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Emerald (post code: 3782) is an outer-eastern-suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is within the Local Government Area of the Shire of Cardinia with a small part being within the Shire of Yarra Ranges. It also includes Cardinia Reservoir, Melbourne's second largest reservoir.

Emerald Winterfestival
The Emerald WinterFest is an annual town festival held on the last weekend in July on Kilvington Drive in Emerald. Kilvington Drive is blocked off, to prevent motor vehicle traffic entering, allowing many WinterFest stalls to be established and enjoyed by the thousands of local residents that attend the event. The WinterFest consists of many small craft and food stalls, antiques, children’s rides and a pet parade. There are numerous events throughout the day.There is a show where "Mad Macka" and the other bushrangers on horseback hold up Puffing Billy in an attempt to steal the Gold being carried on the train. There is also Emergency Services demonstration which in past years has included scenarios such as car crashes, plane crashes and even train crashes.

PAVE Arts Festival
PAVE stands for "Performing and Visual arts in Emerald", which is an Annual Festival which takes place every year in Mid April. The PAVE Festival will run for its fourth year in 2009. The festival includes a number of activities taking place at different locations around Emerald over a number of days. Such activities include the Emerald Arts Society art exhibition at the Environment Centre at Emerald Lake, an exhibition of The Great Wall of Art at the Emerald Community House, a photography exhibition and a Youth Short Film Festival competition, an exhibition and demonstration of local art courses and lessons, craft and produce markets, a historic tour of Emerald and live music.

Other Events
Emerald also has an annual Carols by Candlelight at Worrell Reserve. It commences with a family picnic and concludes with a fireworks display.

Cardinia Reservoir
Cardinia Reservoir is situated entirely in Emerald, Victoria. It is south of the main township and the southern border of the suburb follows the Reservoir Boundary. It is the second largest reservoir in Melbourne's water supply.

Cardinia Reservoir Park
On the Southern side of the Reservoir there is a large park run by Parks Victoria. Facilities include barbecues and toilets and is open every day of the year. The park is home to many species of wildlife including Kangaroos, Wombats and Possums. It is even possible to walk across one of the dam walls at the park. Despite being located in the suburb of Emerald, the entrance to the park is approximately 10 minutes drive out of Emerald in Narre Warren East.

Reservoir Facts Sheet
Area of catchment: 2,800 hectares (off stream storage) water supplied from Silvan

Type of dam: Rolled earthfill and rockfill embankment

Maximum height of main dam from river to crest: 85 metres

Length measured along top of dam: 1,542 metres (main bank only, saddle dams have an additional crest length of 2,841 metres)

Surface area (top water level): 1,295 hectares

Total available capacity: 287,000 megalitres

Volume as at 24/10/2007: 133,919 megalitres (46.7% full)

Where the water goes: Southern and southern-eastern suburbs and the Mornington Peninsula

Date of completion: 1973

History
The Emerald Post Office opened on 22 December 1899.

Puffing Billy & Emerald Lake
Emerald is known for Emerald Lake (Lake Treganowan) a park where one may take the family and enjoy the peace and tranquility. The lake offers BBQ facilities, children's playgrounds, a pool, paddle boats, walking tracks, fishing, Environment Centre, model railway, café and a railway station for Puffing Billy.

The Puffing Billy Railway is a heritage steam operated railway opened in 1900, which runs between Belgrave and Gembrook, now recreating the heyday in the 1920s of this narrow-gauge line. It has three stations within Emerald—at Emerald, Nobelius and Lakeside, with Nobelius only being a "Stops if required" station. Also, Nobelius Siding is located between Emerald and Nobelius stations which is only stopped at for functions, or the regular "Dinner Train" at the former Packing Shed adjacent to the siding.

The Great Train Race (GTR) is an annual fun run from Belgrave to Emerald Lake in which participants attempt to beat Puffing Billy to the finish line and is organised by volunteers of the Puffing Billy Preservation Society.

The route from Belgrave to Emerald Lake which participants run is 13.2 km long, and in 2006 had 2,403 participants in the 25th Great Train Race. Participants of the GTR may win prizes; The first Male and Female runners of the 2007 GTR held on the 6th of May received a return flight to Antarctica as well as a unique Great Train Race trophy. For details on the Great Train Race, visit Great Train Race.

Other Attractions
Also notable is the Gemco Hall, which has been home to the Gemco Players Community Theatre since the 1990's. Gemco offers a variety of plays as well as social activities, involving the Emerald community and abroad.

Chris and Marie's (Wombat Gully) plant farm was another notable feature of Emerald until it closed down in April 2005.

The areas around Emerald are excellent for finding chanterelles and other edible mushrooms, and are a popular destination for mushroom hunters each autumn.

Education
Emerald has a Kindergarten and Pre School, Emerald Primary School which serves the local area and a secondary school, Emerald Secondary College which serves the Southern Dandenong Ranges region. There are no Private schools or Higher Education facilities in Emerald.

Emergency services
Emerald has a Part Time Police Station, a Full Time Ambulance Station as well as a volunteer CFA Brigade and SES Unit. The Emerald Volunteer Fire Brigade is located on Belgrave-Gembrook Road near the Corner of Emerald-Beaconsfield Road, and attends approximately 190 Emergency Incidents per year. The Brigade trains on Wednesday Evenings and Sunday Mornings and new members are always welcome.

Demographics
Emerald's population as of the 2006 Census was 6,135 (a decrease of 9 from the 2001 census), (3,050 male, 3,085 female), 4,662 people were aged 15 years and over (2,280 male, 2,382 female) and 460 were aged 65 years and over (200 male, 260 female).

According to the 2001 Census, 17 people identified themselves as indigenous persons (comprises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander).

5,461 are Australian Citizens, while 4,770 people were identified as having been born in Australia. 1,365 were born overseas. 5,608 people speak English alone.

Sport and Recreation
The town has an Australian Rules football team competing in the Yarra Valley Mountain District Football League.

Local Media
Emerald receives standard Melbourne Television and radio broadcasts. However Emerald also has its own local radio station 3MDR, located in the Emerald Hall. 3MDR broadcasts are aimed at the Dandenong Ranges region with Volunteer staff and announcers. The two local newspapers are the Ranges Trader Mail and the Free Press Leader. However neither paper is actually published in Emerald.

Television Dramas Set in Emerald
Solo One was a TV series screened in 1976 set in Emerald, about a local (fictional) policeman dealing with crime in Emerald, however was considered a children's show. Filming of A Country Practice in the fictional town of Wandin Valley was moved to Emerald when the show moved to Network Ten.