Marysville, Victoria
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Marysville is a town, 34 kilometres north-east of
Healesville Healesville is a town in Victoria, Australia, 52 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district, located within the Shire of Yarra Ranges local government area. Healesville recorded a population of 7,589 in the 2021 census. He ...
and 41 kilometres south of
Alexandra Alexandra () is the feminine form of the given name Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "prot ...
, in the
Shire of Murrindindi The Shire of Murrindindi is a local government area in the Hume region of Victoria, Australia, located in the north-east part of the state. It covers an area of and, in June 2018, had a population of 14,478. It includes the towns of Alexandra, ...
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. The town, which previously had a population of over 500 people, was devastated by the Murrindindi Mill bushfire on 7 February 2009. On 19 February 2009 the official death toll was 45. Around 90% of the town's buildings were destroyed. Prior to the Black Saturday fire the population in 2006 was 519. At the 2011 Census, the population had reduced to 226, by the 2016 census it had risen to 394.


History

The city was established as a stopping point on the
Yarra Track The Yarra Track is the former name of the gold fields road from Healesville to the Woods Point and Jordan Goldfields, in Victoria, Australia. History A direct route via the Yarra River and the Great Divide was discovered by Reick in Septem ...
, the route to the
Woods Point Woods Point is a small town in Victoria, Australia and is located on the banks of the Goulburn River. At the , Woods Point and the surrounding area had a population of 37, down from 94 in 2006. History The town began as a general store built b ...
and Upper Goulburn goldfields, with a butcher's shop and store in existence by the time the town was surveyed in 1864. It prospered following the reconstruction of the Yarra Track as an all weather dray and coach road under engineer
Clement Wilks Clement Wilks (15 February 1819 – 2 May 1871) was a notable civil engineer and architect in colonial Victoria, Australia. Early days Clement Wilks was born at Peckham Rye, Surrey, 15 February 1819, the youngest son of the Rev. Mark Wilks, of ...
in the 1870s. It was named after Mary Steavenson, the wife of Assistant Commissioner of Roads and Bridges John Steavenson after whom the popular Steavenson Falls are named. The Marysville Post Office opened on 1 March 1865 followed by a school in 1870, and a public hall, library and mechanics institute in 1890. By the 1920s, Marysville had become a tourist destination, with the Marysville Tourist and Progress Association formed in 1924. Attractions promoted at the time were fern gullies, views, and walking tracks to Steavenson Falls. Twelve guest houses had been established by 1920, one of the best known of these being the Cumberland Guest House. At this time a rail service operated between Melbourne and nearby
Healesville Healesville is a town in Victoria, Australia, 52 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district, located within the Shire of Yarra Ranges local government area. Healesville recorded a population of 7,589 in the 2021 census. He ...
, and the town became a popular destination for couples on their honeymoon. In 2004 a
telemovie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
, ''
Little Oberon ''Little Oberon'', directed by Kevin Carlin, is an Australian telemovie starring Sigrid Thornton, which was broadcast on 18 September 2005 by Network Nine. The movie was filmed during 2004 in and around the town of Marysville, Victoria, Marysville ...
'' starring
Sigrid Thornton Sigrid Madeline Thornton (born 12 February 1959) is an Australian film and television actress. Her television work includes '' Prisoner'' (1979–80), '' All the Rivers Run'' (1983), '' SeaChange'' (1998–2019) and '' Wentworth'' (2016–2018 ...
, was filmed in and around Marysville. The town came under serious threat during the
Black Friday bushfires The Black Friday bushfires of 13 January 1939, in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, were part of the devastating 1938–1939 bushfire season in Australia, which saw Bushfires in Australia, bushfires burning for the whole summer, and ash ...
in 1939, residents saw the fire cross from Mt Gorden to Mount Margaret. At that time only one house in Marysville belonging to Stan Postlethwaite was destroyed. The No.1 Mill 5 miles from Marysville was destroyed and the town of Narbethong was wiped out. The
Ash Wednesday bushfires The Ash Wednesday bushfires, known in South Australia as Ash Wednesday II, were a series of bushfires that occurred in south-eastern Australia on 16 February 1983, which was Ash Wednesday. Within twelve hours, more than 180 fires fanned by hot ...
of 1983 also came close to Marysville but burnt around the town and caused no damage to property.


