The Dandenong Ranges (commonly just the Dandenongs) are a set of low mountain ranges in Victoria, Australia, approximately east of the state capital Melbourne. A minor branch of the Great Dividing Range, the Dandenongs consist mostly of rolling hills, rising to 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
thumb|right|250px|[[Sherbrooke Forest]]
thumb|right|250px|Olinda Forest, west of Olinda Falls
The range is the remains of an extinct volcano last active 373 million years ago.
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| Mount Dandenong || 630 || Tallest peak of the Dandenongs || Observatory Road, Mt Dandenong || DANDENONG ECC J survey mark
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| Mount Corhanwarrabul || 612 || Burkes lookout and location of transmission towers || Burkes Lookout Reserve, Eyre Road, Mt Dandenong || contour data
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| Olinda summit || 592 || No official name. Labelled Mt Olinda in older tourist maps. || Range Road, Olinda || contour data
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| Sassafras peak || 538 || No recorded name. || Cooloongatta Road, Sassafras || contour data
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| Dunns Hill || 562 || Location of a number of radio and telephone towers. || One Tree Hill Road, Ferny Creek || contour data
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| One Tree Hill || 500 || || Lord Somers Road, Ferny Creek || contour data
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| Tremont Hill || 395 || No official name. || Tremont Hill Track, Tremont || contour data
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| Chandlers Hill || 405 || || Chandlers Track, Tremont || contour data
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| Johns Hill || 419 || || Johns Hill Reserve, Ridge Road, Kallista || JOHNS HILL ECC 1986 survey mark
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| Black Hill || 374 || || Black Hill Reserve, Two Bays Crescent, Selby || contour data
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| Upwey Hill || 278 || || Belmont Street, Upwey || contour data
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| Lewis Hill || 298 || || Queens Road, Silvan || contour data
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| Nobelius Hill || 320 || || Ambrose Street, Emerald || contour data
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| Mount Morton || 275 || || Chaundy Road, Belgrave South || MORTON ECC A survey mark
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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.
|source 2 = Toolangi (Mount St Leonard DPI, sunshine hours 1965–2001)
|date= August 2024
thumb|Snow in [[Sassafras, Victoria, 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
- 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
thumb|right|250px|The Monbulk Creek Trestle Bridge, part of the [[Puffing Billy Railway]]
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.
In 1938, the aircraft Kyeema crashed on the western face of Mount Corhanwarrabul due to heavy fog and poor navigation. Eighteen people died.
External links
- Accommodation - 1000 Reasons [https://1000reasons.com.au]
- Eastern Dandenong Ranges
- Blue Dandenongs
- Parks Victoria
- Info sourced from Knox Historical Society on place names in the area
- The dandenongs in colour