Chirnside Park

Chirnside Park, formerly West Lilydale or a part of Mooroolbark, is a suburb 33 km east of Melbourne.

The original settlement of Chirnside Park was centred on the Mooroolbark Park homestead and grazing property which had a succession of owners from 1845 until 1921 when it was purchased by George Chirnside. The Chirnside family sold Werribee Park, the headquarters of its empire, transferring their stud herds and contents of the Werribee mansion to Mooroolbark Park. George Chirnside died in 1941 without a direct male descendant, and trustees and later a company held the property. In 1956 Community Centres Pty Ltd obtained Lillydale shire's approval for subdivision of the land, and five years later gained the title. The company in conjunction with the estate agents Willmore and Randell named the subdivision Chirnside Park in 1962, which included a country club based around the Mooroolbark homestead. The country club includes an extensive golf course. These are in the east Chirnside Park, adjoining the Maroondah Highway and bordering Lilydale.

A primary school (1980) (253 pupils, 2014) and a drive-in district shopping centre are situated on the western side of Chirnside Park, along with several recreation areas and a large area occupied by Life Ministry Fellowship. The south-east part of Chirnside Park has bulky-goods retail outlets on Maroondah Highway and borders the large suburb of Mooroolbark.

Chirnside Park extends north to the Yarra River. The northern two-thirds of Chirnside Park is open space with farms, wineries and the Heritage Golf and Country Club (1999) which includes houses and a hotel.

Chirnside Park's census populations have been: