Monbulk, Victoria

Monbulk is a town located 42 km east of Melbourne, and south of the Silvan Reservoir, with a population of 3577 as of the 2016 Australian Census. The town's local government area is the Shire of Yarra Ranges.

Monbulk
Melbourne, Victoria
Monbulk
Coordinates37.878°S 145.411°E / -37.878; 145.411
Population3,577 (2016 census)[1]
Postcode(s)3793
Elevation265 m (869 ft)
Location
LGA(s)Shire of Yarra Ranges
State electorate(s)Monbulk
Federal Division(s)Casey
Suburbs around Monbulk:
Olinda Silvan Macclesfield
Olinda Monbulk Macclesfield
Kallista The Patch Emerald

The town is the home of Monbulk Cricket Club and Monbulk Football Club.

History

Originally referred to as the Dandenong Forest Village Settlement, the town was established in 1893, and comprised 76 farms across 10-acres or 40,000m2. The town's name is believed to have been derived from the local aboriginal people, the Wurundjer, and the word Monbolok or Monbolac, which translates as “hiding place in the hills” or “sanctuary in the hills”.[2] When the Parish of Monbulk was established, the town's name was changed to what it is today. The towns abundance of rich fertile soils led to the foundation of a number farms and orchards, growing fruits and vegetables, as well as cut flowers. A number of businesses took advantage of the rich soils, and focused their production on jams and preserves, such as the Monbulk Jam Factory, established in 1897. [3]

The town's first school, Monbulk Primary School was established in 1897, and by 1906 three churches had been built in the town. The town has been affected by bushfires throughout its history, with the Monbulk Primary School razed by fire in 1913. [4] The town was again affected by bushfires in 1944. [5] The town continued to grow throughout the later half of the 20th Century, growing from a post-war population of 781 in 1947, to 3,577 people at the most recent census. The town continues to be a centre of agricultural activity, with the nursery production and floriculture production industries both representing the two most common industries of employment for residents of Monbulk as of 2016.[6] In the 1950s, Ivan Southall, built a house at Blackwood Farm, on Old Emerald Road, Monbulk. His children's’ novels Ash Road and Hills End were written there and set in the area.[7]

Economy

Monbulk is one of the many towns of the Yarra Ranges that is known for its agricultural production. Most notably, the town's two largest sources of employment are in nursery production and floriculture production. Monbulk is also the location of the headquarters and growing facilities for Australia's largest online nursery and mail order garden supplier, Garden Express.[8] The state's oldest wholesale flower company in continual operation, Tesselaar Flowers, is also located in Monbulk.[9]

Geography

Monbulk is located 42 kilometres east of Melbourne, 7 kilometres north-east of Belgrave and 7 kilometres south-east of Mount Dandenong. Monbulk shares a border with Silvan to the north, Macclesfield to the east, Olinda to the west, and The Patch and Kallista to the south. The soils found in Monbulk are highly regarded for their drainage ability and low erodibility.[10]

Climate

Monbulk experiences a warm summer Temperate climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb) and receives an average rainfall higher than that of nearby Melbourne.

Climate data for Monbulk, Victoria
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 26.3
(79.3)		 26.8
(80.2)		 24.3
(75.7)		 20.2
(68.4)		 16.5
(61.7)		 13.7
(56.7)		 13.1
(55.6)		 14.4
(57.9)		 16.6
(61.9)		 19.3
(66.7)		 21.7
(71.1)		 24.2
(75.6)		 19.8
(67.6)
Average low °C (°F) 13.6
(56.5)		 14.1
(57.4)		 12.7
(54.9)		 10.2
(50.4)		 8.4
(47.1)		 6.5
(43.7)		 6.0
(42.8)		 6.5
(43.7)		 7.8
(46.0)		 8.9
(48.0)		 10.6
(51.1)		 12.1
(53.8)		 9.8
(49.6)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 52.4
(2.06)		 53.5
(2.11)		 52.8
(2.08)		 67.4
(2.65)		 87.4
(3.44)		 70.3
(2.77)		 73.2
(2.88)		 79.8
(3.14)		 84.4
(3.32)		 84.5
(3.33)		 81.0
(3.19)		 73.5
(2.89)		 71.68
(2.82)
Source: [11]

Monbulk Jam

Established in 1897, the Monbulk Co-operative Fruitgrowers’ Association was one of the most successful fruits and preserves company in the area, with the jams produced by the company becoming a common household item through much of the 20th century.[12] Co-founded by Daniel Camm, the co-operative constructed their own pulping and tinning facilities, to overcome issues with transporting raw product over the ranges and into Melbourne. The jams produced by the company were used during World War Two, after the company secured a contract to supply the armed forces of both Australia and Britain.[13]

By the 1970s, the company was producing more than 5 million kilograms of jam per year, at which point the ownership of the company exchanged hands, eventually transferring to the Shepparton Fruit Preserving Company. The factory in Monbulk was eventually closed in 1991.[14]

gollark: People dislike JS?
gollark: However, Elm/F#/OCaml can be compiled to moderately sane JS.
gollark: I don't think it gets much practical use because you get a giant several megabyte blob for WASM.
gollark: Rust's wasm_bindgen stuff.
gollark: … yes? Repeatedly?

See also

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Monbulk (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  2. "A taste of Monbulk's food history". The National Museum Australia. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  3. "Monbulk, Victorian Places". Victorian Places. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  4. Lovell, G. A. (14 February 1913). "Bush Fire at Monbulk". Box Hill: The Reporter. p. 7. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  5. Rick, Houlihan (September 2009). "Major Bushfires in Yarra Ranges Region" (PDF). Yarra Waterways Group. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  6. "2016 Census QuickStats". Census QuickStats. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  7. https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/230843713
  8. "Garden Express Australia - About Us". Garden Express. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  9. Schlennstedt, Derek (7 May 2019). "Flower failure". Mt Evelyn Mail. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  10. "Melbourne soils". Agriculture Victoria. June 1996. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  11. "Monbulk climate, averages and extreme weather record". MLA Australia. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  12. "Monbulk Jam". State Library of Victoria. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  13. Patch Pioneers - Oral Histories (2 ed.). Monbulk Historical Society. 2004.
  14. Jenkins, Dorothy. A Century of Monbulk Jam. Monbulk Historical Society. ISBN 1875301321.


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