The Dandenong Ranges (commonly just the Dandenongs) are a set of low

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...

s in Victoria,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, approximately east of the state capital

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. A minor branch of the

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills. It runs roughl ...

, the Dandenongs consist mostly of rolling

hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit, and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as Mountain, mountains. Hills ...

s, rising to at Mount Dandenong, as well as steeply weathered

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

s and gullies covered in thick

temperate rainforest Temperate rainforests are rainforests with coniferous or Broad-leaved tree, broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive heavy rain. Temperate rainforests occur in oceanic moist regions around the world: the Pacific temperate ...

, predominantly of tall

mountain ash Mountain ash may refer to: * ''Eucalyptus regnans'', the tallest of all flowering plants, native to Australia * Mountain-ashes or rowans, varieties of trees and shrubs in the genus ''Sorbus'' See also

* Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taf, a town ...

trees and dense

fern The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...

y undergrowth. The namesake Dandenong Creek and most of its left-bank tributaries (particularly the

Eumemmerring Creek Eumemmerring Creek is an urban stream, urban creek of the Port Phillip catchment, located in the southeastern Greater Melbourne regions of Victoria, region of the Australian eastern states of Australia, east coast state of Victoria (Australia), ...

) originate from

headwater The headwater of a river or stream is the geographical point of its beginning, specifically where surface runoff water begins to accumulate into a flowing channel of water. A river or stream into which one or many tributary rivers or streams flo ...

s in these mountain ranges. Two of Melbourne's most important storage reservoirs, the Cardinia and Silvan Reservoir, are also located within the Dandenongs. After European settlement in the

Port Phillip Bay Port Phillip ( Kulin: ''Narm-Narm'') or Port Phillip Bay is a horsehead-shaped enclosed bay on the central coast of southern Victoria, Australia. The bay opens into the Bass Strait via a short, narrow channel known as The Rip, and is comple ...

region, the range was used as a major local source of

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

for Melbourne. The ranges were popular with day-trippers from the 1870s onwards. Much of the Dandenongs were protected as

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

lands as early as 1882, and by 1987 these parklands were amalgamated to form the Dandenong Ranges National Park, which was subsequently expanded in 1997. The range receives light to moderate

snowfall Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...

s a few times in most years, frequently between late winter and late spring. Today, the Dandenongs are home to over 100,000 residents and are popular amongst visitors, many of whom stay for the weekend at the various bed & breakfasts throughout the region. The popular

Puffing Billy Railway The Puffing Billy Railway is a Narrow gauge railway, narrow gauge heritage railway in the southern foothills of the Dandenong Ranges in Melbourne, Australia. The railway was one of the five narrow gauge lines of the Victorian Railways, narr ...

, a heritage steam railway, runs through the hills villages of the eastern Dandenong Ranges.

Geology and ecology

The range is the remains of an extinct

volcano A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most oft ...

last active 373 million years ago. It consists predominantly of

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a period (geology), geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era during the Phanerozoic eon (geology), eon, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the preceding Silurian per ...

dacite Dacite () is a volcanic rock formed by rapid solidification of lava that is high in silica and low in alkali metal oxides. It has a fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic texture and is intermediate in composition between andesite and rhyolite. ...

and

rhyodacite Rhyodacite is a volcanic rock intermediate in composition between dacite and rhyolite. It is the extrusive equivalent of those plutonic rocks that are intermediate in composition between monzogranite and granodiorite. Rhyodacites form from rapid ...

. The topography consists of a series of ridges dissected by deeply cut streams. Sheltered gullies in the south of the range are home to temperate rain forest, fern gullies and Mountain Ash forest ''

Eucalyptus regnans ''Eucalyptus regnans'', known variously as mountain ash (in Victoria), giant ash or swamp gum (in Tasmania), or stringy gum, is a species of very tall forest tree that is native to the Australia states of Tasmania and Victoria. It is a straigh ...

'', whereas the drier ridges and exposed northern slopes are covered by dry

sclerophyll Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaves, short Internode (botany), internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is parallel or ...

forest of

stringybark A stringybark can be any of the many ''Eucalyptus'' species which have thick, fibrous bark. Like all eucalypts, stringybarks belong to the family Myrtaceae. In exceptionally fertile locations some stringybark species (in particular messmate strin ...

s and box. The entire range is highly prone to

bushfires A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

, the most recent of which have been the 1983

Ash Wednesday bushfires The Ash Wednesday bushfires, known in South Australia as Ash Wednesday II, were a Bushfires in Australia, series of bushfires that occurred in south-eastern Australia in 1983 on 16 February. Within twelve hours, more than 180 bushfires, fires f ...

