Yarra Flats Park

Visitor Guide

Yarra Flats Park features 85 hectares of pastoral and heritage landscapes, natural bushland, wetlands, abundant birdlife and a number of informal picnic areas.

Access to the park

Pedestrian and cyclist access is available from various points in the park at all times. Vehicle entry is available from The Boulevard, East Ivanhoe (Melway 32 B6). Car park gates are open 6am to 6pm, extending to 9pm during daylight savings.

Dogs are permitted in the park but must remain on a leash at all times. Dogs are not permitted within the (fenced) Annulus Billabong Wildlife Sanctuary.

Facilities and Activities

There is a wood barbecue, picnic tables and shelters located near the car park. Fires are permitted only in the barbecue provided, and you are welcome to bring your own small gas barbecue.

The toilet block at Yarra Flats Park is wheelchair accessible.

Along the Main Yarra Trail is the Heidelberg School Artists Trail, which illustrates how artists a century ago (such as Condor, McCubbin and Streeton) interpreted the landscape. Many of these works are now recognised as National Treasures.

History

The Yarra Flats areas was a popular site for Aboriginal gatherings of the Wurundjeri people up until the 1950’s. From the 1830s the land was claimed by the state and sold as prime agricultural land. The fertile soils provided excellent conditions for growing wheat and barley.

Droughts and floods in the 1860s forced many farmers off the land and dairy farms were then established. Yarra Flats Park comprised land that was originally the properties of the Charterisville and Hartlands estate, built in the 1800s. A hawthorn hedgerow planted to define the common boundary remains today. Chinese market gardeners built bluestone walls to divert river water into their gardens. In 1934, floods wiped out the gardens, but the walls remain as reminders of this land practice. The last dairy farmers were the Flemming brothers who sold their land to the state government in the 1970s. Yarra Flats Park was officially opened in 1984 and is now a significant part of the open space network of interconnecting linear parks, trails, wetlands and waterways throughout the metropolitan area.

Flora and Fauna

Most of the Yarra Flats area is classed as ‘Riparian Floodplain Woodland’ particularly featuring River Red Gum and wetlands. At the billabong in the Annulus Wildlife Sanctuary, a chorus of local frog

species can be heard. Billabongs dry out occasionally as part of their natural cycle. Native birds such as the Azure Kingfisher have been sighted

here and play a crucial role controlling native insect populations in the trees. Keep a sharp eye out at dusk and you may get a glimpse of our local bat species. After dark, keep a watch out for possums and owls.

Groups

Organised events or groups of 100 people or more require a permit from Parks Victoria. Permits detail park regulations and guide appropriate activities.

Updated May 2011

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For further information

Parks Victoria Information Centre

Call 13 1963

or visit the Parks Victoria website www.parkweb.vic.gov.au

Caring for the

environment Help us look after your park by following these guidelines: Please take rubbish away with you for recycling & disposal All native plants & animals

are protected by law.


LOCALITY MAP YARRA VALLEY PARKLANDS

PRESTON

NORTHCOTE

KEW

BULLEEN

LOWER PLENTY

Rd

YARRA FLATS

0 1.5 3

Kilometres

Please do not disturb them

in any way Dogs are permitted in the park (except the Annulus Wildlife Sanctuary), but must be kept on

a leash at all times Portable gas barbeques are

allowed No fires, including barbeques, may be lit on a day of Total Fire

Ban


MELBOURNE

Main Yarra Trail to Westerfolds Park

BANKSIA PARK


BOX HILL

Entrance (Banksia Park)

ENTRANCE

Annulus Wildlife Sanctuary

Yarra Flats

Major Road Minor Road

Healthy Parks Healthy People Visiting a park can improve your health, mind, body and soul. So, with over four million hectares of parkland available to Victorians, why not escape

to a park today!

Main Yarra Trail to the City

Wetland

Chinese bluestone walls used for damming Yarra to irrigate crops.


Bolin Bolin Billabong


Multi-Purpose Track Park Boundary

Car Park Water Body Picnic Area Barbecues Shelter Information

Disabled Toilets Toilets

Bird Watching Cycling Track Walking Track No Dogs Allowed

0 125


250

Metres

Cartography by Parks Victoria Mapping Systems, March 2000 J:/Mapping/Parknotes/Yarra/ YarraFlats/YarraFlats.wor