Yarra Ranges National Park
Encyclopedia
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
in 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...
, 92 km east of 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...
. It covers the headwaters of the Yarra River
Yarra River
The Yarra River, originally Birrarung, is a river in east-central Victoria, Australia. The lower stretches of the river is where the city of Melbourne was established in 1835 and today Greater Melbourne dominates and influences the landscape of its lower reaches...
in the ranges themselves and several water catchments for Melbourne's domestic water supply.
Whilst the park was established only in 1995, the area has been protected for a century to protect Melbourne's water. Almost all of the park is closed-off to visitors for this reason, however the park is one of the most popular day trip destinations for Melbourne residents. However, logging occurs in much of the forest, including some of the water catchment areas.
Flora and fauna
The park contains approximately 40 different mammal species, including the endangered Leadbeater's PossumLeadbeater's Possum
Leadbeater's Possum is an endangered possum restricted to small pockets of remaining old growth mountain ash forests in the central highlands of Victoria north-east of Melbourne...
and 120 species of birds. The bird species include the Sooty Owl, Powerful Owl
Powerful Owl
The Powerful Owl , also known as the Powerful Boobok, is a species of owl native to south-eastern and eastern Australia, the largest owl on that continent...
, Barking Owl
Barking Owl
The Barking Owl , also known as the Barking Boobook or Winking Owl, is a nocturnal bird species native to mainland Australia and parts of Papua New Guinea. They are a medium-sized brown owl and have an extremely characteristic voice that can range from a barking dog noise to a shrill woman-like...
, Pink Robin
Pink Robin
The Pink Robin is a small passerine bird native to southeastern Australia. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. Like many brightly coloured robins of the Petroicidae family, it is sexually dimorphic...
, Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo
The Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo is a large cockatoo native to the south-east of Australia measuring 55–65 cm in length. It has a short crest on the top of its head. Its plumage is mostly brownish black and it has prominent yellow cheek patches and a yellow tail band...
, Australian King-Parrot, Grey Goshawk
Grey Goshawk
The Grey Goshawk, Accipiter novaehollandiae, the white morph of which is known as the White Goshawk, is a strongly built, medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae.-Description:...
and Crimson Rosella
Crimson Rosella
The Crimson Rosella is a parrot native to eastern and south eastern Australia which has been introduced to New Zealand and Norfolk Island. It is commonly found in, but not restricted to, mountain forests and gardens. The species as it now stands has subsumed two former separate species, the Yellow...
.
Heritage
As the forest is very dense the area was not particularly favoured by the aboriginalVictorian Aborigines
The Indigenous Australians of Victoria, Australia occupied the land for tens of thousands of years prior to European settlement. According to Gary Presland Aborigines have lived in Victoria for about 40,000 years living a semi-nomadic existence of fishing, hunting and gathering, and farming...
people. The European settlers also found it difficult to access the area. It was eventually settled in 1860 and was seen as a valuable area for timber. Soon after, the area was recognised as a good place for water catchments, so the Maroondah and Upper Yarra dams were built.