Exploring Spadoni's Nature Reserve, Yering

Yarra at the Reserve

Zoom view to Yarra Ranges from the Reserve

Farmland surrounding the Reserve

Spadoni's Nature Reserve is in thei semural district of Yering, 35 km east of the Melbourne CBD. Next to the Yarra River, it features two main walking tracks, footbridges, a billabong, wetlands, footbridges, and views to the Christmas Hills and Yarra Ranges.

It is managed by the Yarra Ranges Shire, and is at the end of Victoria Rd, which starts at Maroondah Highway, Lilydale.

Adjacent to it is the flying area for radio controlled model aircraft, the Lilydale regional airport, and the Melbourne Gun Club.

I explored the 3 km of walking tracks on Tuesday May 4, 2010, which was unseasonally warm at 23 degrees!

The pictures show the scenery and environment in this interesting Reserve.

This area, and surrounding wetlands would have been flooded in 1973 if the proposed huge Yarra Brae Dam had been built. This was to be part of the Sugarloaf Reservoir Project, with a 30 m high concrete wall to be positioned across the Yarra just east of Warrandyte, and woulod have pumped water into the Sugarloaf Reservoir higher up.

The Dam was abandoned as the result of community protests and the Sugarloaf Reservoir was constructed independently.

The proposed Yarra Brae Dam would have inundated all land extending out some 20 km to Yarra Glen, flooding scores of farms, properties, businesses, public land and the white water regions of the Yarra.

Please see all of the Photos of my visit, which includes a map showing the area which would have been flooded (shown in green).