Thursday 11th September, 2025
Leader: Colin Amour
Participants: Bill and Gill, Uwe and Adrian (visitor), Danny and Fay, Ignatius and Angela
The intention of this trip was to enjoy some of the spectacular views and the spring blossoms & flowers in some of the gardens and parks in the Dandenong ranges.
We arrived at our meeting place, Destiny Point Café at Kalorama, from 9am, for a 9.30am start. Our 4WD convoy left at 10.03am, in reverse order of the original planned route.
Our first stop was at the site of the Kyeema Crash Site at Burkes Lookout. This was a very sad incident, unknown to most of us beforehand. On 25 October 1938, a Douglas DC-2 airliner named Kyeema, with 18 people on board (4 crew members and 14 passengers) crashed into the western slopes of Mount Dandenong (Mount Corhanwarrabul), with the pilot mistakenly believing that this was their intended landing site of Essendon Airport. The plane had left Adelaide, but there was heavy fog in the Melbourne area. Sadly, the accident could have been averted, had the plane been about 50 metres away from its position as it could have flown between the two peaks. It was the worst plane crash disaster of the time, and on the 40th anniversary of the crash a memorial cairn was erected with all names and details. Following the crash, many changes and regulations were introduced, including a belated location beacon that could have averted the horrible crash.
The weather was good enough to do the short walk to Burkes Lookout which is at the base of two of the TV transmission towers on Mt Dandenong. From there we had views looking west across the city of Melbourne and participants could recognise various features, in spite of slightly inclement weather. We returned to the car park then turned right along Ridge Road, then right into Mt Dandenong Tourist Road, then left past the shops in Olinda, and continuing on to Olinda-Monbulk Road, past the cricket club and Recreational Reserve. After that we turned right to Hacketts Road, past the Pirianda Gardens. It was a steep dirt road, suitable mainly for 4WDs. At the end of the descent, we turned left to Perrins Creek Road, then right into Sassafras Creek Road, headed for the Alfred Nicholas Memorial Gardens via Nobles Lane, another dirt road. We parked and enjoyed the first of several wonderful gardens. The Alfred Nicholas Memorial Gardens were once part of the Burnham Beeches estate, which was built in the early 1930s for Alfred Nicholas, who is known for ASPRO, the pain killer. There is a variety of trees and plants, including conifers, indigenous eucalyptus, and exotic shrubs.
At 11.16am we turned left from Nobles Lane to Vista Grove, Mizmaze Road, then Sherbrooke Road, a bitumen road, to the George Tindale Memorial Gardens in Sherbrooke. George Tindale was an Agricultural Scientist who bought this garden, which was formerly called Pallants Hill, with his wife Ruth in 1958, and after George’s death Ruth continued his work. After her death the garden was bequeathed to the Victorian Conservation Trust. It is now managed by Parks Victoria. It is a cool climate garden, smaller than some of the other gardens, but there are all-year-round and rare plants. There are mountain ash trees, and lots of beautiful plants and flowers, including magnolias, rhododendrons, camellias, and hydrangeas, and Angela was particularly fascinated by the macadamia tree which is growing in an unsuitable climate!
At 11.50am our convoy turned into Sherbrooke Road in Kallista; there was a hairpin bend, and we drove along Perrins Creek Road. Our leader, Colin, mentioned that Lyrebirds can be seen in the area, but we didn’t see any.
Next, we turned right onto Woolrich road, then left to see the Woolrich Lookout, with great views across the Yarra Valley. This area is the R.J. Hamer Forest Arboretum, in Olinda. Although it was originally a pine forest, it now includes pines, eucalyptus, sequoia, birches, maples, oaks, and Japanese cedars.
We then went via Hacketts Road, Olinda-Monbulk Road, Woolrich Road, Chalet Road, then onto Silvan Road (with its beautiful wattle trees in bloom) to Silvan Dam Reservoir via Stonyford Road. We had lunch in a rotunda, accompanied by an inquisitive magpie waiting for freebies.
We left Silvan Dam at 1.03pm and turned left onto Stonyford Road, and then we veered left onto Olinda Creek Road, followed by Barbers Road, very sharp! Next, we entered Doughtys Road, followed by Olinda Falls Road.
On our way to our final destination of the Dandenong Ranges Botanic Garden, we drove along the Georgian Way, and we were treated with a view of the National Rhododendron Gardens, with beautiful red, white, pink and cream flowers, and different sized trees. We entered the car park at 1.20pm, and Colin had allowed two hours for us to walk around these amazing gardens in the Dandenong Ranges Botanical Gardens.
A highlight of the Botanical Gardens was seeing England’s Chelsea Gardens Australian Garden, an Australian recreation of the award-winning garden from the 2013 RHS Chelsea Flower Show in London. There are information boards showing the garden’s planning, designing and completion.
We terminated our delightful trip in the car park at 2.50pm, instead of returning to the Destiny Point Café as originally planned.
This was an utterly fantastic trip, a great idea, and it would be nice if Colin could repeat it again next year. It was a little early in the season, and some flowers were not yet out, but in about six weeks’ time in October, the flowers should be in spectacular full bloom.
Thank you, Colin, for a wonderful day.
Text: Angela
Photos: Ignatius