Dandenong Ranges

{{For|other uses of the name Dandenong|Dandenong (disambiguation)}}

{{More citations needed|date=April 2022}}{{Infobox mountain

| name = Dandenong Ranges

| other_name = Corhanwarrabul, The Dandenongs

| photo = Mt Dandenong from Mooroolbark.jpg

| photo_size = 275

| photo_caption = Left - Mount Dandenong and right - Mount Corhanwarrabul, viewed from Mooroolbark

| country = Australia

| subdivision2_type = State

| subdivision2 = Victoria

| parent = Great Dividing Range

| geology = {{hlist|Igneous|Sedimentary|Metamorphic}}

| age = Devonian

| orogeny =

| length_km = 50

| width_km = 10

| area_km2 =

| length_orientation = N-S

| width_orientation = E-W

| length_ref =

| width_ref =

| area_ref =

| range_coordinates = {{coord|37|50|08|S|145|21|33|E|type:mountain|format=dms|display=inline,title}}

| range_coordinates_ref =

| highest = Mount Dandenong

| elevation_m = 633

| coordinates = {{coord|37|49|38|S|145|21|10|E|region:AU_type:mountain_source:vicnames_type:mountain|display=inline}}

| map = Australia Victoria

| map_size = 275

| map_alt =

| map_caption = Location of the Dandenong Ranges in Victoria

| map_relief =

}}

The Dandenong Ranges (commonly just The Dandenongs) are a set of low mountain ranges in Victoria, Australia, approximately {{cvt|35|km|mi|0}} east of the state capital Melbourne. A minor branch of the Great Dividing Range, the Dandenongs consist mostly of rolling hills, rising to {{cvt|633|m}} at Mount Dandenong, as well as steeply weathered valleys and gullies covered in thick temperate rainforest, predominantly of tall mountain ash trees and dense ferny undergrowth. The namesake Dandenong Creek and most of its left-bank tributaries (particularly the Eumemmerring Creek) originate from headwaters 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 region, the range was used as a major local source of timber for Melbourne. The ranges were popular with day-trippers from the 1870s onwards. Much of the Dandenongs were protected as parklands 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 snowfalls 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, a heritage steam railway, runs through the hills villages of the eastern Dandenong Ranges.

Geology and ecology

File:Sherbrooke Forest Dandenong Ranges.JPG]]

File:Olinda Forest.JPG

The range is the remains of an extinct volcano last active 373 million years ago. It consists predominantly of Devonian dacite and rhyodacite.

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, whereas the drier ridges and exposed northern slopes are covered by dry sclerophyll forest of stringybarks and box. The entire range is highly prone to bushfires, the most recent of which have been the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires, 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
Eumemmerring 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=

File:Closeup of Mt Dandenong Towers.jpg

scope="col" \| Summit Name ! scope="col" \| Height (m) ! scope="col" class="unsortable" \| Comments ! scope="col" class="unsortable" \| Location ! scope="col" class="unsortable" \| Source{{efn\|Survey mark and counter data has been accessed from the State of Victoria Land and Survey Spatial Informationhttps://maps.land.vic.gov.au/lassi/ Land and Survey Spatial Information, State of Victoria (Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning). Accessed 15 June 2020.}}
class="wikitable sortable" \|+ Sortable table
Mount Dandenong	630	Tallest peak of the Dandenongs	Observatory Road, Mt Dandenong	DANDENONG ECC J survey mark
Mount Corhanwarrabul	612	Burkes lookout and location of transmission towers	Burkes Lookout Reserve, Eyre Road, Mt Dandenong	contour data
Olinda summit	592	No official name. Labelled Mt Olinda in older tourist maps.	Range Road, Olinda	contour data
Sassafras peak	538	No recorded name.	Cooloongatta Road, Sassafras	contour data
Dunns Hill	562	Location of a number of radio and telephone towers.	One Tree Hill Road, Ferny Creek	contour data
One Tree Hill	500		Lord Somers Road, Ferny Creek	contour data
Tremont Hill	395	No official name.	Tremont Hill Track, Tremont	contour data
Chandlers Hill	405		Chandlers Track, Tremont	contour data
Johns Hill	419		Johns Hill Reserve, Ridge Road, Kallista	JOHNS HILL ECC 1986 survey mark
Black Hill	374		Black Hill Reserve, Two Bays Crescent, Selby	contour data
Upwey Hill	278		Belmont Street, Upwey	contour data
Lewis Hill	298		Queens Road, Silvan	contour data
Nobelius Hill	320		Ambrose Street, Emerald	contour data
Mount Morton	275		Chaundy Road, Belgrave South	MORTON ECC A survey mark

