| Yarra Junction Victoria | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Population | 2,875 (2021 census)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 3797 | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation | 152 m (499 ft) | ||||||||||||||
| Location | |||||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | Shire of Yarra Ranges | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Eildon | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Casey | ||||||||||||||
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Yarra Junction is a town in Victoria, Australia, 55 km (34 mi) east from Melbourne's central business district, located within the Shire of Yarra Ranges local government area. Yarra Junction recorded a population of 2,875 at the 2021 census.[1]
The township sits at the old junction of timber tramways and main rail line not the Yarra and Little Yarra Rivers as implied by its name (this is a common misunderstanding). Yarra Junction is a small town with many activities, services and amenities including Cunningham's Irish Inn and an RSL. Yarra Junction is said to be the functional hub of the Upper Yarra Valley.
The Post Office opened on 20 November 1901, a week after the opening of the Yarra Junction railway station as part of the railway line to Warburton.[2] Between 1913 and 1945, Yarra Junction was the junction station for the 3-foot (914 mm) gauge Powelltown Tramway. The railway, and the station, closed on 1 August 1965.[3] The station building was constructed in 1888 at Lilydale railway station, but was relocated to Yarra Junction in 1914, following the construction of a new station building at Lilydale.[4] The former station now houses the Upper Yarra Museum.[5]
Yarra Junction has five schools, Upper Yarra Secondary College, Yarra Junction Primary School, St Joseph's Primary School and the Little Yarra Steiner School. It is also home to the Cire Community School (previously called Yarra Valley Community School), an independent school for students for whom mainstream schooling has not been successful.
In addition to these schools, there is also a rural country campus for Caulfield Grammar School. The Yarra Junction Campus was established in 1949 and it was the first of its kind in Australia.
The town has an Australian Rules football team competing in the Yarra Valley Mountain District Football League. Its most famous product was former Richmond premiership ruckman Jack Dyer, also known as Captain Blood, who grew up in the town before moving to Melbourne in his late teens for school.
