Maroondah Highway (also known as Whitehorse Road from
Deepdene to
Mitcham
Mitcham is an area within the London Borough of Merton in South London, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross. Originally a village in the county of Surrey, today it is mainly a residential suburb, and includes Mitcham Common. It ...
) is a major east–west thoroughfare in the eastern suburbs of
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metr ...
, and a highway connecting the north-eastern fringes of Melbourne to the lower alpine region of
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seyche ...
,
Australia.
Route
Whitehorse Road/Maroondah Hwy begins as a continuation of Cotham Road at
Burke Road, through the suburbs of
Balwyn and
Deepdene. At this point, it is a typical inner-Melbourne, four lane,
single carriageway
A single carriageway (British English) or Undivided highway (American English) is a road with one, two or more lanes arranged within a one carriageway with no central reservation to separate opposing flows of traffic. A single-track road has a ...
arterial road
An arterial road or arterial thoroughfare is a high-capacity urban road that sits below freeways/motorways on the road hierarchy in terms of traffic flow and speed. The primary function of an arterial road is to deliver traffic from collector ro ...
. The
route 109 tram also runs along this stretch of the road.
The road continues through
Mont Albert, until its intersection with Elgar Road in Box Hill, where the road becomes a four lane
dual carriageway
A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...
with trams running down the central
median strip
The median strip, central reservation, roadway median, or traffic median is the reserved area that separates opposing lanes of traffic on divided roadways such as divided highways, dual carriageways, freeways, and motorways. The term also ap ...
. Burke Road and Elgar Roads being the east and west boundaries of Captain Elgar's original two mile square property. The tram terminates at Market Street, a few blocks further on. It passes through the suburbs of
Blackburn
Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north- ...
,
Nunawading and
Mitcham
Mitcham is an area within the London Borough of Merton in South London, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross. Originally a village in the county of Surrey, today it is mainly a residential suburb, and includes Mitcham Common. It ...
. From
Ringwood Ringwood may refer to:
Places Australia
* Ringwood, New South Wales, in Federation Council area
* Ringwood, Queensland
*Ringwood, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne
** Ringwood railway station, Melbourne
Canada
* Ringwood, Ontario, a hamlet in the ...
, the road is known only as Maroondah Highway and it continues north-east past
Croydon
Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensive ...
towards
Lilydale where it becomes a rural highway. There is a moderately steep and moderately twisty section through forest between
Healesville
Healesville is a town in Victoria, Australia, 52 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district, located within the Shire of Yarra Ranges local government area. Healesville recorded a population of 7,589 in the 2021 census.
...
and Buxton, and the road then continues through farmland all the way through to
Mansfield
Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market t ...
via
Alexandra
Alexandra () is the feminine form of the given name Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "pro ...
and
Bonnie Doon.
History
In the 1850s, Whitehorse Road was built to be the primary route from
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metr ...
to
Gippsland
Gippsland is a rural region that makes up the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains to the rainward (southern) side of the Victorian Alps (the southernmost section of the Great Dividing Range). It cover ...
, a rather circuitous route which went via the
Dandenong Ranges
The Dandenong Ranges (commonly just The Dandenongs) are a set of low mountain ranges, rising to 633 metres at Mount Dandenong, approximately east of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The ranges consist mostly of rolling hills, steeply weathe ...
. Today the primary route is now via the
Monash and
Princes Freeway
Princes Freeway is a Australian freeway, divided into two sections, both located in Victoria, Australia. The freeway links Melbourne to Geelong in the west, and to Morwell in the east. It continues beyond these extremities as the Princes H ...
s.
The road, when first built, was named Three
Chain
A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A ...
Road, due to the road width being wide.
The traffic led to the establishment of a hotel in Box Hill named the White Horse hotel which had been named for a horse belonging to Captain Elgar, a property owner in the area. It is this hotel of which the road obtained its name. However, the hotel was forced to shut its doors in 1921 when Box Hill became a dry area. A replica of the white horse from the roof of the hotel now stands in the median strip of Whitehorse Road, while the restored original is located in the Box Hill Town Hall.
