History and heritage – Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges

Get your hands dirty on historic properties and enjoy the romance of steam travel as you experience the daily struggles and genteel pleasures of the past in the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges. 

Steam travel through fern gullies and thick forest
Jump aboard Puffing Billy, the pride and joy of the Dandenong Ranges. Picture yourself as an intrepid early-1900s tourist, travelling along the narrow-gauge track across trestle bridges and toiling up hills between Belgrave and Gembrook. Complete the experience with a meal of Yarra Valley food and wine in a first-class dining carriage. 

Visit Horatio's House in Tecoma, built from kerosene tins by Gallipoli digger Horatio Jones in the 1920s. Stop in at historic gardens around the ranges for a glimpse into refined days gone by, and pick up souvenirs from your voyage into Victoria's past at antique shops around Sassafras. 

The daily struggles and ultimate rewards of the region's pioneers
Check out the farm implements and household items that reveal daily life for pioneers at Gulf Station, almost unchanged since the 1850s when it supplied gold miners. See how blacksmiths operated and explore the museum, gardens and homestead at Mont de Lancey.