Ferntree Gully

Ferntree Gully is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, at the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges, 30 km South east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Knox local government area.

Ferntree Gully is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia,at the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges, 30 km South east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Knox local government area. Ferntree Gully recorded a population of 26,428 at the 2016 Census.

The suburb is on the Belgrave railway line and it takes between 42 minutes (stopping all stations and then express service from Box Hill) to 60 minutes (all stations service) to Flinders Street, CBD.

The William Angliss Public Hospital and Emergency Centre is located in Upper Ferntree Gully, approximately 2 kilometres south of Ferntree Gully.

Ferntree Gully, The Basin, Boronia and Upper Ferntree Gully are the only Dandenong Ranges towns or suburbs in the City of Knox (although some parts of Upper Ferntree Gully are within the Shire of Yarra Ranges). The City of Knox is one of the few cities not broken-up during the Kennett government review of councils and had its area expanded to include parts of Upper Ferntree Gully that were previously in the Shire of Sherbrooke (now part of the Yarra Ranges Shire).

Ferntree Gully and Belgrave are sister suburbs and are very closely linked in many ways. Ferntree Gully is younger than Belgrave (Belgrave being established in 1851 and Ferntree Gully in 1880).

Ferntree Gully has many Eucalyptus trees (gum trees) and lies at the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges. Its boundaries meet Upper Ferntree Gully, a separate but similarly named suburb with the same postcode, Boronia to the North, Scoresby to the West and Lysterfield to the South. The eastern boundary coincides with the Ferntree Gully National Park which is a National Park administered by the Federal Government. Ferntree Gully is in a high fire risk area in the vicinity of the Ferntree Gully National Park, however the majority of the suburb is considered low risk.

Ferntree Gully, was home to the Wurundjeri Aboriginal tribe prior to European settlement. The abundance of Tree Ferns stretched from the Township to the National Park and picturesque scenery and lush flora started attracting recreational visitors from the 1870s. In 1882 the gully was set aside for public use. Throughout the 1880s the township began to grow, shops were established, as well as hotels, churches, and a primary school. With the arrival of the railway line (extended from Ringwood) in 1889, the area became more accessible to visitors. Initially the line terminated at Upper Ferntree Gully, with a narrow-gauge line extending to Gembrook in 1900. Between 1958 and 1962 the narrow-gauge 2' 6" line was upgraded to broad-gauge 5' 3" and electrified to Belgrave which is where the narrow-gauge line (now better known as Puffing Billy) operates from today. Up until the mid-1970s the old Puffing Billy Railway shed was located below Quarry Road just west of Upper Ferntree Gully railway station. The Shire of Fern Tree Gully also was proclaimed in 1889. One of the Buildings from the old shire offices, on the corner of Selman Avenue and Burwood Highway, Ferntree Gully, has been preserved under a heritageand now houses a community health service (entry via Selman Avenue). It was also used as the local library for many years. On 4 July 1969 the Shire of Knox was proclaimed a "City" and new offices were built on Burwood Highway Wantirna South where the offices are today. The Ferntree Gully cemetery is the resting place of a number of historically significant local people as well as world-renowned artists, authors and poets.

Ambleside Homestead, in Olivebank Road, Ferntree Gully, was built in the 1890s and is now the base for the Knox Historical Society and a local history museum. It holds extensive collections of historic documents and photographs dating back to the 1800s and is also the custodian of all old school photographs from the City and Shires of Knox schools maintaining an accurate collection up to today. Old school photos from FTG and Boronia High, Knox Tech and primary schools are on display and available for copy for a fee. Period furnishings and artefacts and vintage farm equipment reflect the pioneer life and development of the area.

W. Kennedy-Ross, a Scot, secured the title to the triangular section bounded by Ferntree Gully Road, Scoresby Road and Burwood Highway, in 1872. About 1886, Ross erected the Hunting Tower Hotel, which was replaced a few years later by the Club Hotel. The owner of this hotel, one W. Town, gave the name Kent Park to the area west of Dobson Street.

In the early 1900s, the 180 acres (0.73 km2) of Kent Park were used for general grazing, farming, growing oats and keeping a variety of livestock.

A John Aitken bought Kent Park in 1913, selling most of the original purchase to a Mr Powell in 1921. The latter then sold to a Brigadier Knox, who in turn sold all except 10 acres (40,000 m2) to Alex Creswick. In 1968/69, Hooker-Rex Estates purchased from the Creswick family, some 110 acres (0.45 km2) for the current housing estate. The Education Department bought the land on which Kent Park primary school now stands; the school opened in February 1975.

Ferntree Gully Post Office opened on 1 January 1873. It was renamed Ferntree Gully South when the Lower Ferntree Gully Office opened (open since 1948) and was renamed Ferntree Gully. This office closed in 1997 through privatisation but opened next door soon after. The present Mountain Gate office opened in 1972 but was known as Ferntree Gully West for some months. Upper Ferntree Gully office opened in 1890.