Kinglake, Victoria

Infobox Australian Place | type = town
name = Kinglake
state = vic


caption =
lga = Shire of Nillumbik
lga2 = Shire of Murrindindi
postcode = 3763
pop = 1482 (2006 Census)
est =
elevation= 600
stategov = Seymour
fedgov = McEwen
dist1 = 57
location1= Melbourne
dist2 = 22
location2= Hurstbridge
near-nw = Flowerdale
near-n = Glenburn
near-ne = Toolangi
near-w = Whittlesea and Yan Yean
near-e = Toolangi
near-sw = St Andrews
near-s = Dixons Creek
near-se = Toolangi

Kinglake is a town in Victoria, Australia. It is in the Shire of Murrindindi local government area and possesses a primary school, which has an oval.

The local Country Fire Authority (CFA) is heavily relied on to protect this country community from potentially deadly bushfires.

Location

Kinglake, comprising forest, farmland, a national park and a township, is situated 65km north east of Melbourne in the Kinglake Ranges, part of the Great Dividing Range. The Kinglake Ranges vary in height from 525m - 610m above sea level. Many areas of Kinglake overlook the Melbourne sky line to the south west and the Yarra Valley wineries to the south. Kinglake is generally 3°C colder than Metropolitan Melbourne with the summers being very pleasant and heavy frosts and occasional snowfalls during winter.

History

Kinglake Post Office opened on 14 May 1883. There was also an office at Kinglake East open from 1914 until 1950. Citation
last = Premier Postal History | title = Post Office List | url = https://www.premierpostal.com/cgi-bin/wsProd.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=VIC&country= | accessdate = 2008-04-11 ]

porting Teams

The local Australian Rules football club, known as 'The Lakers', plays in Division 2 of the Yarra Valley Mountain District Football League.

There is also a representative Basketball team that plays in the VJBL (Victorian Junior Basketball Leagues), under the Kinglake Basketball Club's guidance. These teams are also known as 'The Lakers'. [http://www.kinglake-basketball.com]

Attractions

Kinglake National Park is a popular local attraction and is the closest national park to Melbourne. It has walking tracks for day hikes and camping grounds for overnight stays. Several popular and beautiful picnic areas are available around the perimeter of the national park.

Another pleasant nearby camping and outdoor spot is the Murrindindi nature reserve, running between the township of Toolangi and almost all the way to Yea. Recommended means of entrance is via the Melba Highway, 9km South of Yea. The nature reserve allows the lighting of campfires and contains several waterfalls that can be reached by way of the moderately difficult walking tracks.

Local News

Kinglake has a long history with bushfires when extreme weather conditions exist. The last severe bushfires occurred during the end of January 2006 up until early February 2006, these fires burnt over 1500ha in the few days they were going and the towns of Kinglake East and Kinglake Central were placed on extreme alert. With thanks to the CFA, the DSE Victoria and NSW firefighters this fire was put to a halt. Previous occasions were in 1982/83 season (Ash Wednesday) and during the 1960's. The major fires of 1939 also placed the community at risk with a major ignition point being nearby. 1926 saw major fires in the area with huge community losses with the Post Office being the only building left standing.

Kinglake is also home to the Mountain Monthly

External links