Kallista, Victoria
Encyclopedia
Kallista is a locality within Greater Melbourne beyond the Melbourne metropolitan area Urban Growth Boundary, 36 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district
. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Yarra Ranges
. At the 2006 Census, Kallista had a population of 1032.
, part of the Dandenong Ranges National Park
), residential housing and agriculture. Kallista’s history is closely related to the suburbs around Kallista, including Sherbrooke, Sassafras
, Olinda
, The Patch, Monbulk and Belgrave
. From being a distant holiday town from Melbourne in the early to mid part of the twentieth century, Kallista is now part of greater metropolitan Melbourne.
The earliest white occupants were probably loggers in the 1850s. Gradually other settlers arrived. In 1867, the State Government commissioned a survey of the area around what is now Kallista. 26,500 acres (10,700 ha) were declared a forest reserve, although in 1878 the boundaries were altered and another 10,000 acres (4,000 ha) were made available for sale. During the economic depression of the 1890s in Victoria, the President of the Board of Land and Works and Commissioner Crown Lands and Survey, John McIntyre, decided to open areas of the Dandenong Ranges for selection
. Although there were protests from various groups, another 10,000 acres (4,000 ha) were opened in 1893.
Selectors were of two types: village selectors and free selectors. Village selectors were expected to live on their selections and could work on the roads. Free selectors were unable to work on the roads, but could keep their existing jobs and work the land. South Sassafras (Kallista) was open to free selectors.
The Post Office opened around 1902 and was known as Sassafras South until 1925.
From 1912 to 1918 roads were completed between Belgrave and South Sassafras (Kallista) and Monbulk. Melburnians then began to use the area for weekenders and holiday homes as the original 10 acres (4 ha) farm blocks were subdivided. The South Sassafras State School opened on 10 March 1919 with sixteen pupils. It was first located in the local hall known as the Mechanics Hall and by 1924 had moved to its current location on Monbulk Road. A telephone exchange was installed in 1923.
By 1924, the problem of confusion of the name of South Sassafras with Sassafras
led to suggestions that the name of the town be changed. Many names were suggested, but the name “Kallista” (in ancient Greek, “Kalliste”, meaning “most beautiful”) was adopted and the change made on 1 April 1925.
The Great Depression
saw an influx of people buying the weekend cottages from Melburnians who could not afford to keep them up. The new owners were hoping to support their families from the blocks of land.
population, which has increased recently with efforts to reduce the feral cat and fox population. Although early in the morning is the best time to see and hear lyrebirds, they can be seen and heard throughout the day. The males' calls are particularly prominent in June.
Grants Picnic Ground, on Monbulk Road near Kallista Village, is very popular with tourists, as large numbers of Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo
s, Crimson Rosella
s, Galah
s and Australian King Parrot
s gather to be fed bird seed by on-lookers. They will usually fly down and sit on hands, arms and (sometimes) heads.
Melbourne city centre
Melbourne City Centre is an area of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. It is not to be confused with the larger local government area of the City of Melbourne...
. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Yarra Ranges
Shire of Yarra Ranges
The Yarra Ranges Shire is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia, located in the outer eastern and northeastern suburbs of Melbourne extending into the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges...
. At the 2006 Census, Kallista had a population of 1032.
History
Kallista’s history has moved from likely use by Aboriginals prior to white settlement, to slow development by loggers and farmers, through settler selection to the current mix of state forest (Sherbrooke ForestSherbrooke Forest
Sherbrooke Forest lies at an altitude of 300 m within the Dandenong Ranges, 40 km east of Melbourne, in Victoria, Australia, close to the suburb of Belgrave. The vegetation is classified as wet sclerophyll forest with the dominant tree species the Mountain Ash, Eucalyptus regnans, the tallest...
, part of the Dandenong Ranges National Park
Dandenong Ranges
The Dandenong Ranges are a set of low mountain ranges, rising to 633 metres at Mount Dandenong, approximately 35 km east of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia...
), residential housing and agriculture. Kallista’s history is closely related to the suburbs around Kallista, including Sherbrooke, Sassafras
Sassafras
Sassafras is a genus of three extant and one extinct species of deciduous trees in the family Lauraceae, native to eastern North America and eastern Asia.-Overview:...
, Olinda
Olinda
Olinda is a historic city in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco, located on the country's northeastern Atlantic Ocean coast, just north of Recife and south of Paulista...
, The Patch, Monbulk and Belgrave
Belgrave
-People with the surname Belgrave:*Barrington Belgrave*Charles Belgrave, a British adviser to the rulers of Bahrain from 1926 to 1957*James Belgrave*John Belgrave*Marcus Belgrave-Other:*Belgrave, Cheshire, a village*Belgrave, Lancashire, a village...
. From being a distant holiday town from Melbourne in the early to mid part of the twentieth century, Kallista is now part of greater metropolitan Melbourne.
The earliest white occupants were probably loggers in the 1850s. Gradually other settlers arrived. In 1867, the State Government commissioned a survey of the area around what is now Kallista. 26,500 acres (10,700 ha) were declared a forest reserve, although in 1878 the boundaries were altered and another 10,000 acres (4,000 ha) were made available for sale. During the economic depression of the 1890s in Victoria, the President of the Board of Land and Works and Commissioner Crown Lands and Survey, John McIntyre, decided to open areas of the Dandenong Ranges for selection
Selection (Australian history)
Selection referred to "free selection before survey" of crown land in some Australian colonies under land legislation introduced in the 1860s. These acts were similar to the United States Homestead Act and were intended to encourage closer settlement, based on intensive agriculture, such as...
