Ruffey Lake Park
Encyclopedia
Ruffey Lake Park is a park in the City of Manningham
, Melbourne
, Victoria
, Australia
. It is situated around Ruffey Lake in a portion of a valley through which the Ruffey Creek runs, forming the border between Doncaster
and Templestowe. It has 3 main entrances, Victoria St, The Boulevard and King St. Despite being the second largest park in Manningham
, second to Westerfolds Park, it is the biggest park managed by the City of Manningham
. Formerly orchard
s, the park has a diverse ecology; this includes a riparian strip of native bushland around the creek, areas of pine trees planted by early settlers and pockets of fruit trees remaining from past orchards.
The park is named after Ruffey Creek, a watercourse that runs through the park which was dammed to irrigate the surrounding orchards, forming Ruffey Lake. During the summer, the park hosts the annual Manningham
Carols by Candlelight
.
The Wurundjeri
descendents in the area still have a strong association with Westerfolds Park at Templestowe.
s are distributed throughout the park. There are 2 playgrounds in Ruffey Lake Park; near the Boulevard and Victoria St entrances. In the last 10 years facilities have been upgraded, predominantly the playgrounds, especially the Victoria Street adventure playground. There are sealed pathways giving access to almost every area of the park. These are of standard width and in relatively good condition but do not host dividing lines. The north-west area of the park has fewer facilities.
The Victoria St entrance is the unofficial main entrance to the park. It hosts a 3 storey adventure playground with swings, slides, ladders, a sandpit, a flying fox, a 4 storey dome with stairs and ladders and more. There are also barbecues, Upgraded(Winter 2011) new Unisex toilets, drinking fountains, maps of the park and an shelters with seating. Concrete tiles on pathways details sponsors and donators to the facilities. A new area for food/drink vendor parking inside the park has been added at the end of the lower carpark.
located near the Victoria Street entrance which is a popular spot for bouldering
with cliff faces 5-10m high.
City of Manningham
The City of Manningham is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the northeastern suburbs of Melbourne. The total population is 118,544 , divided up into 10 suburbs, the largest being Doncaster and Templestowe, over an area of 113 square kilometres.The district spans a...
, 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...
. It is situated around Ruffey Lake in a portion of a valley through which the Ruffey Creek runs, forming the border between Doncaster
Doncaster
Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...
and Templestowe. It has 3 main entrances, Victoria St, The Boulevard and King St. Despite being the second largest park in Manningham
City of Manningham
The City of Manningham is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the northeastern suburbs of Melbourne. The total population is 118,544 , divided up into 10 suburbs, the largest being Doncaster and Templestowe, over an area of 113 square kilometres.The district spans a...
, second to Westerfolds Park, it is the biggest park managed by the City of Manningham
City of Manningham
The City of Manningham is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the northeastern suburbs of Melbourne. The total population is 118,544 , divided up into 10 suburbs, the largest being Doncaster and Templestowe, over an area of 113 square kilometres.The district spans a...
. Formerly orchard
Orchard
An orchard is an intentional planting of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit or nut-producing trees which are grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of large gardens, where they serve an aesthetic as well as a productive...
s, the park has a diverse ecology; this includes a riparian strip of native bushland around the creek, areas of pine trees planted by early settlers and pockets of fruit trees remaining from past orchards.
The park is named after Ruffey Creek, a watercourse that runs through the park which was dammed to irrigate the surrounding orchards, forming Ruffey Lake. During the summer, the park hosts the annual Manningham
City of Manningham
The City of Manningham is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the northeastern suburbs of Melbourne. The total population is 118,544 , divided up into 10 suburbs, the largest being Doncaster and Templestowe, over an area of 113 square kilometres.The district spans a...
Carols by Candlelight
Carols by Candlelight
Carols by Candlelight is an Australian Christmas tradition that originated in southeastern Australia in the 19th century and was popularised in Melbourne in the 1930s. The tradition has since spread around the world. It involves people gathering, usually outdoors in a park, to sing carols by...
.
History
After European settlement, the native bushland was cleared for orchards and in 1966 the then City of Doncaster and Templestowe Council purchased land for open space use. Ruffey Creek was dammed in the mid 90's creating Ruffey Lake. Today, the creek and lake serve as storm water drainage basins, rubbish dropped on the streets regularly flows down the creek and there are waste catchers deployed in the lake itself to catch some of this pollution.The Wurundjeri
Wurundjeri
The Wurundjeri are a people of the Indigenous Australian nation of the Woiwurrung language group, in the Kulin alliance, who occupy the Birrarung Valley, its tributaries and the present location of Melbourne, Australia...
descendents in the area still have a strong association with Westerfolds Park at Templestowe.
Facilities
The park has 3 toilet blocks with separate male/female sections. Electric barbecueBarbecue
Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...
s are distributed throughout the park. There are 2 playgrounds in Ruffey Lake Park; near the Boulevard and Victoria St entrances. In the last 10 years facilities have been upgraded, predominantly the playgrounds, especially the Victoria Street adventure playground. There are sealed pathways giving access to almost every area of the park. These are of standard width and in relatively good condition but do not host dividing lines. The north-west area of the park has fewer facilities.
Victoria St Entrance
The Boulevard Entrance
The Boulevard entrance is mainly used by local residents. The playground is surrounded by a hilly area and is smaller than Victoria St but is still in good condition. It contains slides, swings, ladders, monkey bars, a flat area to play footy or soccer and more. It has resources such as barbecues, toilets, a map of the park, drinking fountains and an undercover seating area. The playground is sometimes visited by an ice-cream truck. In the summer, the area around this entrance hosts the Manningham Multicultural Festival in November, Manningham Carols by Candlelight in December and The Iranian Fire Festival in March.Other features
Just to the south of the lake is a hill used by BMX entusists with many small tracks and a range of jumps, some very dangerous. There is a small, old quarryQuarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
located near the Victoria Street entrance which is a popular spot for bouldering
Bouldering
Bouldering is a style of rock climbing undertaken without a rope and normally limited to very short climbs over a crash pad so that a fall will not result in serious injury. It is typically practiced on large natural boulders or artificial boulders in gyms and outdoor urban areas...
with cliff faces 5-10m high.
Regulations
| Doing | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Having dog within 15m of a playground. | $100 |
| Littering | $500 |
| Not picking up after dog | $100 |
| Feeding ducks in lake | $100 |
See also
- Melbourne parks and gardensMelbourne parks and gardensMelbourne is considered to be Australia's garden city, and Victoria as the Garden State. There is an abundance of parks and gardens close to the CBD with a variety of common and rare plant species amid landscaped vistas, pedestrian pathways, and tree lined avenues...
- City of ManninghamCity of ManninghamThe City of Manningham is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the northeastern suburbs of Melbourne. The total population is 118,544 , divided up into 10 suburbs, the largest being Doncaster and Templestowe, over an area of 113 square kilometres.The district spans a...
- Ruffey Creek TrailRuffey Creek TrailThe Ruffey Creek Trail is a shared use path for cyclists and pedestrians, which follows Ruffey Creek in the inner eastern suburbs of Templestowe and Doncaster in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.Platypus are known to live in the creek.-Following the Path:...