View source for Sassafras, Victoria

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox Australian place
| type      = town
| name      = Sassafras
| city      = Melbourne
| state     = vic
| image     = Sassafras-township-01.jpg
| caption   = Sassafras township
| lga       = City of Knox
| lga2      = Shire of Yarra Ranges
| alternative_location_map = Australia Victoria metropolitan Melbourne
| coordinates = {{coord|37|52|12|S|145|21|14|E|display=inline,title}}
| pushpin_label_position =left
| postcode  = 3787
| pop       = 970
| pop_year  = {{CensusAU|2021}}
| pop_footnotes= <ref name="abs">{{Census 2021 AUS | id = SAL22239 | name = Sassafras (Vic.) (Suburbs and Localities) | accessdate = 9 July 2022 | quick = on}}</ref>
| elevation = 475
| area      = 3.3
| est       = 
| stategov  = [[Electoral district of Monbulk|Monbulk]]
| fedgov    = [[Division of Aston|Aston]]
| fedgov2   = [[Division of Casey|Casey]]
| dist1     = 42
| location1 = [[Melbourne]]
| dist2     = 6
| location2 = [[Belgrave, Victoria|Belgrave]]
| near-nw   = [[The Basin, Victoria|The Basin]]
| near-n    = ''[[Dandenong Ranges National Park|Dandenong Ranges]]''
| near-ne   = [[Olinda, Victoria|Olinda]]
| near-w    = [[Ferny Creek, Victoria|Ferny Creek]]
| near-e    = [[Olinda, Victoria|Olinda]]
| near-sw   = [[Ferny Creek, Victoria|Ferny Creek]]
| near-s    = ''[[Dandenong Ranges National Park|Dandenong Ranges]]''
| near-se   = [[Sherbrooke, Victoria|Sherbrooke]]
| local_map = yes
| zoom      = 12
}}

[[File:Sassafras VIC war-memorial.JPG|thumb|right|War memorial and garden]]

'''Sassafras''' ({{IPAc-en|s|æ|s|ə|f|r|æ|s}}) is a locality and township within [[Greater Melbourne]], beyond the Melbourne metropolitan area Urban Growth Boundary,<ref>[http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/melbourne2030online/content/popups/fig_ip02_01.html Urban Growth Boundary map] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110405141728/http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/melbourne2030online/content/popups/fig_ip02_01.html |date=2011-04-05 }}</ref> 43&nbsp;km east of Melbourne's [[Melbourne City Centre|Central Business District]], located within the [[City of Knox]] and [[Shire of Yarra Ranges]] [[Local government areas of Victoria|local government area]]s. Sassafras recorded a population of 970 at the [[2021 Australian census|2021 census]].<ref name=abs/>

==Location==
The Sassafras village is located at an altitude of approximately 500&nbsp;metres, in a [[Saddle (landform)|saddle]] on the top of the ridgeline of the [[Dandenong Ranges]], a few kilometres south of the highest peak of [[Mount Dandenong]].

The locality of Sassafras extends from Hilton Road in the south, to just north of the village. In the east, it extends down the Sassafras Gully, whilst to the West much of the locality is within the [[Dandenong Ranges National Park]].

