Emerald - Melbourne Suburbs

Emerald

Emerald is a suburb that is 44 km south-east of Melbourne's CBD in its picturesque Dandenong foothills.

It is located in the Cardinia Shire and had a population of 6135 at the 2006 Census.

Description

The description you would get of Emerald would depend on if you are a visitor to the area or a local.

If you are a visitor, it would be as a central part of the heritage Puffing Billy Railway which is regarded as the area’s biggest tourist attraction and one of Victoria’s biggest tourist attractions outside the Melbourne CBD.

It’s a beautiful experience with the steam train chugging and whistling its way through the leafy and picturesque 11 stops on its route between Belgrave and Gembrook which recreates the 1920s heyday of this narrow-gauge line

It has three stations within Emerald - at Emerald itself, Nobelius and Lakeside, which is close to the Cardinia Reservoir, Melbourne’s second largest reservoir which was opened in 1973. The lake offers barbecue facilities, children's playgrounds, a pool, paddle boats, walking tracks, fishing, Environment Centre, model railway and the requisite cafe.

Also, Nobelius Siding is between Emerald and Nobelius stations which is only stopped at for functions, or the regular "Dinner Train" at the former Nobelius Nurseries Packing Shed adjacent to the siding.

Ask a local about Emerald on the other hand, and they will be proud of the fact that it still is small enough not to have its own traffic lights, and that’s just how they like it.

They regard Emerald as a sanctuary with a wonderful village atmosphere where people still say hello to each other as they do their shopping or have a coffee at a cafe.

The gorgeous walks at Emerald Lake Park or any of the forest areas in Sherbrooke Forest are a great way to get fit and the children seem to be happy with plenty of organised sporting and recreational opportunities.

They love the rich, rolling hills and country air that is only permeated by the steam train whistles of Puffing Billy itself.

They say that it is still great as a treechange destination for retirees or families wanting a less suburban future for their children.

They say it also has the benefits of being semi-rural in the foothills of the Dandenongs without necessarily being colder and wetter in winter.

Demographics

Emerald's population in the 2006 Census was 6135 (a decrease of 9 from the 2001 census), (3050 male, 3085 female), there were 4662 people were aged 15 years and over and 460 were aged 65 years and over.

In terms of ethnic background, there were 5461 Australian Citizens, while 4770 people were identified as having been born in Australia and only 1365 were born overseas.

In terms of language 5608 people (91.4%) speak English alone. While this is considered a very high “white” population by Melbourne standards, it is not unusual in the context of regional and rural Australia, which still does not have the same multicultural mix of the bigger Australian cities.

Housing

An overwhelming 99.4% of the dwellings in Emerald are stand-alone houses with only 13 medium density dwellings in the entire area. Again, this is extremely high by Greater Melbourne standards, but a fairly normal demographic in a semi-rural Australian town.

Transport

Pretty much Puffing Billy as a transport option or road using either private car or bus.

Shopping

Locals both bemoan the relative lack of shopping options and protect them vigorously to keep out the march of suburbia which has overtaken nearby Pakenham.

Education

Emerald has a Kindergarten and a Pre School, the Emerald Primary School (with roughly 400 students) which serves the local area and a secondary school, called Emerald Secondary College which serves the Southern Dandenong Rangers region.

Emerald has its own library and also features the Emerald Community House which runs adult education, pre-accredited ACFE training courses and hobby courses.

There are also childcare programs, out of school hours care and children's extension programs and disability services.

Employment

As far as employment occupations are concerned, there is a fairly even mix, with 20.&% of the population in trades jobs, 19.8% identifying as professionals, 13.5% as clerical or admin workers and 12.5% identifying themselves as managers.

Summary

One local’s online summary of what it was like in the town pretty much hit the nail on the head saying “it has the benefits of a quiet hills lifestyle without giving up too much in terms of proximity to shops and services. Emerald shops are a couple of minutes away, Belgrave (trains) is 10 minutes and Rowville/Narre Warren (Fountain Gate) is 15. Oh, and you can watch Puffing Billy go by every day!”