Olinda, Victoria

Olinda Melbourne, Victoria
Olinda township
Olinda
Population:	1568 (2006)[1]
Postcode:	3788
Elevation:	569 m (1,867 ft)
Area:	5.8 km² (2.2 sq mi)
Location:	36 km (22 mi) from Melbourne 8 km (5 mi) from Belgrave
LGA:	Shire of Yarra Ranges
State District:	Monbulk
Federal Division:	La Trobe
Suburbs around Olinda: Mount Dandenong Kalorama Silvan Sassafras Olinda Monbulk Sherbrooke Kallista The Patch

Olinda is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 36 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Yarra Ranges. At the 2006 Census, Olinda had a population of 1568.

History

Olinda is named after Olinda Creek, which begins in the township. The creek was named in 1858 after Alice Olinda Hodgkinson, the daughter of Clement Hodgkinson, Victoria's acting Surveyor General. The town was initially a logging settlement, however as land was made available for horticulture in the early 1900s, the town began to grow substantially. The Post Office opened on 21 August 1901.^[2]

Berry farming, dairying, and flower growing became prosperous industries, and tourism soon flourished as the principal industry of Olinda.

In 1919 the Australian artist Sir Arthur Streeton returned to Australia and built a house on the property called Longacres, in Olinda.

The town today

Olinda is home to cafes, restaurants (including the famous German themed Cuckoo Restaurant), antique and craft shops, and numerous art galleries, showcasing local, national, and international artists in such areas as sculpture and painting. It has a public swimming pool, a primary school, and is home to the National Rhododendron Garden and the Olinda State Forest. The Ashendene Boys Home was located in Olinda.

Sport

Together with its neighbouring township Ferny Creek Olinda has an Australian Rules football and netball teams (Olinda-Ferny Creek) competing in the Yarra Valley Mountain District Football League.

Olinda also has a cricket club boasting 5 junior teams from non-competitive to under 16s, 4 senior sides and a veterans team. In past four years the cricket club has won a total of 8 premierships.

Golfers play at the course of the Olinda Golf Club on Olinda Monbulk Road.^[3]

References

1. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Olinda (State Suburb)". 2006 Census QuickStats. http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/LocationSearch?collection=Census&period=2006&areacode=SSC21525&producttype=QuickStats&breadcrumb=PL&action=401. Retrieved 2007-10-01. 
2. ^ Premier Postal History, Post Office List, https://www.premierpostal.com/cgi-bin/wsProd.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=VIC&country=, retrieved 2008-04-11 
3. ^ Golf Select, Olinda, http://www.golfselect.com.au/armchair/courseView.aspx?course_id=680, retrieved 2009-05-11 

External links

• Olinda - Government tourism site

Coordinates: 37°51′22″S 145°21′52″E / 37.85599°S 145.364357°E / -37.85599; 145.364357