Upper Ferntree Gully is a suburb of

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 ...

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 ...

, 32 km east of Melbourne's

Central Business District A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre 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 with the "city ...

, located within the

City of Knox The City of Knox is a local government area in Victoria, Australia in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. It has an area of and in 2020, Knox had a population of 165,147. This municipality is one of only a handful that survived the widespread mu ...

and

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 an ...

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 State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

s. Upper Ferntree Gully recorded a population of 3,417 at the 2021 census.

History

Upper Ferntree Gully was a farming area in its early days and formed the end of the electric train line from

. Holiday makers and day trippers would then make their way by various means of transport to holiday and day tripper locations in "the hills". Many Melburnians up to (at least) the 1930s also holidayed in cottages in Upper Ferntree Gully. Coonara House in Willow Road is the oldest building in Upper Ferntree Gully, ahead of The Royal Hotel. Coonara House was the farm house for the farm land that is now Kings Park reserve. Some historic buildings and sites have been lost over the years—including the original Primary School (which was nestled into the National Park, near the current

Country Fire Authority The Country Fire Authority (CFA) is a volunteer fire service responsible for fire suppression, rescues, and response to other accidents and hazards across most of the state Victoria, Australia. CFA comprises over 1,200 brigades organised in 21 ...

station), the tearooms (corner of Rollings Road and Burwood Highway—many original architectural features were lost during renovations in the 1990s), the cycling velodrome (a bitumen track that was located behind St Joseph's College on the border of Upper Ferntree Gully and Ferntree Gully—this was used as part of The Sun newspaper's cycling competition), the Progress Hall (adjacent to Martin's Smash Repairs) and Kayser factory (Rose Street). The old bakery in Rose Street is home to the 1812 Amateur Theatre Group. The suburb of Upper Ferntree Gully is often referred to by residents simply as Upper Gully. Many years ago, Ferntree Gully was known as Lower Ferntree Gully—there was a Lower Gully and an Upper Gully. Upper Ferntree Gully has been part of the Shire of Fern Tree Gully, Shire of Sherbrooke, Shire of Yarra Ranges (after the realignment of municipal boundaries), but now most of it is in the City of Knox.

Natural features

Upper Ferntree Gully is home to Ferntree Gully Park, part of the

Dandenong Ranges National Park The Dandenong Ranges National Park is a national park located in the Greater Melbourne region of Victoria, Australia. The national park is situated from at its westernmost points at Ferntree Gully and Boronia to at it easternmost point at Sil ...

) and

Parks Victoria Parks Victoria is a government agency of the state of Victoria, Australia. Parks Victoria was established in December 1996 as a statutory authority, reporting to the Victorian Minister for Environment and Climate Change. The ''Parks Victoria Ac ...

's Education Centre. The park boasts, in addition to the natural environment, the "1,000 steps". These steps were laid in commemoration of the

Kokoda Trail 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 Japanese ...

(in

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 Kokoda Track was a field of action for Australian soldiers in Papua New Guinea). Kings Park (located in Willow Road and alongside Ferntree Gully and Ferny creeks) is home to football, cricket, athletics and baseball. Gilmour Park is also the location of

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 ...

's Retarding Basin (along Ferny Creek) and close to Sherbrooke Archery Club.

Church and community groups

There are a number of groups providing for the local community—

, Talaksia

Scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

Group, St Thomas'

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

Church, Upper Ferntree Gully

Seventh-day Adventist Church The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and ...

, International Women's Group (Coonara House) and Coonara Community House.

Sports and entertainment

There are a number of sporting organizations based in Upper Ferntree Gully—Upper Ferntree Gully Kings Football Club competing in the Eastern Football League and the Cricket Club (Kings Park), Upwey Tecoma Junior Football Club (Talaskia Road), St John's Tecoma Cricket Club (Talaskia Road), Sherbrooke Little Athletic Centre (Kings Park), Upwey/Ferntree Gully Baseball Club (Kings Park), Kenlaural Dance Centre and the 1812 Amateur Theatre group.

Education

There is a government primary school (Upper Ferntree Gully Primary school) which is located on Talaskia Road. There was a Prep – Year 6 community school (Coonara Community School).