, the 1997 Dandenong Ranges bushfires and small fires during the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009. A number of watercourses originate in the Dandenongs, these include: * Cardinia Creek *Clematis Creek * Dandenong Creek *

*Emerald Creek * Ferny Creek *Mast Gully Creek * Menzies Creek *Monbulk Creek *Muddy Creek *Olinda Creek * Sassafras Creek *Sherbrooke Creek *Stringy Bark Creek *Wandin Yallock Creek * Woori Yallock Creek

Waterfalls

*Olinda Falls *Sherbrooke Falls *Griffith Falls

Summits

Wildlife

The Dandenong Ranges are home to a variety of native Australian mammal, bird, reptile and invertebrate species. Well-represented bird species include the Sulfur-crested cockatoo, Superb lyrebird,

Laughing kookaburra The laughing kookaburra (''Dacelo novaeguineae'') is a bird in the kingfisher subfamily Halcyoninae. It is a large robust kingfisher with a whitish head and a brown eye-stripe. The upperparts are mostly dark brown but there is a mottled light ...

, and Crimson Rosella. Mammals include the Short-beaked echidna, Common wombat,

Sugar glider The sugar glider (''Petaurus breviceps'') is a small, omnivorous, arboreal, and nocturnal gliding possum. The common name refers to its predilection for sugary foods such as sap and nectar and its ability to glide through the air, much lik ...

, and Swamp wallaby. Invertebrates include two species of burrowing crayfish.

Climate

The Dandenong Ranges' climate is generally cool and wet, with daily temperature variation generally low, often as low as 1 degree in the winter months. Rainfall is fairly uniform through the year, tending to peak between April and October with lower rainfall during January and February. The mean annual rainfall is between 1000 and 1500 mm, increasing with elevation and from west to east. The elevation means that daytime temperatures are typically 4 to 6 °C cooler than the lower suburbs of

to the wes

with temperatures typically lowering by 1 °C for every of elevation. Due to the elevation, upslope fog is common in the winter months. It is significantly cloudier than Melbourne, particularly in winter due to heavy orographic lifting brought about by cold fronts. Snow typically falls a few times a year above 500 m, mostly between June and October and can be heavy at times. A rare summer snow occurred on Christmas Day 200

The local region has experienced substantial warming in recent decade

and heavy snowfalls which were once common have become rare. The last significant snowfall to affect the Dandenong Ranges was on August 10, 2008, when as much fell at the highest elevations. A

Bureau of Meteorology The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM or BoM) is an executive agency of the Government of Australia, Australian Government that is responsible for providing Weather forecasting, weather forecasts and Meteorology, meteorological services to Australia a ...

br>weather station
sits at an elevation of 513 m in the Ferny Creek Reserve in the southern part of the Dandenong Ranges. This weather station replace
one
that was previously located on the summit of Dunns Hill.

Settlements in the Dandenong Ranges

Around 240,000 people live in and around the Dandenong Ranges, depending on the definition. The following settlements are located in the Dandenongs themselves (72,500~): * Belgrave—3929 * Belgrave Heights—1,500 * Belgrave South—1,500 *

Clematis ''Clematis'' is a genus of about 380 species within the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae. Their garden hybrids and cultivars have been popular among gardeners, beginning with ''Clematis'' 'Jackmanii', a garden staple since 1862; more cultivars ...

—350 *

Emerald Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr., and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991). ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York ...

—6,000 * Ferny Creek—1,500 * Ferntree Gully - 10,000 * Kallista—1,000 * Kalorama—1,100 * Kilsyth—10,000 * Menzies Creek—1,300 *

Monbulk Monbulk is a town in Victoria, Australia, 42 km east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Shire of Yarra Ranges local government area. Monbulk recorded a population of 3,651 at the 2021 census. The town is the h ...

—2,700 * Montrose—6, 500 * Mount Dandenong—1,300 *

Olinda Olinda () is a historic city in Pernambuco, Brazil, in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region. It is located on the country's northeastern Atlantic Ocean coast, in the Recife metropolitan area, Metropolitan Region of Recife, the state ca ...

—1,500 * Sassafras—1,000 *

Selby Selby is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, south of York on the River Ouse. At the 2021 Census, it had a population of 17,193. The town was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire; from 1974 until 2023, ...

