Clematis

Clematis is a small township in the Dandenong Ranges, 42 km south-east of Melbourne and 6 km east of Belgrave.

The first significant settlement at Clematis was O'Connor's Paradise Hotel (1880) at the junction of Wellington and Belgrave-Gembrook Roads. The place was known as Paradise until confusion with a place of the same name near St Arnaud caused residents to change to Clematis, an endemic creeper plant, in 1921. The Paradise Hotel remains a landmark.

Clematis was the third stopping place on the Belgrave to Gembrook narrow-gauge railway (1900), now the Puffing Billy scenic railway. Several farms grew fruit and berries, and the Australian Jam Company had a large berry farm. Clematis was a tourist resort and remains part of a scenic route. It has a fire station, hall and the hotel. The census populations of Clematis have been: