mills were operating in the Gembrook area, with timber from the mills transported to the station on narrow gauge timber tramways. After the devastating fires in 1926 and 1939 which destroyed many of the timber mills, there was talk of closing the line. The line eventually closed on 30 April 1954 after a landslide blocked part of the line the previous year (the line was already in decline because motor traffic had replaced much of the railway's patronage). Soon after this time (between 1958 and 1962) the broad gauge line to Upper Ferntree Gully was extended to Belgrave which is less than 18 km away from Gembrook. In 1962, the western end of the Gembrook railway line which extended from Belgrave to Menzies Creek was reopened as a heritage

tourist railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (U.S. usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) ...

. Later extensions to

Emerald Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr., and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991). ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York ...

in 1965, and Lakeside (in Emerald Lake Park) in 1975, were opened and finally the last section to Gembrook in 1998, which saw the complete service resume between Belgrave and Gembrook. A short section from Gembrook towards Cockatoo was gradually reopened in the early 1990s as restoration work progressed.

Tourism

Tourism in the region developed as a direct result of the railway opening the area up. The Ranges Hotel originally constructed in 1894, was expanded in 1901 to cater for day trippers and excursionists from Melbourne as well as the local population. The Ranges Hotel reopened in 2017 after an extended renovation, including the sale of the hotel. On 24 September 2018 the hotel was destroyed in a fire; the site was cleared and eventually sold, and awaits redevelopment. The historic Kurth Kiln is about 7 km north of the town.

Modern Gembrook

Today Gembrook is seen by some as a suburb of Melbourne as it is within the Melbourne metropolitan area. Gembrook no longer relies on the income generated from farming and timber but rather from tourism and other professional services. The current population of Gembrook is over 2,000. The town is located within the

, and is within the state electoral area of Gembrook, and the federal electorate area of La Trobe. Gembrook is served by a regular daily

bus service Public transport bus services are generally based on regular operation of transit buses along a route calling at agreed bus stops according to a published public transport timetable. History of buses Origins While there are indications o ...

running from/to Belgrave (route 695). A Friday evening and Saturday/Sunday service also runs from/to Fountain Gate shopping centre at Narre Warren (route 695F). A daily (excluding Sundays) service runs from/to Pakenham (route 840). Together with its neighbouring township

Cockatoo A cockatoo is any of the 21 species of parrots belonging to the family Cacatuidae, the only family in the superfamily Cacatuoidea. Along with the Psittacoidea ( true parrots) and the Strigopoidea (large New Zealand parrots), they make up t ...

, Gembrook 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 (Gembrook Cockatoo) competing in the

Yarra Valley Mountain District Football League The AFL Yarra Ranges was an Australian rules football and netball organisation based in the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges within Victoria (Australia), Victoria. The organisation operated the Yarra Ranges Senior Football league and the Yarra ...

. Gembrook is known as a major winemaking region, containing several well-known wineries. The town is also home to the Gillwell Park Scout Camp one of the largest scout camps in the southern hemisphere. Gembrook is served by a volunteer CFA fire brigade, with the station located on Innes Road.

References

External links