Yering

Yering is a rural/residential area 40 km north-east of Melbourne and 8 km north-east of Lilydale. It is part of the noted Yarra Valley wine-growing area. The nearest adjoining town is Coldstream.

In 1838 the Ryrie brothers overlanded cattle from New South Wales and occupied the open river flats of the Yarra Valley. Their Yering pastoral run was named after an Aboriginal word thought to mean wattle scrub or to refer to a deep pool in the vicinity of the Ryrie’s homestead. There are numerous billabongs near the river. The Ryrie’s also planted vines at Yering.

In the 1850s the Ryrie holding was acquired by two Swiss families, the de Castellas and the de Purys. Both families ventured into wine production in the 1860s, notable vineyards being St Hubert’s, Yering and Yeringberg. Vineyard labour added to the local population, and a school was opened in 1869. During the next 20 years Yering had prosperous vineyards and numerous farm selections. The river flats were increasingly used for dairying, and the opening of the railway line from Lilydale to Yarra Glen, with a station at Yering, provided a ready means for transporting dairy produce.

The trend to dairying almost coincided with a decline in winegrowing, brought about by a collapse of both local wine consumption and exports. During the early 1900s vineyards gave way to dairy blocks.

With the regrowth of local wine consumption in the 1960s, the St Huberts and Yeringberg vineyards were replanted, starting a return of wine growing to the Yarra Valley. By the late 1990s the valley had over 30 vineyards.

Yering is situated at the western edge of the winegrowing area, and grazing is equally in evidence. The Lilydale airport is in the west of Yering, along with the Melbourne Gun Club and the Yering Meadows Golf Course (2008) operated by Croydon Golf Club. There is a primary school (17 pupils, 2014) and a disused station on the railway line which was closed in 1981. The Yering River flats and the Yering swamp adjoin the Yarra River, and the river runs through a gap in an escarpment known as the Yering Gorge.

A second golf course, Eastern Golf Club designed by Greg Norman, was scheduled to open in 2015 accompanied by boutique accommodation known as the Yering Gorge Cottages on the banks of the Yarra River. The course features a 27 hole golf course plus a 9 hole par 3 course.

Yering’s census populations have been: