Warrandyte/Warrandyte South
Situated on the southern banks of the Yarra River, Warrandyte offers an appealing natural environment that provides the perfect setting for an incredible range of experiences and facilities. The river and hills surrounding the town were once rich in gold and the ruins of mines shafts and tunnels can be found throughout the Warrandyte State Park amongst other locations. Located 24kms north-east of Melbourne’s CBD, its early 1851 gold mining history shows signs of exploiting the Yarra River with a classic example being the tunnel at Pound Bend. Miners blasted a 300m long tunnel through solid rock leaving an astonishing 3.85km of riverbed around Pound Bend exposed, ready to be mined. Home to the ever popular Goldfields Plaza and Street Shops either side of the Main Road, be spoilt for choice via a range of restaurants, plant nurseries, art and crafts galleries, antique shops and museum, or choose from the array of unusual items at the local market (on the 1st Saturday of each month) and gift shops. Take a pleasant stroll along the bush tracks and clear waters of the emerging Yarra River, enjoy a round of golf, follow one of the many bike tracks or explore Warrandyte State Park, which is particularly impressive during the spring wildflower season. Possessing a leafy retreat we all long to escape to, Warrandyte retains much of its past in its surviving buildings of the Colonial period and remains a twin community with North Warrandyte. Well known for its residents’ positive attitude towards the environment, conservation programs run regularly and areas of land small and large have been set aside for conservation or ecological restoration purposes. Renowned for its painters and potters, Warrandyte has a rich and colourful history and holds the annual Warrandyte Festival in mid March. While the central town itself is nestled into a gorge on the river, the suburb covers a reasonably vast area of land and is serviced primarily by the private car; however a bus service runs along the main roads of Ringwood-Warrandyte Rd and Heidelberg-Warrandyte Road. Accommodating premier schooling facilities including Warrandyte High School, Andersons Creek and Warrandyte Primary School, Warrandyte is surrounded by a relaxed, tranquil setting and delivers a versatile array of architectural style including trendy, modern apartment style living, mud brick, western red cedar, farm style housing and acre lifestyle properties to tri-level family homes to capture the spectacular views. If a quiet relaxed lifestyle is what you seek, this is the place for you.
Pic: The Yarra River flowing through Warrandyte.
