WARBURTON, VICTORIA

Warburton is a town in Victoria, Australia, 72 km east from Melbourne's central business district. At the 2006 Census, Warburton had a population of 2288. The name “Warburton” has been shared between two townships over the years. The mining town of “Yankee Jims Creek” was located on the gold-bearing slopes of Mount Little Joe, and was renamed “Warburton” after the mining warden of the district, Charles Warburton Carr. Gold depletion caused a declining population in the 1880s, so the town was renamed “Old Warburton” and the town of “Upper Warburton” on the banks on the Yarra River was renamed “Warburton”.

The Post Office opened around 1884 though two earlier offices named Warburton were renamed as Launching Place and Hoddle's Creek. Warburton was connected to Lilydale by a Victorian Railways branch line which closed in 1965.The railway path is now used for the Lilydale to Warburton Rail Trail, a rail trail used by pedestrians, cyclists, and horse-riders. East of Warburton is a large water catchment area called Upper Yarra Dam designed to supply Melbourne with the required amount of water sourced from the Thomson catchment area.

The Yarra River passes through Warburton as it winds its way to Melbourne. The extensive reserves and parklands around the Yarra in and around the town provide ample opportunity for all sorts of leisure activities, as well as affording a beautiful location for walking and of course, photography!

This post is part of the Scenic Sunday meme.