Maroondah Reservoir Park
One of Melbourne's oldest and best known reservoirs, Maroondah is somewhat of a magnet on sunny weekends and school holidays as it has everything people expect of an inland leisure reserve - plenty of room for big crowds, large lawns with room for ball games, large picnic and barbecue areas, all set within the shade of tall eucalypt trees. The park has picnic tables, wood barbecues (wood supplied), rotundas and toilets.For those who don't go there to play, Maroondah features gardens with stands of native and exotic trees, native animals and birds and walking tracks. Some come to photograph the historic Rose Stairway which is at its best in Autumn, or to enjoy azaleas and rhododendrons in full bloom in spring. During the wetter months experience the awesome force of the water tumbling over the spillway. There is an information shelter near the bottom of the main carpark that can be accessed via a short path on a level compacted earth/crushed rock surface. The shelter has a level paved surface and there is sufficient room under the shelter for manoeuvrability for wheelchairs.
Lookout Track (crosses dam wall): 1 km, 30 minutes - Moderate. This track starts from the information shelter located north of the main carpark area. You can explore the attractions below the dam wall then climb the Rose Stairway (for those who cannot climb steps there is a bitumen walking track, at the eastern end of the carpark, that also leads to the top of the wall). At the top of the stairway the track to the left leads across the dam wall to the lookout for spectacular views.
Maroondah Forest Track: 800m, 15 minutes - Moderate. This track connects the Lookout to Henderson s Picnic Area via a pleasant forest walk.
Scenic Views Track: 1.3 km, 30 minutes - Easy. This scenic walk starts at the top carpark. Winding through grassed areas with large exotic trees and spectacular views of the surrounding mountains the track eventually reaches the top of the dam wall.
Henderson s Hill Track: 1.4km, 40 minutes - Moderate. This track leaves Henderson s Picnic Area at the footbridge over the Watts River. It climbs to the top of Henderson s Hill and back down to the access road, which goes from Maroondah to Donnellys Weir.
Location: Maroondah Highway, a few km past Healvesville, Vic.
The Maroondah Dam is a rock foundation concrete gravity dam with an uncontrolled concrete chute spillway across the Watts River. Constructed in the 1920s by the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works, it is now operated by Melbourne Water. Like most of Melbourne's water storages, the entire catchment is eucalypt forest completely closed to human activity, as is the reservoir itself. Maroondah Reservoir Park is immediately below the dam wall. A walking track leads across the dam wall, over the spillway, and up to a lookout from which much of the reservoir can be viewed.
History: Following the Yan Yean and Toorourrong schemes, the Maroondah Dam scheme was the third water supply source for Melbourne. The Maroondah Aqueduct was built in 1886 1881 to supply water to the Preston Reservoir from a diversion weir on the Watts River. The level for the aqueduct was determined by the site of the proposed Maroondah Reservoir. Preparatory work for the dam was undertaken during the period 1915 1919. Construction commenced in October 1920 and was completed in 1927. During this period the capacity of the Maroondah Aqueduct was increased. In 1989 the spillway was enlarged and stabilised using ground anchors.