Black Saturday bushfires

On 7 February 2009, a bushfire destroyed most of the town, including the primary school, police station, The Cumberland, and almost all of its houses. Residents able to leave the town just prior to the fire were directed to a temporary relief centre at Alexandra High School. Others sheltered overnight in Gallipoli Park before being evacuated to
Alexandra Alexandra () is the feminine form of the given name Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "prot ...
. The entire town was declared a crime scene and was effectively closed off while Victorian and Federal police recovered bodies and conducted investigations. It was reopened to the public on 23 March. In February 2014 a
class action A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class actio ...
trial against electricity company SP AusNet was due to begin in the
Victorian Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Victoria is the highest court in the Australian state of Victoria. Founded in 1852, it is a superior court of common law and equity, with unlimited and inherent jurisdiction within the state. The Supreme Court compri ...
. It was alleged that the fire was caused by a "break in an electrical conductor on a power pole near the Murrindindi Saw Mill." An
settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building * Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction *Settlement (fin ...
was announced before the trial began. The town before the fire is viewable in Google Maps Street View which provides a virtual time-capsule tour of the area. Public Relations manager for Google Australia, Annie Baxter said: "We've received a number of requests to consider retaining the Street View imagery for fire-affected areas, and it's something we're looking into... As of June 2014 the imagery has been updated to images from March 2013, the old imagery still available through the time machine feature."


Industry and employment

Marysville's primary industry is tourism. Prior to the fire, it contained numerous cafes, art galleries, restaurants, and craft shops. It has been used as a base for the Lake Mountain ski resort. During the snow season, the population of the town has been known to double or even triple, due to the influx of other hospitality and tourism caterers, such as ski hire, toboggan hire, chain hire, and many other profitable ventures associated with snowplay and skiing. During summer Marysville is frequented by many bikers, particularly on weekends. Marysville is cradled between two of Victoria's best motorcycling roads, the Black Spur & The Reefton Spur. It is also popular with recreational cyclists. There are many tourist attractions throughout the area, such as Bruno's Sculpture Garden (which was badly damaged in the 2009 fires but mostly restored since), and Steavenson Falls. The town is also used as an access point to
Yarra Ranges National Park Yarra Ranges National Park is located in the Central Highlands of Australia's southeastern state Victoria, 107 km northeast of Melbourne. Established in 1995 and managed by the statutory authority Parks Victoria, the park features a carbon-ric ...
and Upper Yarra Reservoir Park. According to The Wilderness Society, the local community has opposed logging, which threatened the area's
old growth forest An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological featur ...
s and tourism. A large proportion of the logging and roading is in close vicinity to the
beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...
forests seen by tourists visiting the Lady Talbot Drive in the Upper Taggerty catchment. Marysville depends heavily on tourism for its economic prosperity and employment. In contrast, the agriculture, forestry and fishing industries combined accounted for less than three percent of the region's employment in 1995. The local water treatment plant run by Goulburn Valley Water claimed the 2015 title of best drinking water in state and national titles and later second best in the world. It now boasts about its water in a road sign and on a special water fountain in the town.


Gallery

Image:The Beeches Rainforest Walk 01 Pengo.jpg,
Yarra Ranges National Park Yarra Ranges National Park is located in the Central Highlands of Australia's southeastern state Victoria, 107 km northeast of Melbourne. Established in 1995 and managed by the statutory authority Parks Victoria, the park features a carbon-ric ...
, near Marysville Image:Victorian Central Highlands log dump 01 Pengo.jpg, A log dump near Marysville


References


External links


Marysville
– Government tourism site
Marysville TourismThe Black SpurThe Reefton SpurMarysville Visitor Guides - www.Marysville.com.au
{{authority control Towns in Victoria (Australia) Towns in Lower Hume Shire of Murrindindi