The passing of the ''Highways and Vehicles Act of 1924''
State of Victoria, ''An Act to make further provision with respect to Highways and Country Roads Motor Cars and Traction Engines and for other purposes'' 30 December 1924
/ref> through the Parliament of Victoria
The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria that follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system. It consists of the King, represented by the Governor of Victoria, the Legislative Assembly ...
provided for the declaration of State Highways, roads two-thirds financed by the State government through the Country Roads Board
The Country Roads Board was a government authority responsible for the construction and maintenance of main roads in the state of Victoria, Australia between 1913 and 1983.
History
The Country Roads Board (CRB) was formed to take over responsi ...
(later VicRoads
VicRoads is a government joint venture in the state of Victoria, Australia. In the state, it is responsible for driver licensing and vehicle registration. It is owned and operated through a joint venture between the Victorian government and ...
). The Maroondah Highway was declared a State Highway in the 1947/48 financial year, from Union Road in Surrey Hills via Lilydale, Healesville
Healesville is a town in Victoria, Australia, 52 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district, located within the Shire of Yarra Ranges local government area. Healesville recorded a population of 7,589 in the 2021 census.
...
, Alexandra
Alexandra () is the feminine form of the given name Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "pro ...
, Yarck
Yarck is a town in the upper Goulburn Valley region of Victoria, Australia. The town is in the Shire of Murrindindi and on the Maroondah Highway, north east of the state capital, Melbourne. At the , Yarck and the surrounding area had a popu ...
and Merton to Mansfield
Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market t ...
(for a total of 116 miles); before this declaration, the roads were referred to as (Main) Healesville Road, Healesville-Alexandra Road, Yarck Road and Mansfield Road. The Maroondah Link Highway was later declared in June 1983 along the former Cathkin-Mansfield Road.
The Maroondah Highway was signed as Metropolitan Route 34 between Deepdene and Lilydale in 1965, later extended to Alexandra in 1986, and signed State Route 153 between Yarck and Mansfield in 1986. With Victoria's conversion to the newer alphanumeric system in the late 1990s, Metropolitan Route 34 was truncated back to Lilydale, and replaced by routes B300 between Lilydale and Coldstream, route B360 between Coldstream and Alexandra, C516 between Koriella and Yarck, B300 between Yarck and Maindample, and B320 between Maindample and Mansfield. Maroondah Link Highway was signed State Route 153 between Cathkin and Yarck in 1986, and was later replaced by route B300.
The passing of the ''Road Management Act 2004'' granted the responsibility of overall management and development of Victoria's major arterial roads to VicRoads
VicRoads is a government joint venture in the state of Victoria, Australia. In the state, it is responsible for driver licensing and vehicle registration. It is owned and operated through a joint venture between the Victorian government and ...
: in 2004, VicRoads declared this road as Whitehorse Road (Arterial #5996), beginning from Burke Road in Balwyn and ending at Union Road, Surrey Hills, as Maroondah Highway (Arterial #6720), from Burke Road to where it meets Midland Highway in Manfield (this declaration overlaps the Whitehorse Road declaration in its entirety, where dual-naming is observed on signposts, but confusingly such dual-naming has been signposted as far east as Mitcham Road), and as Maroondah Link Highway (Arterial #6020), from Goulburn Valley Highway in Cathkin to Maroondah Highway in Yarck
Yarck is a town in the upper Goulburn Valley region of Victoria, Australia. The town is in the Shire of Murrindindi and on the Maroondah Highway, north east of the state capital, Melbourne. At the , Yarck and the surrounding area had a popu ...
.
Major intersections and towns
See also
* Highways in Australia
Highways in Australia are generally high capacity roads managed by state and territory government agencies, though Australia's federal government contributes funding for important links between capital cities and major regional centres. Prio ...
* Highways in Victoria
References
{{Road infrastructure in Victoria
Highways and freeways in Melbourne
Streets in Melbourne
Highways in Victoria (Australia)
Transport in the City of Maroondah
Transport in the City of Whitehorse
Transport in the City of Boroondara
Transport in the Shire of Yarra Ranges
Shire of Murrindindi
Shire of Mansfield