Southern Dandenongs Historical and Heritage Tour
The Southern Dandenongs Heritage Tour covers the towns of Belgrave, Belgrave Heights, Upwey and Selby.
Southern Dandenongs Heritage Tour Map
1. Running Rabbits Military Museum
Address: 1 Mast Gully Rd, Upwey
This museum is dedicated to the heroism of the 'running rabbits' of the Australian Militia and AIF who fought a gallant fighting withdrawal against overwhelming odds along the Kokoda Track in New Guinea in 1942. The museum houses a large array of weapons, uniforms and other memorabilia ranging from trench art to a Leopard tank.
2. Lookout Tower, Belmont Avenue Reserve
Address: 32B Belmont Ave, Upwey
The Belmont Road Tower is the last fire lookout tower in the Dandenongs. There are restricted views to the South West, and interpretive signage at the site.
3. Birdsland
Address: 268 Mt Morton Rd, Belgrave Heights
Birdsland is a 75ha community bushland reserve. Home to the Wurundjeri and Bunurrong people, the land was cleared for grazing and crop production around 150 years ago. The Birds family grazed sheep there from about 1940. In 1981, to save the site from urban development, the Shire of Sherbrooke purchased Birdsland. It opened to the public in 1984.
4. Former St Martins Anglican Church and Hall
Address: 127 Colby Dr, Belgrave Heights
This 1920s church, formerly St Martin's Anglican Church, has a church hall which is now the centre for Southern Sherbrooke Historical Society?s work and collection.
5. Belgrave World War I Memorial
Address: Cnr Burwood Hwy and Wattle Ave, Belgrave
6. Cameo Cinemas
Address: 1628 Burwood Hwy, Belgrave 9754 7844
Opened in 1935 in the classic Art Deco style, the Cameo has had a National Trust classification since 1995. Although extensions have occurred over recent years, the original auditorium with a capacity of around 300 remains relatively intact architecturally, and provides an atmosphere of traditional style and glamour.
7. Earthly Pleasures Cafe
Address: 1627 Burwood Hwy, Belgrave
The cafe is located in a National Trust listed stone-built house. It was formerly the home and medical surgery of Dr Olaf Jorgensen, who was a doctor in Belgrave from the 1930s. Look for the large round bronze plaque on the front gatepost.
8. Puffing Billy Tourist Railway
Address: 1 Old Monbulk Rd, Belgrave
Visit the Lakeside Visitor Centre at Emerald Lake Park and Railway Cafe.
9. The Puffing Billy Railway Trestle Bridge, Selby
Address: Belgrave-Gembrooke Road (near Nation Road, Selby
10. The Main Road, Selby
Apart from the cars, the main street of Selby still looks similar to photos from the 1940s. The stone All Saints (Carlotta Tye Memorial) Church from 1938 still overlooks the scene, giving it an English rural atmosphere. During the 1939 Black Friday bushfires, women and children sheltered in the church.
11. Falls at the Reservoir, Belgrave Lake Park
Address: 35 Park Dr, Belgrave
Belgrave Lake Park surrounds a disused reservoir and pipeline which, from 1893-1924, supplied water to Dandenong, and later to the farmers of Lysterfield. The park was a popular tourist destination for picnicking, swimming and camping. The original kiosk and a stone and log cabin remain.
