"THE DANDENONG RANGES" a Mount Dandenong Travel Page by tiabunna

From the city area of Melbourne, the hills to the east are not particularly obvious: as with most Australian mountain ranges, they tend to be lowish and rounded. Since public transport (think trains) made them reasonably accessible from the city, back in the 1870s, they have been a popular destination for city dwellers needing a respite from the city.

Over the years, the suburbs have spread to the foot of the ranges, small villages developed, tourism became important, in the 1920s the area became popular with artists. Much of the giant eucalypt forests which once attracted loggers now (thankfully) have been preserved as the Mt Dandenong National Park. With motor cars, tourism in the area became an easy day trip. Houses, mostly hidden by trees, now dot those areas outside the National Park, and gardens proliferate. When we visited, huge rhododendrons (as in the heading photo) were adding additional splashes of colour.

Back in the 1930s, guest houses were popular in Australia. One such guest house, now revitalised as a reception centre, was the venue for our son’s wedding – and that was what brought us back to this charming area, for the first time in many years.