Coldstream, Victoria

History

The township developed around the railway station after the railway arrived in 1888. The Post Office opening on 7 February 1889. Prior to that the locality was known as "The Lodge".

In 1909, Dame Nellie Melba bought Coombe Cottage at Coldstream. The house is located at the junction of Maroondah Highway and Melba Highway (named in her honour). It became the home of Melba's granddaughter, Lady Pamela Vestey, until her death in 2011. It is now owned by the Vestey family.

Today

Coldstream has a local primary school, community centre, landfill and several farms.

It had a railway station that closed to passengers in 1983, but was used for freight purposes up until 1992 when it closed after the buildings were destroyed by fire.

The Bureau of Meteorology operates an automatic weather station at Coldstream Airfield. A private automatic weather station is also maintained on Coldstream Estate.

Commerce

Coldstream is the site of a few commercial interests, including Coldstream Timber & Hardware, Coldstream Brewery and the Chandon Australia winery, sister to Domaine Chandon California.

Airport

Coldstream Airport is owned by the Doake family and has been in operation since the early 1960s.

It is home to:

• Coldstream Flying School, operated by Yarra Valley Flight Training
• The Coldstream Flyers Club
• Private aircraft

Fire brigade

Coldstream has an active CFA (Country Fire Authority) volunteer fire brigade established after the serious fires of 1962. This was a name change from the Lilydale Rural Fire Brigade originally established in 1939 as the Lilydale Bushfire Brigade, changing its name in 1945 on the establishment of the CFA (Country Fire Authority).

Population

In the 2016 Census, there were 2,164 people in Coldstream. 83.3% of people were born in Australia. The next most common country of birth was England at 4.9%. 91.4% of people spoke only English at home. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 42.5%, Catholic 20.5% and Anglican 12.1%.

Climate

Coldstream has an oceanic climate that is transitional with the inland climates of southern Victoria, resulting in higher summer daytime temperatures than on the Victorian coastline. Averages even out due to lower overnight temperatures, where Coldstream can get close to freezing even in the midst of summer. Rainfall peaks in late winter and spring.

|Jan record high C = 43.4 |Feb record high C = 44.8 |Mar record high C = 39.9 |Apr record high C = 33.3 |May record high C = 26.7 |Jun record high C = 22.0 |Jul record high C = 22.5 |Aug record high C = 23.3 |Sep record high C = 29.7 |Oct record high C = 34.0 |Nov record high C = 38.2 |Dec record high C = 41.6 |year record high C = 44.8 |Jan record low C = 0.9 |Feb record low C = 2.4 |Mar record low C = -1.7 |Apr record low C = -3.3 |May record low C = -5.5 |Jun record low C = -5.8 |Jul record low C = -5.3 |Aug record low C = -5.8 |Sep record low C = -3.6 |Oct record low C = -3.8 |Nov record low C = -0.8 |Dec record low C = 0.4 |year record low C = -5.8

Sport

The town has an Australian Rules football team, the Coldstream Cougars, competing in the Eastern Football League.

Coldstream also has a standalone betball club.

References

References

1. "Urban Growth Boundary map".
2. "Coldstream".
3. "Post Office List".
4. (10 August 2023). "Coombe Cottage".
5. "Coldstream Primary School".
6. "Coldstream Community Centre". Yarra Ranges Shire Council.
7. "Coldstream transfer station". Yarra Ranges Shire Council.
8. "Latest Weather Observations for Coldstream".
9. "Coldstream Estate - IVICTORI90".
10. "Chandon Australia - About - Story".
11. "Yarra Valley Flight Training".
12. "Coldstream Flyers Club".
13. "Coldstream Fire Brigade".
14. {{Census 2016 AUS
15. "Climate normals for Coldstream". Bureau of Meteorology.
16. "Eastern Football Netball League".
17. "Coldstream Netball Club".