From the old railway sleepers on the Warburton train line, to the Powelltown Sawmill which still stands today, the Yarra Ranges teems with history.
Since 1965, the Upper Yarra Valley Historical Society (UVYHS) has cherished the stories of those who came before us, and 2025 will mark its 60th anniversary.
On 7 December, the UVYHS will have an open day free to members of the public to celebrate this milestone.
UYVHS president John Bramley said he hoped to continue the work of prior members in preserving the history of the Yarra Ranges.
“The committee members are dedicated and are of great assistance and our team that looks after the grounds and maintenance do an excellent job.
“The archive work is ongoing, and the team are working through the older work as well as new artefacts and documents that are donated,” Mr Bramley said.
Both society members and the public can attend the open day for free in a rare chance to witness the artefacts of the past, and how the people of the present are preserving them.
“The public can attend and see what work is done by the members in maintaining the artefacts and documents.”
Mr Bramley explained a little bit of history on the society itself.
“The first meeting was held at Green Gables Chalet, Warburton on Monday 15 November 1965. They initially met as the Warburton and Yarra Valley Historical Society.
“The next meeting was held again at Green Gables Chalet on 13 December 1965, and the name Upper Yarra Valley Historical society was adopted,” he said.
The Green Gables Chalet in Warburton would be main meeting place for the society in years where they would organise displays of photographs and artefacts at various locations within the Upper Yarra Shire.
The Mechanics Hall was their main storage space, and in January 1967 the UYVHS was notified the Yarra Junction Station was to be demolished.
“It was brought to the attention of the UYVHS that the disused railway station at Yarra Junction was to be demolished or removed, but as being of historical value, it should be preserved.
“The UYVHS applied to the Secretary for Railways to establish a museum of local historical interest.”
It took two years, but by June 1969 the leasing arrangements had been finalised and the first meeting was held at the station with 26 people in attendance.
The museum was then officially opened on 10 December 1972.
Mr Bramley listed some of the highlights of the UYVHS over the years.
“One of the society’s first large artefact to be displayed was the former Powelltown Sawmills Fordson Rail Tractor which was transferred to the museum during October 1972.
“In June 1977, the first Vintage Engine Crank Up was held at the museum as a fund-raising effort for future works,” he said.
To this day, Crank Up continues to take place each year, with 2025’s iteration being a major success.
It showed the thriving history of the Yarra Ranges continued to beat on throughout the valley.
The economic foundation of the Yarra Ranges lay in the grains of the timber harvested from its forests.
But Mr Bramley said there were other lesser known industries too which had a formative role in shaping the area’s history.
“The gold mining industry played a big part in the history of the Yarra Valley,” he said.
“The establishment of the Upper Yarra Dam changed the history and changed the area along with the O’Shannassy Aqueduct bringing workers to the area.
“Electricity was brought to The Valley due to the establishment of these assets.
“Tourism is another factor bringing people to the area. Over the last years more people are coming to area to live with small acreages being developed.”
Though there are some struggles among many community organisations to engage youth to participate, Mr Bramley was confident in the future of the UYVHS.
“As with other organisations it is difficult to recruit the younger generation to become involved with artefacts and documents they consider are in the past.
“We have advertised for assistance with the archiving work and have received some enquiries and have had two people join to help,” Mr Bramley said.
