The Dandenong Ranges National Park is a

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

located in the

Greater 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 metrop ...

region of

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 national park is situated from at its westernmost points at

Ferntree Gully Ferntree Gully is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, at the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges, 30 km south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne City Centre, Central Business District, located within the City of Kn ...

and

Boronia ''Boronia'' is a genus of about 160 species of flowering plants in the citrus family Rutaceae. Most are endemic to Australia with a few species in New Caledonia, which were previously placed in the genus ''Boronella''. They occur in all Austral ...

to at it easternmost point at

Silvan Silvan may refer to: * Saint Silvan, Christian martyr * Silvan (illusionist), Italian magician * Silvan Byggemarked, Danish chain store that sells building materials * Silvan Elves, woodland elves of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium * ...

, east of the

Melbourne City Centre The Melbourne central business district (also known colloquially as simply "The City" or "The CBD") is the city centre and main urban area of the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, centred on the Hoddle Grid, the oldest part of the city la ...

. The park was proclaimed on , amalgamating the Ferntree Gully National Park,

Sherbrooke Forest Sherbrooke Forest is a wet sclerophyll forest within Dandenong Ranges National Park, 40 km east of Melbourne, in Victoria, Australia, close to the suburb of Belgrave. It lies within an altitude of 220–500 m asl and is dominated by the t ...

and Doongalla Estate. In 1997 the Olinda State Forest, Mt. Evelyn and Montrose Reserve were formally added to the national park.

History

The region was originally inhabited by the Bunurong and Woewurrong Aboriginal people. Most of the forest got cleared when it became a significant source of timber for Melbourne. During the late last century, farming began in the area as roads and railways were built and the 'Puffing Billy' narrow-gauge line from Ferntree Gully to Gembrook started in 1900. Tourism flourished from the 1870s. The Fern Tree Gully was the first to be reserved as a park in 1882 followed by other areas. The present day national park was established in 1987.

Features

Dandenong Ranges National Park is divided into five sections: * Doongalla Forest – Containing

Mount Dandenong Mount Dandenong is a small township/suburb of Greater Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east from Melbourne's central business district, located within the Shire of Yarra Ranges local government area. Mount Dandenong recorded a population of 1,2 ...

itself, and the SkyHigh lookout with panoramic views of Melbourne's east * Ferntree Gully – The south western section of the Dandenong Ranges National Park, located between the suburbs of

and

to the west, Upwey to the south, Tremont and

Sassafras ''Sassafras'' is a genus of three extant and one extinct species of deciduous trees in the family Lauraceae, native to eastern North America and eastern Asia.Wolfe, Jack A. & Wehr, Wesley C. 1987. The sassafras is an ornamental tree. "Middle ...

to the east and The Basin to the north. The park contains the Thousands Steps trail leading to One Tree Hill. The very steep walking trail includes over 700 steps over and commemorates the battle for the

Kokoda track The Kokoda Track or Trail is a single-file foot thoroughfare that runs overland – in a straight line – through the Owen Stanley Range in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The track was the location of the 1942 World War II battle between Japanes ...

Territory of Papua The Territory of Papua comprised the southeastern quarter of the island of New Guinea from 1883 to 1975. In 1883, the Government of Queensland annexed this territory for the British Empire. The United Kingdom Government refused to ratify the a ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The steps are a popular destination for sightseers and fitness enthusiasts alike. During the

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

pre-season a number of Melbourne

Australian rules football 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 oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

league and association teams run their players up the steps to promote team fitness. There is no specific creation date of the steps; however, they are believed to be built during the early 1860s when they provided the only means of accessing the One Tree Hill Summit. According to a Tourist Guide published in 1868, all other areas contained thick forest vegetation. A survey of the park found that over 82% of visitors (on weekends) use the park for fitness-related walking. It is also a popular spot for picnics. * Mount Evelyn Forest is the most northerly section of the park * Olinda Forest occupies the eastern slopes of Mount Dandenong * Sherbrooke Forest File:Sherbrooke Forest Dandenong Ranges.JPG,

File:1000 Steps, Kokoda Track Memorial Walk, Dandenong Ranges National Park.jpg, 1000 Steps, Kokoda Track Memorial Walk, Dandenong Ranges National Park File:Lyrebird Track, Dandenong Ranges National Park.jpg, Lyrebird Track, Dandenong Ranges National Park

Feral pests

Because the park is located in an urban area, the park has a long history of major problems with feral and roaming animals. A cat

curfew A curfew is a government order specifying a time during which certain regulations apply. Typically, curfews order all people affected by them to ''not'' be in public places or on roads within a certain time frame, typically in the evening and ...

was introduced in the entire

Dandenong Ranges The Dandenong Ranges (commonly just The Dandenongs) are a set of low mountain ranges, rising to 633 metres at Mount Dandenong, approximately east of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The ranges consist mostly of rolling hills, steeply weathere ...

area some years ago, and since then the numbers and variety of

lyrebird A lyrebird is either of two species of ground-dwelling Australian birds that compose the genus ''Menura'', and the family Menuridae. They are most notable for their impressive ability to mimic natural and artificial sounds from their environ ...

s and other native species have climbed dramatically.

References

External links

Parks Victoria: Dandenong Ranges National Park page
{{authority control National parks of Victoria (Australia) Protected areas established in 1987 Forests of Victoria (Australia) 1987 establishments in Australia City of Knox Yarra Ranges

History

Features

Feral pests

See also

References

External links