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General Information.
Locate at the corner of Maroondah Highway and Mt Dandenong
Road, Ringwood Lake Park is a Maroondah City icon.
Walking, cycling, picnicking, bird-watching, fishing, and the best multiple abilities playground for miles around.
Ringwood Lake Park features a park, lake and bridge, sound shell,
Miner's Cottage, playground with accessible equipment, picnic shelters
and barbecues, heritage walking trail, bushland and creek and a fern
gully walk.
The highlight of Ringwood Lake Park is the playground. melbourneplaygrounds.com.au.
Extensive playgrounds are located within the park along with some
equipment suitable for children with a disability. The paths around the
lake are sealed making the park popular for running and walking, and
there are picnic/BBQ facilities, accessible toilets and shade.
The 8.5 hectare park was created in the 1920's with a 1 hectare in size lake with a 1 kilometre shoreline.
Ringwood Lake In 1926 the lake was created, with community co-operation, by damming
the Sandy Creek which flowed north-westerly to the Mullum Mullum Creek. It was an area of mud, fallen logs and grasses which
now provides alternative habitat for wildlife as well as passive recreational opportunities.
Damming
the
natural water course, by engineering a deeper and wider area, has allowed the
lake to form and it is continually fed by the creek that would have run past the
back of Ringwood private Hospital, and is now underground in barrel
drains.
The water that flows into the lake is natural run off, storm water from a
large area of Ringwood extending from the south end of the lake near Rosedale
Crescent. The water then empties from the lake back into Mullum Mullum
Creek.
At times the lake is about 4 meters deep, but is quite shallow and swift
flowing along the entry courses. Ducks that inhabit the lake and protected and
should not be fed bread as it is unsuitable food for them, and waste bread
causes bacterial growth in the lake, which can be deadly to the ducks.
Community groups and
individuals have contributed both time and funding
towards the Park's preservation, including recent works to enhance the
cultural value of the park.
The significance of the park has been highlighted through the
preservation of the local history, pleasant naturally significant
surroundings and by hosting annual festivals.
Ringwood Lake Park is a 10 minute walk from Ringwood railway station.
Buses drive right past. Car travellers can park on Maroondah Highway, or
use the carpark off Mt Dandenong Road.
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Flood Mitigation In the1950s, the Lake had been subjected to serious flooding, particularly
in the Larissa Avenue area, which had been built along the course of Sandy Creek. In 1963, extensive drainage works
were carried out, to mitigate flooding of low-lying residential properties downstream towards the Mllum Mullum Creek. This
involved deep excavations at the north-western end of the lake, carrying lake overflow beneath the Maroondah Highway,
where large diameter tunnels were placed.
Two images of the excavation works of 1963, showing the new drainage tunnels being placed under the
Maroondah Highway. (RDHS)
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Above: Aerial view of Ringwood, 1969. Lake at left. Maroondah Highway at bottom.
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