. Although there were protests from various groups, another 10,000 acres (4,000 ha) were opened in 1893.
Selectors were of two types: village selectors and free selectors. Village selectors were expected to live on their selections and could work on the roads. Free selectors were unable to work on the roads, but could keep their existing jobs and work the land. South Sassafras (Kallista) was open to free selectors.
The Post Office opened around 1902 and was known as Sassafras South until 1925.
From 1912 to 1918 roads were completed between Belgrave and South Sassafras (Kallista) and Monbulk. Melburnians then began to use the area for weekenders and holiday homes as the original 10 acres (4 ha) farm blocks were subdivided. The South Sassafras State School opened on 10 March 1919 with sixteen pupils. It was first located in the local hall known as the Mechanics Hall and by 1924 had moved to its current location on Monbulk Road. A telephone exchange was installed in 1923.
By 1924, the problem of confusion of the name of South Sassafras with Sassafras
Sassafras
Sassafras is a genus of three extant and one extinct species of deciduous trees in the family Lauraceae, native to eastern North America and eastern Asia.-Overview:...
led to suggestions that the name of the town be changed. Many names were suggested, but the name “Kallista” (in ancient Greek, “Kalliste”, meaning “most beautiful”) was adopted and the change made on 1 April 1925.
The Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
saw an influx of people buying the weekend cottages from Melburnians who could not afford to keep them up. The new owners were hoping to support their families from the blocks of land.
The Town today
Kallista Village is particularly known for its proximity to Sherbrooke Forest. Walks around Sherbrooke Forest range from easy to somewhat steep. Sherbrooke is well known for its Superb LyrebirdLyrebird
A Lyrebird is either of two species of ground-dwelling Australian birds, that form the genus, Menura, and the family Menuridae. They are most notable for their superb ability to mimic natural and artificial sounds from their environment. Lyrebirds have unique plumes of neutral coloured...
population, which has increased recently with efforts to reduce the feral cat and fox population. Although early in the morning is the best time to see and hear lyrebirds, they can be seen and heard throughout the day. The males' calls are particularly prominent in June.
Grants Picnic Ground, on Monbulk Road near Kallista Village, is very popular with tourists, as large numbers of Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
The Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Cacatua galerita, is a relatively large white cockatoo found in wooded habitats in Australia and New Guinea. They can be locally very numerous, leading to them sometimes being considered pests...
s, Crimson Rosella
Crimson Rosella
The Crimson Rosella is a parrot native to eastern and south eastern Australia which has been introduced to New Zealand and Norfolk Island. It is commonly found in, but not restricted to, mountain forests and gardens. The species as it now stands has subsumed two former separate species, the Yellow...
s, Galah
Galah
The Galah , Eolophus roseicapilla, also known as the Rose-breasted Cockatoo, Galah Cockatoo, Roseate Cockatoo or Pink and Grey, is one of the most common and widespread cockatoos, and it can be found in open country in almost all parts of mainland Australia.It is endemic on the mainland and was...
s and Australian King Parrot
Australian King Parrot
The Australian King Parrot is endemic to eastern Australia. It is found in humid and heavily forested upland regions of the eastern portion of the continent, including eucalyptus wooded areas in and directly adjacent to subtropical and temperate rainforest...
s gather to be fed bird seed by on-lookers. They will usually fly down and sit on hands, arms and (sometimes) heads.
Notable residents
- Jim CairnsJim CairnsJames Ford "J. F." Cairns , Australian politician, was prominent in the Labor movement through the 1960s and 1970s, and was briefly Deputy Prime Minister in the Whitlam government...
, former Deputy Prime Minister in the Whitlam Government, would often sells his books and other counter-culture material at a stall in the Kallista markets during the 1980s. - Don Chipp, founder of the Australian DemocratsAustralian DemocratsThe Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a socially liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New LM, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former Liberal minister Don Chipp, as a high profile leader...
, lived in Kallista for many years during the 1980s. - Tom RobertsTom RobertsThomas William Roberts , usually known simply as Tom, was a prominent Australian artist and a key member of the Heidelberg School.-Life:...
, painter, lived here between 1856 and 1931. A painting of his entitled "Washing Day, Kallista" is hanging in the Art Gallery of New South Wales. A local road is named after him. - C. J. DennisC. J. DennisClarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis, better known as C. J. Dennis, was an Australian poet known for his humorous poems, especially "The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke", published in the early 20th century...
, poet and author, wrote much of his The Songs of a Sentimental BlokeThe Songs of a Sentimental BlokeThe Songs of a Sentimental Bloke is a verse novel by Australian novelist and poet C. J. Dennis. The book sold over 60,000 copies in nine editions within the first year, and is probably one of the highest selling verse novels ever published in Australia....
on J. G. Roberts' property at Sunnyside circa 1913/14. - Paul HesterPaul HesterPaul Newell Hester was an Australian musician and television personality; he was the drummer for the related bands Split Enz and Crowded House.-The early years:...
, original drummer for the band Crowded HouseCrowded HouseCrowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Australia and led by New Zealand singer-songwriter Neil Finn. Finn is the primary songwriter and creative director of the band, having led it through several incarnations, drawing members from New Zealand , Australia and the United States...
, lived there during the 1970s.
External links
- Kallista (SMH Travel)