Merlynston Creek is a tributary of

Merri Creek The Merri Creek is a waterway in southern parts of Victoria, Australia, which flows through the northern suburbs of Northcote. It begins near Wallan north of Melbourne and flows south for 70 km until it joins the Yarra River at Dights Fa ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

's northern suburbs, in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The source of the creek is the National Boulevard Reserve located in an industrial area in the north of

Campbellfield Campbellfield is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Hume local government area. Campbellfield recorded a population of 4,977 at the 2021 census. History Camp ...

City of Hume The City of Hume is a local government area located within the metropolitan area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It includes the outer north-western suburbs and a number of rural localities between 13 and 40 kilometres from the Melbourne c ...

. The creek travels about 11 kilometres from its source in Campbellfield, through the suburbs of

Coolaroo Coolaroo is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Hume local government area. Coolaroo recorded a population of 3,193 at the 2021 census. History Coolaroo is th ...

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Broadmeadows Broadmeadows is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Hume local government area. Broadmeadows recorded a population of 12,524 at the 2021 census. Broadmeadow ...

, Glenroy, Hadfield,

Fawkner Fawkner is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Hume and Merri-bek local government areas. Fawkner recorded a population of 14,274 at the 2021 census. The ma ...

, and Coburg North to its confluence with the Merri Creek above Coburg Lake. Campbellfield Creek joins Merlynston Creek as it passes through Fawkner Cemetery. The Creek passes through ''Jack Roper Reserve'', a picturesque lake and

Melbourne Water Melbourne Water is a Victorian Government-owned statutory authority that controls and manages much of the water bodies and supplies in metropolitan Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, including the reservoirs, lakes, wetlands, canals and urban cree ...

flood mitigation

retention basin A retention basin, sometimes called a wet pond, wet detention basin, or stormwater management pond (SWMP), is an artificial pond with vegetation around the perimeter and a permanent pool of water in its design. It is used to manage stormwater r ...

, and one of City of Hume's most popular family parks. The retarding basin was constructed in 1964 to create the lake with a storage volume of 382 million litres. The operating range of the retarding basin (height to the spillway) is 10 metres. Jack Roper Reserve is one of three flood mitigation basins in the creek's urban catchment. The other two are flood

Detention basin A detention basin or retarding basin is an excavated area installed on, or adjacent to, tributaries of rivers, streams, lakes or bays to protect against flooding and, in some cases, downstream erosion by storing water for a limited period of time ...

s: Army Basin, named after the nearby

Maygar Barracks Maygar Army Barracks is located in Broadmeadows, Victoria. It was the training area for the Australian Light Horse during World War I. The barracks was named after Victoria Cross winner Leslie Maygar, who received the award for his actions during t ...

, and Box Forest mitigation basin located between the Northern Memorial Park and Box Forest Road. According to the

City of Moreland The City of Merri-bek is a Local government areas of Victoria, local government area in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. It comprises the inner northern suburbs between 4 and 11 kilometres from the Melbourne city centre, Melbourne CBD. The ...

stormwater management plan, Merlynston Creek length is 43 percent piped or an open concrete channel, 27 percent has major modifications, and only 30 percent of the stream is relatively unmodified. The creek passes through and is a major feature of the Northern Memorial Park and

Fawkner Crematorium and Memorial Park Fawkner Memorial Park is located in the north-western Melbourne suburb of Fawkner, Victoria, Australia. It is the largest cemetery by land size in the state, and managed by Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust. Merlynston Creek, a tributary ...

, both run by the Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust. The Creek has been diverted into underground pipes slightly north of Boundary Road as it leaves the cemetery, making its way southeast towards Merri Creek underneath the Merlynston locality and Coburg North. Increased urban consolidation has added to 100-year flash flooding risk in North Coburg along the course of Merlynston Creek, according to the

State Emergency Service The State Emergency Service (SES) is the name used by a number of organisations in Australia that provide assistance during and after major incidents. Specifically, the service deals with floods, storms and tsunamis, but can also assist in oth ...

(SES). The State Emergency Services says flooding has occurred along the creek path through North Coburg historically in 1891, 1916, 1934, 1954, 1974, 1978, 1981, 1983, 1989, 2003, and 2011.

References

Rivers of Victoria (Australia) Port Phillip and Western Port catchment Rivers of Port Phillip (region) Tributaries of the Yarra River City of Merri-bek City of Hume {{VictoriaAU-river-stub