==History==
The area was named Sassafras Gully, after the [[Southern Sassafras|sassafras]] trees which grow in gully along Sassafras Creek.<ref>[https://fosc.webs.com Friends of Sassafras Creek]</ref>  The land was opened to small scale farming in 1893 and a small township developed. The Post Office opened on 1 June 1901 and has always been known as Sassafras Gully.<ref name="a">{{Citation | last = Phoenix Auctions History | title = Post Office List | url = http://www.phoenixauctions.com.au/cgi-bin/wsPhoenix.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=VIC&filter=*Sassafras* | access-date = 21 February 2021 }}</ref> The Sassafras Primary School was established in 1894, originally meeting in a bark slab hut, before relocating to the Sassafras Mechanics Institute hall in 1895.<ref name="HOTH">Smith, Rowan. Heart of the Hills, Published by the author, 2014.[https://www.scribd.com/document/325119415/The-Heart-of-the-Hills-The-History-of-Sassafras-Primary-School-Number-3222-And-Its-Place-in-the-Sassafras-Community-for-120-Years-1894-2014-Ro Copy on Scribd.]</ref> The school moved to its present site in 1915.<ref name="HOTH" /> In the early 1900s tourism began to increase and the township consequently grew. Artist [[Henrietta Maria Gulliver]] established a garden estate called Panteg there in 1915.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ronalds|first=B.F.|date=2022|title=A symbiosis of horticulture and painting: Exploring Henrietta Gulliver’s gardens through her art|journal=Australian Garden History Journal|volume=33:3|pages=14–17}}</ref> Today Sassafras is a tourist destination with several boutique stores including [[cream tea|Devonshire tea]] outlets, cafés, toy shops, [[antique shop]]s and nurseries.

The area has had a history of [[Bushfires in Australia|bushfires]], and areas near the town are known to have burnt since the 1850s, most recently in 1962.<ref>[http://www.olindacfa.info/fire_history.htm Wildfire History in the Dandenong Ranges]{{dead link|date=May 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, [[Olinda, Victoria|Olinda]] [[Country Fire Authority|Rural Volunteer Fire Brigade]] (accessed 18 January 2008)</ref><ref>[http://sassafrascfa.org.au/history.htm Sassafras-Ferny Creek Fire Brigade - History] [[Country Fire Authority]]</ref>

==Waterways==

Sassafras village is on the [[Drainage divide|watershed]] between the [[Yarra River]] Catchment and the [[Dandenong Creek]]. Sassafras Creek is located to the east of the township while tributaries of the Dandenong Creek are west and north of the township. Both creeks provide important corridors for native flora and fauna, and are both largely protect by parklands.

Sassafras Creek flows generally east until it meets Ti-Tree Creek, where they joint to form the [[Woori Yallock Creek]].  Woori-Yallock Creek then flows northward to eventually join the Yarra River next to the Warramate Nature Conservation Reserve. Sassafras Creek's [[Riparian zone|Riparian Zone]] is almost entirely protected by public land, which in this case is [[Dandenong Ranges National Park]].

Tributaries of the Dandenong Creek rise on the western face of the Dandenong Ranges and flow west to Dandenong Creek, where it flows southward into the [[Patterson River]] and then into [[Port Phillip|Port Phillip Bay]] at [[Patterson Lakes, Victoria|Patterson Lakes]].

==Natural environment==

Sassafras Creek is protected by the Sassafras Creek Nature Conservation Reserve,<ref>[https://fosc.webs.com/about-fosc About Friends of Sassafras Creek]</ref> which is nowadays incorporated into the Dandenong Ranges National Park.
Sassafras has many [[Introduced species|exotic flora]] largely due to the fertile volcanic soils. Most private land contains exotic flora.

The Dandenong Ranges Tourist Track, a walking trail, runs for 15&nbsp;km alongside the Sassafras Creek, past Kallista and Monbulk to Emerald.<ref>[https://explorethedandenongs.com.au/sassafras-creek-walking-track-dandenong-ranges-tourist-track-sassafras-emerald/ Dandenong Ranges Tourist Track – Sassafras to Emerald – 15 km one way] Explore the Dandenongs</ref>

==See also==
*[[Shire of Sherbrooke]] – Sassafras was previously within this former local government area.
*[[Geography of the Yarra River]]
*[[Dandenong Creek Trail]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://visitdandenongranges.com.au/sassafras Melbourne's Dandenong Ranges - Sassafras]

{{City of Knox suburbs}}
{{Shire of Yarra Ranges suburbs}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:City of Knox]]
[[Category:Yarra Ranges Shire]]