Health and aged care

The

Angliss Hospital Angliss Hospital is a public hospital in Upper Ferntree Gully, Victoria, Australia, located on the corner of Albert Street and Talaskia Road. The hospital is a member of the Eastern Health network, and is located near a number of medical faciliti ...

(formerly known as the William Angliss Hospital) was established in 1939 and is located in Albert Street and Talaskia Road, Upper Ferntree Gully. Chandler House—Eastern Health Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service—is located nearby in Albert Street (and was used as a bush nursing hospital prior to the opening of the Angliss Hospital). There are also a number of medical consulting rooms in the vicinity of the hospital. Willowbrooke aged care facility is located in Willow Road, Upper Ferntree Gully. In terms of animal health, Upper Ferntree Gully also has a veterinary hospital.

Retail

There are limited retail outlets (mainly food, hairdressing, banking, chemist, post office and repair services) in Upper Ferntree Gully, generally located along the main thoroughfare (Burwood Highway). Ferntree Plaza is the largest retail centre in Upper Ferntree Gully. Dining facilities include the Royal Hotel, cafes, an ice creamery, a dumplings restaurant, an Italian restaurant, a charcoal chicken/kebab takeaway, and an Indian restaurant. In May, 2021 a fire burnt through the suburb's second Indian restaurant which was temporarily closed for repairs. CFA and Police units responding initially received word that the fire was, "out the back of the Royal Hotel" which led to dozens of vehicles rushing to the scene. Upper Ferntree Gully also has a number of used car yards.

Transport

Upper Ferntree Gully has a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

on Burwood Highway. There are train stabling facilities at Upper Ferntree Gully and a terminus for some services. The following

bus routes A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for ...

also service the suburb: *688

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

– Upper Ferntree Gully via Mt Dandenong, Olinda, Tremont (every day). Operated by

Ventura Bus Lines Ventura Bus Lines is a large bus and coach operator in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, operating a fleet of 893 buses on 141 bus routes, including 2 SmartBus routes and 2 V/Line services. It commenced operations in December 1924. History Earl ...

*693

Belgrave Belgrave may refer to: Places *Belgrave, Cheshire, an English village *Belgrave, Leicester an English district *Belgrave, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia ** Belgrave railway line **Belgrave railway station, Melbourne **Belgrave (Puffing ...

– Oakleigh via Upwey RS, Upper Ferntree Gully RS, Ferntree Gully RS, Brandon Park SC (every day). Operated by

*732 Box Hill – Upper Ferntree Gully via Vermont South, Knox City SC (every day). Operated by

Notable citizens

* Bradley Harman – professional major league baseballer who played baseball at Upper Ferntree Gully Baseball Club at Kings Park *

Justin Huber Justin Patrick Huber (; born 1 July 1982) is an Australian former professional baseball player. A first baseman and outfielder, Huber has played in Major League Baseball, Nippon Professional Baseball, and the Australian Baseball League. He has a ...

– professional major league baseballer who played baseball at Upper Ferntree Gully Baseball Club *

Micheal Nakamura is a Japanese-born Australian former professional baseball pitcher who played for the Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, Yomiuri Giants and Saitama Seibu Lions of Nippon Pro ...

– professional major league baseballer who played at Upper Ferntree Gully Baseball Club *

Steve Irwin Stephen Robert Irwin (22 February 19624 September 2006), known as "The Crocodile Hunter", was an Australian zookeeper, conservationist, television personality, wildlife educator, and environmentalist. Irwin grew up around crocodiles and ot ...

– Australian zookeeper, television personality, wildlife expert, environmentalist and conservationist *

Shane Warne Shane Keith Warne (13 September 1969 – 4 March 2022) was an Australian international cricketer, whose career ran from 1991 to 2007. Warne played as a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-handed batsman for Victoria, Hampshire and Australia ...

– cricketer born in Upper Ferntree Gully at the Angliss Hospital in 1969, died 4 March 2022.

References

External links

Knox Historical Society's websiteSherbrooke Archery ClubShiraaz Indian Restaurant Ferntree Gully
{{Shire of Yarra Ranges suburbs Suburbs of Melbourne Suburbs of Yarra Ranges Suburbs of the City of Knox