—1,400 * Tecoma—2,200 * The Patch—800 *

Upper Ferntree Gully Upper Ferntree Gully is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 32 km east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Knox and Shire of Yarra Ranges local government areas. Upper Ferntree Gully recorded a pop ...

—4,000 * Upwey—6,800 Some settlements located on and around the plateau to the east of the ranges are sometimes included (14,200~): *

Cockatoo A cockatoo is any of the 21 species of parrots belonging to the family Cacatuidae, the only family in the superfamily Cacatuoidea. Along with the Psittacoidea ( true parrots) and the Strigopoidea (large New Zealand parrots), they make up t ...

—4,500 * Gembrook—1,600 *

Macclesfield Macclesfield () is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East, Cheshire, England. It is sited on the River Bollin and the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east; the town lies south of Ma ...

—1,600 *

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

—2,000 * Seville East—600 * Silvan—1,900 * Wandin East—500 * Wandin North—1,600 Settlements in the southern and western foothills are also sometimes included (180,500~): * Western Foothills * The Basin—4,100 *

Boronia ''Boronia'' is a genus of about 160 species of flowering plants in the citrus family Rutaceae. Most are endemic to Australia with a few species in New Caledonia, which were previously placed in the genus ''Boronella''. They occur in all Australi ...

—20,500 * Mount Evelyn—9,100 * Southern Foothills * Endeavour Hills—24,000 * Narre Warren—26,000 * Berwick—47,000 * Narre Warren North—7,700 * Harkaway—849 * Beaconsfield Upper—2,861

History

The ranges are located near the boundary between the

Wurundjeri The Wurundjeri people are an Aboriginal peoples, Aboriginal people of the Woiwurrung language, Woiwurrung language group, in the Kulin nation. They are the traditional owners of the Yarra River Valley, covering much of the present location of ...

and

Bunurong The Boonwurrung, also spelt Bunurong or Bun wurrung, are an Aboriginal people of the Kulin nation, who are the traditional owners of the land from the Werribee River to Wilsons Promontory in the Australian state of Victoria. Their territory ...

people's territories. The two nations were part of the Kulin alliance and were most often on friendly terms. The mountain range, however, was not often frequented by either nations people as mountainous areas were often considered one of many resting places for various spirits. In 1938, the aircraft '' Kyeema'' crashed on the western face of Mount Corhanwarrabul due to heavy fog and poor navigation. Eighteen people died.

Utilities

Transmission towers

There are several large television transmission towers on various summits that were initially constructed to broadcast TV to Central Victoria *Channel 10/Channel 0, 204m high—Mount Corhanwarrabul (628m), (highest frequency) *Channel 9, 131m high—Mount Corhanwarrabul (628m) *Channel 7, 131m high—Mount Corhanwarrabul (628m), this tower is from interesting design, as it is a partially guyed tower, consisting of a free-standing lattice tower as basement and a guyed mast as pinnacle. *Channel 2—Ferny Creek Summit (561m) (lowest frequency) Channel 7, 9 and 10 all transmit from the 204M high ' Ornata Road ' TXA owned tower just to the South of Burke's Lookout. This tower also carries some of Melbourne, Victoria's commercial FM broadcast services. It also carries DAB+ digital radio services. Channel 2 services ( ABC, JJJ, emergency services, Govt owned ) transmit from the 130M high Broadcast Australia ' Eyre Road ' tower. This is an interesting tower in that the base is of four legged, freestanding design, while the upper portion is guyed by two sets of three guy cables. This tower is just to the North of Burke's Lookout. Adjacent to the Broadcast Australia tower, is the TXA ' Eyre Road ' standby tower, capable of transmitting 7, 9, and 10 signals in the event of an Ornata Road transmitter/antenna failure. This tower stands at 130M also and is a conventional four legged freestanding design. About 2 km to the North of this group of three towers, stands the original Channel 9 tower, built in 1956 to a height of 69M. This tower, on Observatory Road and adjacent to the Skyhigh lookout and restaurant now carries only some of Melbourne's commercial FM broadcast channels.

Tourism and attractions

*Scenic drives—popular for many years on the abundance of winding roads throughout the ranges *Picnics—dedicated picnic areas can be found in Fern Tree Gully Picnic Ground or at One Tree Hill or in

Sherbrooke Forest Sherbrooke Forest is a wet sclerophyll forest within Dandenong Ranges National Park, 40 km east of Melbourne, in Victoria, Australia, close to the suburb of Belgrave, Victoria, Belgrave. It lies within an altitude of 220–500 m Height abov ...

