- Emerald Lake
Is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 44 km south-east from Melbourne’s central business district. Its Local Government Area are the Shires of Cardinia and Yarra Ranges. At the 2006 Census, Emerald had a population of 6135.
Emerald also includes Cardinia Reservoir, Melbourne’s second largest reservoir.
The Puffing Billy steam railway runs from Belgrave to Gembrook via Emerald,& the first European settlement in the Dandenong Ranges. In town during Apr: Great Train Race (runners attempt to race Puffing Billy from Belgrave to Emerald Lake Park).
Attractions
Puffing Billy & Emerald Lake
Emerald is known for Emerald Lake (Lake Treganowan) a park where one may take the family and enjoy the peace and tranquility. The lake offers BBQ facilities, children’s playgrounds, a pool, paddle boats, walking tracks, fishing, Environment Centre, model railway, café and a railway station for Puffing Billy.
The Puffing Billy Railway is a heritage steam operated railway opened in 1900, which runs between Belgrave and Gembrook, now recreating the heyday in the 1920s of this narrow-gauge line. It has three stations within Emerald—at Emerald, Nobelius and Lakeside, with Nobelius only being a “Stops if required” station. Also, Nobelius Siding is located between Emerald and Nobelius stations which is only stopped at for functions, or the regular “Dinner Train” at the former Packing Shed adjacent to the siding.
Other Attractions
Also notable is the Gemco Hall, which has been home to the Gemco Players Community Theatre since the 1990s. Gemco offers a variety of plays as well as social activities, involving the Emerald community and abroad.
Chris and Marie’s (Wombat Gully) plant farm was another notable feature of Emerald until it closed down in April 2005.
The areas around Emerald are excellent for finding chanterelles and other edible mushrooms, and are a popular destination for mushroom hunters each autumn.
Emergency services
Emerald has a part-time Police Station, a full-time Ambulance Station as well as a volunteer CFA Brigade and SES Unit. The Emerald Volunteer Fire Brigade is located on Belgrave-Gembrook Road near the Corner of Emerald-Beaconsfield Road, and attends approximately 190 Emergency Incidents per year. The Brigade trains on Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings and new members are always welcome.
The Emerald Volunteer State Emergency Service Unit is located on Old Gembrook Road near the Corner of Sherriff Road. It attends several hundred storm and wind damage incidents every year and also attends 20-30 road accidents a year for rescue purposes using such tools as the jaws of life. The Unit trains on Monday evenings and new members are very welcome to join.
Historic heavy and light rail
- Heritage Railway
Heritage railways are usually railway lines which were once run as commercial railways, but were later no longer needed or were closed down, and were taken over or re-opened by volunteers or for-profit organisations. Many run on partial routes unconnected to the commercial railway network, all run only seasonally, and charge high “entertainment” fares. For example the return fare from Porthmadog to Blaenau Ffestiniog on the 13 mile Festiniog railway is some £(UK)17.95 and between Caernarfon to Beddgelert £(UK)22.00 on the Welsh Highland Railway. As a result they are primarily, indeed exclusively, focused on serving the tourist and leisure markets, not local transportation needs. However in the 1990s and 2000s some heritage railways have professed to provide local transportation and to extend their running seasons to cater for commercial passenger traffic. In the United Kingdom, however, no heritage railways offer a year round daily or commuter service.
Typically a heritage railway will use steam locomotives and original rolling stock to create a supposed “period atmosphere”, although some are now concentrating on more recent “modern image” diesel and electric traction suposedly to re-create the post-steam railway era.
The first heritage railway to be rescued and run entirely by volunteers was the Talyllyn Railway in Wales. This narrow gauge line, taken over by a group of enthusiasts in 1950, is recognised as the start of the preservation movement. There are now several hundred heritage railways in the United Kingdom. This large number is due in part to the closure of many minor lines in the 1960s under the Beeching Axe. These were relatively easy to revive. The first such standard gauge line to be preserved was the Bluebell Railway, though the Middleton Railway (which was not a victim of Beeching) had been preserved prior to this. The world’s second preserved railway, and the first outside the United Kingdom, was the Puffing Billy Railway in Australia. This railway operates 24 km of track with much of the original rolling stock built as early as 1898.
Heritage railways differ in the intensity of the service that can be offered. Some of the more successful British heritage railways, such as the Severn Valley Railway and the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, may have up to five or six steam engines working, operating a four-train service daily. The Great Central Railway is the only example of a preserved British main line that operates with a double track, and can operate over 50 trains on a busy gala timetable. Other smaller railways may run for seven-days-a-week throughout the summer with only one steam engine. However, following the privatisation of Britain’s main-line railways, the line between not-for-profit heritage railways and for-profit branch lines may appear to have blurred. The Wensleydale Railway is an example of a commercial line run partly as a heritage operation and partly (at least in intent, if not in reality) to provide local transportation. The Weardale Railway is a similar attempt to provide a commercial heritage line, so far with mixed success. The Severn Valley Railway has even operated a few goods trains on a commercial basis. In addition, a number of heritage lines now see regular freight operations. The Puffing Billy Railway operates a busier service than it regularly did in its pre-preservation working life.
Great Train Race
The Great Train Race (GTR) is an annual fun run from Belgrave to Emerald Lake in which participants attempt to beat Puffing Billy to the finish line and is organised by volunteers of the Puffing Billy Preservation Society.
The route from Belgrave to Emerald Lake which participants run is 13.2 km long, and in 2006 had 2,403 participants in the 25th Great Train Race. Participants of the GTR may win prizes; The first Male and Female runners of the 2007 GTR held on the 6th of May received a return flight to Antarctica as well as a unique Great Train Race trophy. For details on the Great Train Race, visit Great Train Race.
PAVE Arts Festival
PAVE stands for “Performing And Visual arts in Emerald”, which is an Annual Festival which takes place every year in Mid April. The PAVE Festival will run for its fifth year in 2010. The festival includes a number of activities taking place at different locations around Emerald over a number of days. Such activities include the Emerald Arts Society art exhibition at the Environment Centre at Emerald Lake, an exhibition of The Great Wall of Art at the Emerald Community House, a photography exhibition and a Youth Short Film Festival competition, an exhibition and demonstration of local art courses and lessons, craft and produce markets, a historic tour of Emerald and live music.
Cardinia Reservoir
Cardinia Reservoir is situated entirely in Emerald, Victoria. It is south of the main township and the southern border of the suburb follows the Reservoir Boundary. It is the second largest reservoir in Melbourne’s water supply.
Cardinia Reservoir Park
On the Southern side of the Reservoir there is a large park run by Parks Victoria. Facilities include barbecues and toilets and is open every day of the year. The park is home to many species of wildlife including Kangaroos, Wombats and Possums. It is even possible to walk across one of the dam walls at the park. Despite being predominately located in the suburb of Emerald, the entrance to the park is approximately 10 minutes drive out of Emerald in Narre Warren East.
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