Watsons Creek, Victoria

Panton Hill is a town in Victoria, Australia, 32 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Shire of Nillumbik local government area. Panton Hill recorded a population of 1,063 at the 2021 census.

Bend of Islands is a rural locality in Victoria, Australia, 30 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Shire of Nillumbik local government area. Bend of Islands recorded a population of 267 at the 2021 census. It is situated on about 635 hectares and is named after a group of small islands at a bend of the Yarra River near Watsons Creek. It is located near the town of Kangaroo Ground. The location was a favourite spot for local anglers in 1939. About 130 allotments range from a half to 12 hectares. Exotic animals, including cats and dogs and vegetation are banned to minimise the spread of weeds, damage to the soil and harm to native fauna.It was gazetted in 2000 after a petition from local residents, having previously been part of Christmas Hills and Kangaroo Ground. Jessie and Edward Haughton built Three Bears Cottage which is considered significant as the last built connection with the regionally significant family who were instrumental in shaping the local landscape and subsequent bush lifestyle from the 1930s. The Haughton's used to have swimming parties in the swimming pool on the bend in the river. Other significant residents of Bend of Islands in the 1970s included Neil Douglas and Helen (Abbie) Heathcote whose house at 512 Henley Road is included on the Victorian Heritage Database. Artist and naturalist Neil Douglas and others purchased properties following bushfires in 1962 and further established the area for residents.The Burns House, known as Kangaroo, was designed by architect and artist Peter Burns and was built in stages from 1968 on an elevated sloping bush land site. It is considered of architectural and historical significance to the State of Victoria.The area has been under threat a number of times including in 1980 when the Government of Victoria considered buying it as part of a conservation area while bulldozers began clearing natural bushland at the same time.The Bend of Islands incorporates the area of the former Environmental Living Zone, now known as Special Use Zone (SUZ) - Environmental Living in the Nillumbik Planning Scheme. The Bend of Islands Conservation Association (BICA) was formed in the 1960s.Residents Neil Douglas and Abbie Heathcote used to open their home to exhibit their art. This practice became the foundation for the Nillumbik Artists Open studios program. Local artists continue to be part of the program. The Bend of Island Community members, or 'benders', are a thriving and connected community with monthly coffee mornings at the local fire station, weekly BICA events such as bird or flora walks, and a large artistic community. A mobile library service visits nearby Kangaroo Ground which is managed by Yarra Plenty Regional Library.

Kangaroo Ground War Memorial Park is located at 385 Eltham Yarra Glen Road, Kangaroo Ground in the Shire of Nillumbik. in Victoria, Australia. The site includes the war memorial, with a firespotting cabin, mature monterey cypress trees and other planted species, and a sandstone caretaker's cottage. The park is situated on the summit of Garden Hill, from which panoramic views are obtainable. The park is situated on two acres.Towards the end of World War One, in August 1918, Eltham Shire Council discussed and 'generally expressed themselves as favourable to the proposal' to obtain a "piece of land on the summit of Garden Hill, Kangaroo Ground, and the formation of a memorial park in which a monument could be erected to represent the whole of the Shire. Local resident Walter Wippell donated £50 and with it Council purchased the one-acre site. In 1919 Joseph Mess agreed to take £50 per acre for two acres of his Garden Hill property. By 1920 subscriptions lists were opened for the purposes of raising funds to "carry out the proposed scheme of beautification, and also to erect, at a later date, a fitting monument to perpetuate the memory of those who fell in the Great War'. Working bees took place on the site and rocks were collected for a memorial cairn which was built in a slight depression which signified the highest point in the park. The compilation of "a complete record of the names of all persons who enlised for service from the Shire and of those who made the supreme sacrifice whilst doing their duty" began in 1920. The park was officially opened by Mr. W. H. Everard, M.L.A. on 3 September 1921. In 1927 a stone hut, known as the caretaker's cottage was built from left over stone quarried for the tower. On Remembrance Day, 2005 a seedling, a descendant of the Gallipoli lone pine tree was planted. Brick toilets constructed in 1965 were also removed and replaced in 2005 including a universal access space.In 2006, a plaque was put in place from the Vietnam Veterans community in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan. Nillumbik Shire Council received funding under the 2008–09 Restoring Community War Memorials Grants program to restore plaques on the Tower, and replace bollards to enhance security around the memorial. In December 2014, Nillumbik Shire Council received Anzac Centenary Local Grants Program funding to create new interpretative signage.In 2015 Shire of Nillumbik added the Tower of Remembrance and War Memorial Park and Moor-ul Viewing Platform to its draft register of memorials. In 2020 Shire of Nillumbik commenced preparing a master plan to create a long-term vision and plan for the park.

