1839-1899

• before 1839 Aboriginal people of the Wurundjeri clan lived in the area
  
• 1839 First selection of land by white settler, James Anderson
• 1851 Feb - serious bushfires on Black Thursday
• 1851 Gold found in Anderson’s Creek - first miners arrive at Anderson’s Creek - first gold licences in Victoria issued at Warrandyte
• 1855 Two stores started
• 1855 Warrandyte Cricket Club started
• 1856 Anderson’s Creek  School opened, run by Church of England
  
• 1856 First coffer dam over Yarra built behind old PO – stakes still visible at low water
• 1856 Punt across Yarra built
• 1856 Union hotel built, became Warrandyte Hotel – burned down 1925 – site of present Mechanics Institute
• 1857 First Post Office opened in a store
• 1857 First mail service to Melbourne began
• 1859 Geraghty's Mine started
• 1859 Mining started in Whipstick Gully area – closed 1923
• 1861 First bridge over Yarra opened (was at back of old PO)
• 1863 Big Floods washed away first bridge
• 1866 Cemetery established
• 1868 First steam-powered crushing battery behind old PO started - Grant’s
• 1870 Anderson’ Creek Hotel built, became Grand Hotel 1895
• 1870 Holloways Hotel built, closed 1900
• 1870 Marble Hall Hotel built – closed 1894
• 1870 Mullins Orchard opened in Black Flat area - near site by future Caledonia Mine) (closed 1917)
• 1870 Pound Bend Tunnel built – ceased operations in 1872
• 1874 Warrandyte’s largest nugget found, 100 oz
• 1875 New wooden bridge built
• 1875 The original  building which existed at 111 Yarra St became the PO in 1889
  
• 1875 Stone building of State School No 12 opened (remains to present)
• 1878 Discovery of Diorite Dykes in Black Flat area - Elliot Freehold Company formed – stamping crusher built
• 1879 Crown Company mine started to exploit Diorite Dykes – roof subsequently collapsed – area now used as a rubbish dump
• 1883 Warrandyte Railway station on Lilydale line renamed Croydon
• 1889 Huge Yarra floods washed away much of low-lying Warrandyte
• 1889 Box Hill to Doncaster electric tramway opened - closed 1896
  
• 1889 Vast Wonga Park grazing property opened up for sub-division
• 1890 Proposal for railway from Kew to Warrandyte via Doncaster, with extension to Templestowe
  
• 1890 Jan/Feb - thousands of hectares burnt north of Warrandyte, Kinglake-Christmas Hills
• 1891 Heidelberg School Artists’ Trail opened, now passes through Warrandyte along River Walk
• 1893 PO opened at 111 Yarra St – closed 1972
• 1895 Grand Hotel opened, replaced former Anderson’s Creek Hotel
• 1895 Primary School opened in Warrandyte East – name changed to Wonga Park School in 1898
• 1896 Victory Mine started – good yields – closed 1904
• 1898 Water-powered privately owned battery owned by William Lewis - east of bridge - opened on south bank  – originally driven by waterwheel 2m wide 5m diameter then by portable steam engine  - closed 1925 – waterwheel left standing for several years

 Images taken by the author during  2010, showing surviving structures, features, and buildings from the 1839-1899 era