Selby is a suburb in

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 ...

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, 37 km east from Melbourne's

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

, located within the

Shire of Yarra Ranges The Shire of Yarra Ranges, also known as Yarra Ranges Council, is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the outer eastern and northeastern suburbs of Melbourne extending into the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges. It has ...

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

. Selby recorded a population of 1,626 at the . The town hosts the second station on the narrow-gauge railway to Gembrook (now the

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 ...

History

The settlement of Selby occurred in conjunction with

Menzies Creek Menzies Creek is a town in Victoria, Australia, 40 km east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Shires of Cardinia and Yarra Ranges local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative div ...

, a short distance to the east. After the

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 ...

railway opened in 1900, the provision of a

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

in May 1904 required a name. Selby was chosen, as a compliment to a local landowner and councillor, George Selby. The post office opened on 1 August 1913, closing in 1994. The land around Selby is particularly hilly, as evidenced by the curves in both the road and the railway. The eastern side of the township is dominated by the steep Black Hill, on which there is a reserve. Whilst the topography put restraints on farming it attracted tourists and weekenders. In the 1920s Selby's weekend population rivalled Belgrave's, but scarcity of subdivided land drew holiday makers and others away from Selby. Some notable Melburnians built homes in Selby, and the Carlotta Tye memorial Anglican church commemorates the wife of Allen Tye, son of George Tye, owner of a Melbourne furniture emporium. Selby's proximity to Belgrave ultimately attracted residential subdivisions, and a primary school was built in 1951. The township has several reserves and is home to the first Neighbourhood House in the area. Sadly the general store has been closed for several years. Following a landslide beyond Selby in 1953, the narrow-gauge railway fell into disuse as a regular railway and was closed the following year, only to be re-opened in 1962 as the current

. Regular trains only stop at Selby if required, but this is rare. Selby's census population rose from 159 in 1933 to 1,652 in 2016. Wildlife abounds in and around Selby. King parrots, galahs, yellow-tailed black cockatoos, black wallabies, echidnas, koalas and wombats are often sighted. Visits from barking owls have been recorded as recently as 2005.

Business

Selby has, amongst other businesses, a medical practice & creative production agency OBG Productions.

Facilities

Selby contains a CFA fire brigade, established in 1926, whose area of primary protection includes the township of Selby, parts of the Dandenong Ranges National Park, farmland, and other areas of bushland both private and public. A new fire station was built on the existing site and opened in 2019 with a Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony by Wurundjeri Elder Uncle Dave Wandin and State Government Minister for Emergency Services, the Hon. James Merlino. It also includes a community house, established in 1975, which offers community development as well as educational, IT services and other community lead courses. Selby Primary School was established in 1951. Puffing Billy and the historic trestle bridge are featured on the school logo. The school population has levelled out around 320 students.

Reserves in Selby

Selby Conservation Reserve, Minak Reserve, Myanook Bushland Reserve, Currajong Avenue Reserve, Selby Park, Black Hill Reserve, Black Hill Parade Reserve.

References

External links

Selby House

Selby Primary School

OBG Productions
{{Shire of Yarra Ranges suburbs Suburbs of Melbourne Suburbs of Yarra Ranges