The Changing Landscape

The landscape of the region has been shaped over millions of years, from the emergence of the Dandenong Ranges, to their erosion and the subsequent deposit of rich soils that formed the great mud plains to the north, west and south of the district. Great magma intrusions forged the Lysterfield Hills and in the process compressed and “cooked” the mudstone to form the hornsfelds stone that is now extracted at the quarries for road making material.

William Lyster was the first to drain the swamps and he converted the Lysterfield Valley to rich farm lands. His example was taken up by other settlers and eventually, after much back-breaking effort, the marshlands along the courses of the Monbulk, Corhanwarrabul and Dandenong Creeks were turned into productive acreage.

In more recent years Melbourne’s insatiable need for more living space has seen much of that farmland disappear beneath housing estates as well as the roads, shopping centres, sports grounds and industrial developments that are required in an area where the population is growing so rapidly.

The Changing Landscape
The landscape of the region has been shaped over millions of years, from the emergence of the Dandenong Ranges, to their erosion and the subsequent deposit of rich soils that formed the great mud plains to the north, west and south of the district. Great magma intrusions forged the Lysterfield Hills and in the process compressed and “cooked” the mudstone to form the hornsfelds stone that is now extracted at the quarries for road making material.
William Lyster was the first to drain the swamps and he converted the Lysterfield Valley to rich farm lands. His example was taken up by other settlers and eventually, after much back-breaking effort, the marshlands along the courses of the Monbulk, Corhanwarrabul and Dandenong Creeks were turned into productive acreage.
In more recent years Melbourne’s insatiable need for more living space has seen much of that farmland disappear beneath housing estates as well as the roads, shopping centres, sports grounds and industrial developments that are required in an area where the population is growing so rapidly.

——————————————————————————————————————