Upper Ferntree Gully, Victoria

Infobox Australian Place | type = suburb
name = Upper Ferntree Gully
city = Melbourne
state = vic


caption =
lga = Shire of Yarra Ranges
postcode = 3156
pop = 3268 (2006 Census)
area = 3
est =
propval = $292,500 [ [http://www.domain.com.au/public/suburbprofile.aspx?suburb=Upper%20Ferntree%20Gully&postcode=3156 Upper Ferntree Gully] , accessed 27 November 2006]
stategov = City Of Knox
fedgov =
dist1 = 34
location1= Melbourne
near-nw = Ferntree Gully
near-n = Tremont
near-ne = Tremont
near-w = Ferntree Gully
near-e = Upwey
near-sw = Lysterfield
near-s = Lysterfield
near-se = Upwey

History

Upper Ferntree Gully was a farming area in its early days and formed the end of the electric train line from Melbourne. 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 Melbournians up to (at least) the 1930s also holidayed in cottages in Upper Ferntree Gully (as one long-term Upper Gully resident recalls from personal experience).

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 CFA 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 referred to as Lower Ferntree Gully—there was a Lower Gully and an Upper Gully. For many years, Upper Ferntree Gully was part of the Shire of Fern Tree Gully, Shire of Sherbrooke, Shire of Yarra Ranges (after the amalgamation of some shires and municipalities) and now most of it is in the City of Knox.

Natural features

Upper Ferntree is home to Ferntree Gully Park, part of the Dandenong Ranges National Park) and Parks Victoria's Education Centre. The park boasts, in addition to natural beauty, the "1,000 steps". This is popular as both a challenging walk and for those wanting to improve their fitness by ascending the steps at a more vigorous pace. The 1,000 steps are now commemorated to the Kokoda Trail (in World War II 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'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- Country Fire Authority, Talaksia Scout Group, St Thomas' Anglican Church, Upper Ferntree Gully Seventh-day Adventist Church, International Women's Group (Coonara House) and Coonara Community House.

ports and entertainment

There are a number of sporting organisations based in Upper Ferntree Gully— Upper Ferntree Gully Football and Cricket Clubs (Kings Park), Upwey Tecoma Junior Football Club (Talaskia Road), Upper Ferntree Gully Tennis Club (Talaskia Road), St John's Tecoma Cricket Club (Talaskia Avenue), Sherbrooke Little Athletic Centre (Kings Park), Upwey/Ferntree Gully Baseball Club (Kings Park), Kenlaural Dance Centre and the 1812 Amateur Theatre group. A tourist information centre is located in front of the railway station.

Education

There is a government primary school (Upper Ferntree Gully Primary school) which was substantially renovated (completed in late 2006) and is located on Talaskia Road, a Prep – Year 6 community school (Coonara Community School) and Upper Ferntree Gully pre-school. The community school (Coonara) closed towards the end of 2007, when it entered into voluntary liquidation. The seeds of that liquidation were clearly sown in 2003, but not seeing "the writing on the wall", the school community completely ignored the warning. The demise was just a matter of time.

Health and aged care

The Angliss Hospital (formerly known as the William Angliss Hospital) was established in 1954 and is located in 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, an Italian restaurant and an Indian restaurant.

One key retail activity is the weekend market at the Upper Fern Tree Gully railway station carpark. Active every weekend from 9am – 4.30pm "The Little Market with the Big Reputation" has an abundance of products for sale. These include fresh fruit and veg, plants, jewellery, crystals, food, many other craft products and a hairdresser.

Upper Ferntree Gully also hosts a number of used car yards.

Transport

Upper Ferntree Gully has a railway station located on the Burwood Highway. Train stabling facilities are located at Upper Fern Tree Gully and is a terminus for some services. Bus routes also service the suburb.

References

External links

* [http://home.vicnet.net.au/~khsinc/ Knox Historical Society's website]
* [http://www.sherbrookearchers.org.au/ Sherbrooke Archery Club]

Trivia

High profile Australian cricketer Shane Warne was born in Upper Ferntree Gully at the Angliss Hospital in 1969.

Julie Quilliam, young violinist and winner of numerous world-class awards including the London soloists league award, lives in Upper Ferntree Gully. She has performed in the National Gallery of Italy and at the Annual Strings Festival in Paris. Julie is a regular performer at the Mill Valley Ranch barn in outer Melbourne.