Olinda is a suburb in Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

, Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, 36 km east from Melbourne's central business district

Melbourne city centre

Melbourne City Centre is an area of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. It is not to be confused with the larger local government area of the City of Melbourne...

. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Yarra Ranges

Shire of Yarra Ranges

The Yarra Ranges Shire 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...

. At the 2006 Census, Olinda had a population of 1568.

History

Olinda is named after Olinda Creek, which begins in the township. The creek was named in 1858 after Alice Olinda Hodgkinson, the daughter of Clement Hodgkinson

Clement Hodgkinson

Clement Hodgkinson was a notable English naturalist, explorer and surveyor of Australia. He was Victorian Assistant Commissioner of Crown Lands and Survey from 1861 to 1874.- Exploration in New South Wales :...

, Victoria's acting Surveyor General

Surveyor General

The Surveyor General is an official responsible for government surveying in a specific country or territory. Originally this would often have been a military appointment, but is now more likely to be a civilian post....

. The town was initially a logging

Logging

Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...

 settlement, however as land was made available for horticulture

Horticulture

Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...

 in the early 1900s, the town began to grow substantially. The Post Office opened on 21 August 1901.

Berry farming, dairying, and flower growing became prosperous industries, and tourism soon flourished as the principal industry of Olinda.

In 1919 the Australian artist Sir Arthur Streeton

Arthur Streeton

Sir Arthur Ernest Streeton was an Australian landscape painter.-Early life:Streeton was born in Mount Duneed, near Geelong, and his family moved to Richmond in 1874. In 1882, Streeton commenced art studies with G. F. Folingsby at the National Gallery School.Streeton was influenced by French...

 returned to Australia and built a house on the property called Longacres, in Olinda.

The town today

Olinda is home to cafes, restaurants (including the famous German themed Cuckoo Restaurant), antique and craft shops, and numerous art galleries, showcasing local, national, and international artists in such areas as sculpture

Sculpture

Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...

 and painting

Painting

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...

. It has a public swimming pool, a primary school, and is home to the National Rhododendron Garden

National Rhododendron Garden

The National Rhododendron Gardens are situated in the township of Olinda, Victoria, Australia, less than 5 minutes from the centre of town.In 1960, members of the then Ferny Creek Horticultural Society, started another group known as the Australian Rhododendron Society...

 and the Olinda State Forest. The Ashendene Boys Home

Ashendene Boys Home

Ashendene Boys Home was an Australian youth training facility located in Olinda, Victoria, Australia.-References:...

 was located in Olinda.

Sport

Together with its neighbouring township Ferny Creek

Ferny Creek, Victoria

Ferny Creek is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 33 km south-east of Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Yarra Ranges. At the 2006 Census, Ferny Creek had a population of 1536....

 Olinda has an Australian Rules football and netball teams (Olinda-Ferny Creek) competing in the Yarra Valley Mountain District Football League

Yarra Valley Mountain District Football League

The Yarra Valley Mountain District Football League is an Australian rules football and netball competition based in Victoria to the east and northeast of Melbourne.-History:...

.

Olinda also has a cricket club boasting 5 junior teams from non-competitive to under 16s, 4 senior sides and a veterans team. In past four years the cricket club has won a total of 8 premierships.

Golfers play at the course of the Olinda Golf Club on Olinda Monbulk Road.

External links

• Olinda - Government tourism site