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, and Crimson Rosella. Mammals include the Short-beaked echidna, Common wombat, Sugar glider, 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 Melbourne to the west [http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_086071.shtml], with temperatures typically lowering by 1 °C for every {{convert|120|m|}} 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 2006 [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Christmassnow2.jpg]. The local region has experienced substantial warming in recent decades [https://web.archive.org/web/20120925193152/http://www.bom.gov.au/web01/ncc/www/cli_chg/timeseries/tmean/0112/vic/latest.gif] 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 {{convert|15|cm|in|1|abbr=on}} fell at the highest elevations.

A Bureau of Meteorology [http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDV60901/IDV60901.94872.shtml 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 replaced [http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_086372_All.shtml one] that was previously located on the summit of Dunns Hill.

{{Weather box|width=auto

|collapsed =

|location = Mount Dandenong GTV9 (1968−1986, rainfall to 2007); 600 m AMSL; 37.83° S, 145.35° E

|metric first = yes

|single line = yes

|Jan record high C = 37.3

|Feb record high C = 39.3

|Mar record high C = 33.6

|Apr record high C = 28.0

|May record high C = 20.3

|Jun record high C = 15.0

|Jul record high C = 16.0

|Aug record high C = 20.0

|Sep record high C = 22.7

|Oct record high C = 28.7

|Nov record high C = 33.2

|Dec record high C = 36.2

|year record high C =

|Jan high C = 22.1

|Feb high C = 22.9

|Mar high C = 19.7

|Apr high C = 15.4

|May high C = 11.7

|Jun high C = 8.8

|Jul high C = 8.2

|Aug high C = 9.6

|Sep high C = 11.6

|Oct high C = 14.8

|Nov high C = 17.3

|Dec high C = 19.9

|year high C =

|Jan low C = 11.5

|Feb low C = 12.6

|Mar low C = 11.3

|Apr low C = 9.0

|May low C = 6.9

|Jun low C = 4.4

|Jul low C = 3.6

|Aug low C = 4.2

|Sep low C = 5.0

|Oct low C = 6.8

|Nov low C = 8.3

|Dec low C = 9.8

|year low C =

|Jan record low C = 4.0

|Feb record low C = 4.7

|Mar record low C = 3.7

|Apr record low C = 0.7

|May record low C = -0.4

|Jun record low C = -1.0

|Jul record low C = -2.3

|Aug record low C = -2.0

|Sep record low C = -1.8

|Oct record low C = -0.6

|Nov record low C = 0.5

|Dec record low C = 2.3

|year record low C =

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 70.2

|Feb precipitation mm = 61.2

|Mar precipitation mm = 74.6

|Apr precipitation mm = 102.0

|May precipitation mm = 129.6

|Jun precipitation mm = 98.4

|Jul precipitation mm = 95.5

|Aug precipitation mm = 116.8

|Sep precipitation mm = 106.0

|Oct precipitation mm = 104.8

|Nov precipitation mm = 109.4

|Dec precipitation mm = 95.7

|year precipitation mm = 1165.9

|Jan precipitation days = 12.1

|Feb precipitation days = 8.4

|Mar precipitation days = 12.4

|Apr precipitation days = 13.7

|May precipitation days = 18.2

|Jun precipitation days = 17.8

|Jul precipitation days = 20.0

|Aug precipitation days = 19.7

|Sep precipitation days = 17.5

|Oct precipitation days = 16.5

|Nov precipitation days = 15.2

|Dec precipitation days = 12.9

|year precipitation days =

|Jan sun = 232.5

|Feb sun = 217.5

|Mar sun = 189.1

|Apr sun = 150.0

|May sun = 102.3

|Jun sun = 78.0

|Jul sun = 83.7

|Aug sun = 105.4

|Sep sun = 126.0

|Oct sun = 170.5

|Nov sun = 189.0

|Dec sun = 198.4

|source 1 = Mount Dandenong GTV9 (temperatures and rainfall, 1968–2007){{cite web

| url = http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_086243_All.shtml

| publisher = Bureau of Meteorology |title = Climate statistics for Mt Dandenong |accessdate = 25 August 2024}}

