VICRail & telegraph
Ferntree Gully
A fern-filled gully drew the day trippers, and the railway followed.
1889Railway from Ringwood opens
WHAT STARTED IT
Selectors settled at the foot of the Dandenong Ranges, where a gully of tree ferns became a popular excursion spot in the 1870s. The railway from Ringwood opened in 1889, making the township the gateway to the ranges.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
The gully was reserved for public use in 1882 and became a national park in 1927, while guesthouses and boarding houses served tourists. Cheap land on the plains below filled with postwar housing, and in 1963 the shire was split between hills and plains.
TURNING POINTS
1889The Shire of Fern Tree Gully is proclaimed on 30 May; the railway from Ringwood opens on 3 December.
1900A narrow-gauge line climbs from Upper Fern Tree Gully into the ranges.
1927The gully reserve becomes a national park.
1963The plains are severed from the shire to form Knox.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
A large suburb at the foot of the Dandenongs, with shopping at the station and along Burwood Highway. The fern gully itself is now part of the Dandenong Ranges National Park.