Mount Evelyn, Victoria

Mount Evelyn Melbourne, Victoria
Population:	9100 (2006)[1]
Postcode:	3796
Elevation:	188 m (617 ft)
Location:	41 km (25 mi) from Melbourne 5 km (3 mi) from Lilydale 19 km (12 mi) from Belgrave
LGA:	Shire of Yarra Ranges
State District:	Evelyn, Monbulk
Federal Division:	Casey
Suburbs around Mount Evelyn: Lilydale Lilydale Wandin North Lilydale Mount Evelyn Wandin North Montrose Kalorama Silvan

Mount Evelyn is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 37 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Yarra Ranges. At the 2006 Census, Mount Evelyn had a population of 9100.

History

Mount Evelyn railway station mid 1940s. Incorrectly labelled 1920 when reprinted in 1986 to mark the opening of the library

Mount Evelyn nestles in a right-angled bend of the Olinda Creek, a large, permanent creek known originally as Running Creek. Different parts of the current Mount Evelyn area were first known as Olinda Vale, Billygoat Hill, McKillop/Valinda and South Wandin. When the (now closed) railway station was opened in 1901, it was named Olinda Vale. It was renamed Evelyn after the County in which it is centrally placed, possibly as part of an attempt by the Victorian Railways to shorten names of stations. By 1913, local progress association members persuaded the Railways to add the "Mount" to promote visitors to the healthy mountain area (which is the highest point on the railway (now Warburton Trail).

The Post Office opened on 15 February 1904 as Valinda (derived from Olinda Vale). The name was changed to Evelyn (the name of the county) in 1908, then to Mount Evelyn in 1913.^[2]

Most of the soil in the township is grey, nutrient-poor, and rocky, so attempts to farm at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries failed, making Mount Evelyn a treed and desirable dwelling place in the 21st century.

The Town today

The Warburton Trail, a walking and cycling track, runs through Mount Evelyn. The trail runs between Lilydale and Warburton.

The Mount Evelyn Aqueduct Walk is another trail connecting Swansea Road to Hunter Road and the Mount Evelyn Forest (part of the Dandenong Ranges National Park).

Mount Evelyn township is developing a profile as a Learning Town in the Shire of Yarra Ranges and the Mount Evelyn Library's strong community focus has contributed to this profile. The Careers Reference Centre, opened in 2002 as a joint project of Eastern Regional Libraries and Morrison House, is a popular resource offering free careers advice to students and people returning to the workforce.

The town has a volunteer managed website dedicated to the town, Mount Evelyn Online and also a monthly community newspaper, the m2. The views expressed in the website and m2 are not moderated by any process by an elected township group, but are submitted by the groups, associations and individuals from Mount Evelyn and Montrose, thus ensuring community involvement.

The town has an Australian Rules football team competing in the Yarra Valley Mountain District Football League.^[3]

References

1. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Mount Evelyn (State Suburb)". 2006 Census QuickStats. http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/LocationSearch?collection=Census&period=2006&areacode=SSC21479&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. ^ Full Points Footy (^{[dead link]}), Mount Evelyn, http://www.fullpointsfooty.net/Mount_Evelyn.htm, retrieved 2008-07-25 ^{[dead link]}

External links

• Mount Evelyn, Victoria is at coordinates 37°46′59″S 145°23′06″E / 37.783°S 145.385°E / -37.783; 145.385Coordinates: 37°46′59″S 145°23′06″E / 37.783°S 145.385°E / -37.783; 145.385
• Mount Evelyn Meteors Basketball Club
• Mount Evelyn Community Website
• ILoveMtEvelyn
• Summary on Mount Evelyn from Monash University
• Mount Evelyn Forest
• Mount Evelyn Library
• Lilydale to Warburton Rail Trail (Warburton Trail)
• Award winning Mount Evelyn Landscape Design plan
• Mount Evelyn the Learning Town
• Morrison House
• Mount Evelyn Township Improvement Committee (METIC)
• Mount Evelyn Environment Protection and Progress Association (MEEPPA)
• Mount Evelyn branch of the Bendigo Bank
• Evelyn Recycling
• St Mary's Primary School, Mount Evelyn
• Pembroke Secondary College Mount Evelyn Campus
• Mount Evelyn Christian School
• Mount Evelyn mythical (?) bunkers