|source 2 = Toolangi (Mount St Leonard DPI, sunshine hours 1965–2001){{cite web

| url = http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_086142_All.shtml

| publisher = Bureau of Meteorology |title = Sun hours from Toolangi |accessdate = 25 August 2024}}

|date= August 2024

}}

File:Snow in Sassafrass, Victoria, Australia, August 10, 2008.jpg, Australia, August 10, 2008]]

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{{Cite web|title=2016 Census QuickStats: Belgrave|url=https://quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/quickstat/SSC20187|access-date=2020-06-03|website=quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au|language=en}}
Belgrave Heights—1,500
Belgrave South—1,500
Clematis—350
Emerald—6,000
Ferny Creek—1,500
Ferntree Gully - 10,000
Kallista—1,000
Kalorama—1,100
Kilsyth—10,000
Menzies Creek—1,300
Monbulk—2,700
Montrose—6, 500
Mount Dandenong—1,300
Olinda—1,500
Sassafras—1,000
Selby—1,400
Tecoma—2,200
The Patch—800
Upper Ferntree Gully—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—4,500
Gembrook—1,600
Macclesfield—1,600
Seville—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—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

Image:Monbulk Creek Trestle Bridge.JPG]]

The ranges are located near the boundary between the Wurundjeri and Bunurong 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.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}}

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. 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
Puffing Billy Railway—a narrow-gauge 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, the You Yangs and Port Phillip 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 Monbulk and Olinda, and the also-steep "Devil's Elbow", heading north from Upper Ferntree Gully 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 bushfires. Some of the recent occurrences included:

1851—Black Thursday
1898
1905
1913
1926
1939
1962
1968
1983—Ash Wednesday, 27 deaths in the Dandenong ranges
1997—3 deaths in the ranges
2009—Black Saturday, no deaths in the ranges

File:Dandenong Ranges Panorama Annotated.PNG looking east over Doncaster Hill, through smoke haze after the Black Saturday bushfires]]

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

{{Reflist|refs=

{{cite web | url = http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_086372_All.shtml

| title = Climate statistics for Australian locations - Dunns Hill

| publisher = Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology | access-date = 2017-09-24}}

{{cite book|author=Birch, William D.|title=Volcanoes in Victoria|publisher=Royal Society of Victoria

| year=1994|isbn=0730606279}}

{{cite web | url = http://www.casa.gov.au/fsa/1998/nov/kyeema.pdf

| title = The Crash of Kyeema | publisher = Flight safety Australia

| date = November 1998 | access-date = 2017-09-24

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070929093248/http://www.casa.gov.au/fsa/1998/nov/kyeema.pdf

| archive-date = 2007-09-29}}

}}

External links

Accommodation - 1000 Reasons [https://1000reasons.com.au]
[https://easterndandenongranges.com/ Eastern Dandenong Ranges]
[http://www.bluedandenongs.com.au/ Blue Dandenongs]
[http://www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/ Parks Victoria]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20120317155105/http://www.rlcnews.org.au/stories/european_settlement/name_origins_of_places_in_rowville_and_lysterfield.php Info sourced from Knox Historical Society on place names in the area]
[http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/21833643 The dandenongs in colour]

Category:Great Dividing Range