The Shire of Nillumbik ( NILL-əm-bik) is a local government area in Victoria, Australia. It contains outer northern suburbs of Melbourne and rural localities beyond the urban area. It has an area of 432 square kilometres and at the 2021 census, the Shire had a population of 62,895. It was formed in 1994 from the merger of parts of the Shires of Eltham, Diamond Valley, Healesville and the City of Whittlesea. The Shire uses the tag-line The Green Wedge Shire. The Nillumbik Council offices are located in Civic Drive, Greensborough.The shire's name is derived from the Parish of Nillumbik, which was named in the 1830s the term nyilum bik meaning "Bad Earth" in the local Aboriginal language Woiwurrung.On 13 October 1998, Nillumbik Council was suspended by then Local Government minister Rob Maclellan, with the state government declaring that infighting was affecting the ability of the council to function.Nillumbik was rated third of 590 Australian local government areas in the BankWest Quality of Life Index 2008.

Sugarloaf Reservoir is a reservoir at Christmas Hills 35 km north-east of the Melbourne central business district.

Warrandyte State Park is a state park, located in Warrandyte, east of Melbourne, Victoria on the banks of the Yarra River and surroundings. The park comprises 586 hectares of remnant bushland in various locations throughout Warrandyte and Wonga Park around Pound Bend, Fourth Hill, Black Flat, Yarra Brae and various other locations in the area. It hosts many significant geographical, environmental, archaeological and historical sites, such as the site of the first gold discovery in Victoria in 1851 and preserves the sites of former gold mines and tunnels. It is a popular destination for school and community groups and is frequented by local bush walkers and hikers.Land now occupied by the park was initially occupied by Indigenous Australians of the Wurundjeri nation. After European settlement, gold was discovered in Warrandyte, and the area was mined for a number of years. Frequent clearing had at one stage removed all the vegetation in the area, and bushfires have erased much of the recent human architectural history of the area. However, they have ensured the health of the bushland and reduced the impact of human settlements, enabling the vegetation to recover throughout the 20th century. The major threats to the park's ecology are introduced species of flora and fauna such as foxes, rabbits, dogs and cats. Being located close to suburban settlements, backburning is regularly undertaken within the park to minimise risk of bushfires.

Smiths Gully is a town in Victoria, Australia, 35 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Shire of Nillumbik local government area. Smiths Gully recorded a population of 356 at the 2021 census.Smith Gully Road Post Office opened in 1902, was renamed Smith Gully in 1964 and Smiths Gully later that year. The Post Office continues to operate at the general store on the Kangaroo Ground – St Andrews Road.Primary schools operated in Smiths Gully during 1867-84 and in 1886.The 1860s Queenstown Cemetery is a rare example of a private burial ground established by district's early settlers and is also a resting place of several prominent local citizens. The Cemetery is 1 km east of the Smiths Gully Store.

Brushy Creek is a tributary of the Yarra River in Melbourne. The creek rises in Mooroolbark Heights and passes through a mixture of underground channels and floodways through the east of Mooroolbark, until it returns to an open waterway through central Mooroolbark. From Mooroolbark it continues downstream through Croydon and passes under the Maroondah Highway, where it flows through Croydon North, Chirnside Park and Wonga Park until it joins the Yarra River in the Warrandyte State Park.

Cottles Bridge is a town in Victoria, Australia, 30 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Shire of Nillumbik local government area. Cottles Bridge recorded a population of 609 at the 2021 census.

The Heritage Golf and Country Club is located approximately 45 kilometres east-north-east from Melbourne's CBD, in the suburb of Chirnside Park, Victoria, Australia. It opened in 1999 with the release of Stage One residential development, with the Jack Nicklaus–designed St John Golf Course opened in 2000. Stage Two, the Henley Golf Course, designed by Tony Cashmore, opened on 8 October 2006. The planning of Stage Three: Botanica, a residential development of apartments and villas, is complete. The Yarra Valley Lodge, is managed by Mantra.

Wonga Park is a locality on the edge of Greater Melbourne, beyond the Melbourne Metropolitan Urban Growth Boundary area, 28 km north-east from Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Manningham and Maroondah and the Shire of Yarra Ranges local government areas. Wonga Park recorded a population of 3,843 at the 2021 census. Wonga Park is bounded in the west by Jumping Creek, in the north by the Yarra River, in the east by Brushy Park and Old Homestead Roads and in the south by Holloway Road. The name comes from the Wonga Park grazing property, which itself derives from Simon Wonga, elder of the Wurundjeri indigenous people of Melbourne. The area was part of Mooroolbark until the 1890s.

North Warrandyte is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 25 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Shire of Nillumbik local government area. North Warrandyte recorded a population of 3,027 at the 2021 census. Located in the bushy hills north of the Yarra River and to the north of Warrandyte, North Warrandyte is separated from its neighbour of the same name by Municipal Boundaries, CFA Brigade (Country Fire Authority) Boundaries and Suburb Boundaries, yet the two exist as interlocked communities as though those boundaries didn't exist. Winding roads amongst the tree tops and unmade local streets are abundant in the small suburb.