. Emerald Lake Park has a variety of pretty picnic spots with electric barbecues, sheltered areas and water activities. This park with landscaped gardens adjoins the historic Nobelius Heritage Park *The various coffee shops and restaurants, bed and breakfasts, craft shops, antique shops and gardens *

—a

narrow-gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curv ...

heritage steam railway, from Belgrave, through to Emerald, Cockatoo and ending at Gembrook *Lookouts & views—There are several locations throughout the ranges that offer excellent views on both sides of the range. On a clear day, features as far as

Mount Macedon Mount Macedon ( ; or ) is a dormant volcano that is part of the Macedon Ranges of the Great Dividing Range, located in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands region of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The mountain has a ...

, the You Yangs and

Port Phillip Port Phillip (Kulin languages, Kulin: ''Narm-Narm'') or Port Phillip Bay is a horsehead-shaped bay#Types, enclosed bay on the central coast of southern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The bay opens into the Bass Strait via a short, ...

can be seen simultaneously *Walking & hiking—various tracks and trails are available at a variety of lengths and difficulties. For example; Four Brothers Rocks near Gembrook, Wright Forest near Cockatoo; The Eastern Dandenong Ranges Trail, which runs through Emerald, Cockatoo to Gembrook has a variety of open scenery and dappled woodland trails and at various stages follows the Puffing Billy railway line Sherbrooke Falls, Sherbrooke * Cycling—the Dandenong Ranges is one of Melbourne's most popular cycling areas. Popular road cycling climbs include the "1 in 20" on the Mountain Highway, "The Wall", a steeper route between

and

, and the also-steep "Devil's Elbow", heading north from

along the Mount Dandenong Tourist Road to Ferny Creek . Also popular for picturesque and leisurely family bike rides is the Eastern Dandenong Ranges Trail, which runs through Emerald, Cockatoo to Gembrook

Regulations

Camping is not permitted within the National Park and fire restrictions may apply during the summer months. There are no rubbish bins in the national parks and visitors must leave with all items that they arrived with. Camping is permitted near Gembrook at Kurth Kiln Regional Park. Please stay informed and be prepared, so as to ensure you have a fun and safe experience. It is important to observe weather conditions and warnings during the bushfire season and follow official recommendations.

Bushfires

Due to the climate of the region, the type of vegetation and the topography, the Dandenong Ranges periodically experience

. Some of the recent occurrences included: *1851—

Black Thursday Black Thursday is a term used to refer to typically negative, notable events that have occurred on a Thursday. It has been used in the following cases: *6 February 1851 – devastating day of bushfires in Victoria, Australia *21 June 1877 execut ...

*1898 *1905 *1913 *1926 *1939 *1962 *1968 *1983—

Ash Wednesday Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christian denominations. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and marks the first day of Lent: the seven weeks of Christian prayer, prayer, Religious fasting#Christianity, fasting and ...

, 27 deaths in the Dandenong ranges *1997—3 deaths in the ranges *2009— Black Saturday, no deaths in the ranges Dandenong Ranges Panorama Annotated

Gallery

File:Monts dandenong, Victoria, Australie.jpg, The 1000 steps File:Puffing billy in action 2003.jpg, Puffing Billy on the Trestle Bridge File:Mtdandenongview2007.jpg, View of Melbourne from the summit of Mount Dandenong File:Melb- Skyline of Melbourne from Mount Dandenong.JPG, View of Melbourne from the summit of Mount Dandenong File:Mt Dandenong Bakharev.JPG, Mount Dandenong as seen from Kilsyth File:Closeup of Mt Dandenong Towers.jpg, Transmission towers on the summit of Mount Corhanwarrabul File:TV_towers_Mt_Dandenong_CH2-7.JPG, Transmission towers. Note that the upper parts of the tower in the background are guyed. File:Closeup of television tower on mount dandenong.jpg, Channel 10 transmission tower File:Channel 9 Transmission Tower Mt Corhanwarrabul.JPG, Channel 9 transmission tower File:Channel 7 Transmission Tower Mt Corhanwarrabul.JPG, Channel 7 transmission tower File:Silvan Reservoir from Kalorama.JPG, The Silvan Reservoir looking east from Kalorama

References

External links

*Accommodation - 1000 Reason
Eastern Dandenong RangesBlue DandenongsParks VictoriaInfo sourced from Knox Historical Society on place names in the area

The dandenongs in colour
{{Authority control Great Dividing Range