Olinda Creek

Olinda Creek (Gnurt-bille-worrun)
Olinda Creek Main street crossing from pedestrian footbridge
Location of the river mouth in Greater Metropolitan Melbourne
Etymology	Alice Olinda Hodgkinson, a daughter of Clement Hodgkinson
Location
Country	Australia
State	Victoria
Region	Central Victoria
City	Melbourne
Physical characteristics
Source	Mount Dandenong
• location	Great Dividing Range, Victoria
• elevation	580 m (1,900 ft)
Mouth
• location	Yarra River, Coldstream, Victoria
• coordinates	37°40′56″S 145°21′16″E
• elevation	76 m (249 ft)
Length	21.4 km (13.3 mi)
Discharge
• location	mouth
Basin features
River system	Yarra River
Reservoirs	Lillydale Lake

Olinda Creek (Woiwurrung: Gnurt-bille-worrun) is a major tributary of the Yarra River in Victoria, Australia. Its origins are in the Dandenong Ranges, and it is notable for passing through the settlement of Lilydale (now a suburb of Melbourne) before joining with the Yarra near Coldstream.

History and Toponymy

When Europeans first entered this area of southern Australia, they moved up the valley of the Olinda Creek (then called Running Creek because it was a perennial stream). The formal naming process began with the survey of Lilydale township by John Hardy in 1859–60. At the same time that he named Lilydale, Hardy renamed the creek ‘Olinda’ after Alice Olinda Hodgkinson, a daughter of Clement Hodgkinson, the Deputy Surveyor-General.

A major dam wall was built to create Silvan Reservoir in 1926. This stopped water flowing into Olinda Creek at the northern end of the reservoir. A second, minor dam wall at the southern end stops water flowing into Emerald Creek.

Lillydale Lake

Main article: Lillydale Lake

Following flooding of the Yarra Valley in September 1984, it was decided to impound the creek and, between 1988 and 1990, an embankment dam was built just south of Lilydale, creating the 28-hectare (69-acre) Lillydale Lake. The lake provides flood mitigation to areas downstream, incorporates extensive wetlands, and is situated within a 100-hectare (250-acre) urban park and community recreation facility.