Welcome to the Friends of the Healesville Freeway Reserve
The Healesville Freeway reserve between Springvale & Boronia Road is currently in a planning process for alternative use as the road will not proceed. The Community uses sections of this reserve as open space for Active and Passive Recreation. There are also several sections of endangered remnant bushland along the reserve that provide habitat for native animals.
This site aims to keep the community up to date with information regarding the consultation process and help to retain community access to the reserve following the conclusion of the consultation process. To date we have collected almost 5000 signatures (4981 if you think we should be exact) for the petition.
How can you help?
Follow us on Facebook and subscribe to the news letter to keep up to date with information.
For more information email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Springvale Road to Boronia Road section ( Melway ref:62/E5 to 63/C4)
- Activities at various site from 10am – 12.30pm
- BBQ at George Road entry of Bellbird Dell from 12.30pm – 2 pm.
Download Open Day Flyer Download Open Day Activities
Activities – To be held at various sites along the reserve
- Springvale Road car park (Melway 62/E5) – Whitehorse cyclists will have a display and take groups of riders from Springvale rd to Terrara rd and back, bring your bikes along.
- Strathdon Orchard – Whitehorse Historical Society will have a display about the Strathdon site and all the other historical sites along the reserve. Learn about the history of the site.
- Davy Lane Reserve – Vermont Junior Football club to have a game and clinic. Come along and support the kids or bring your children for a clinic
- Nunawadding Community Gardens – A display on the history of the gardens, which is the first community garden established in Australia. Tours will be held, with people on hand to talk to you about growing vegetables and flowers. The Horticulture Center toilets will be open for the public on the day from 10 – 12.30pm
- Bellbird Dell reserve – George Road Picnic areas ( Melway 62/J6) The Blackburn & District Tree Society, Greenlink & Bungalook nurseries will put up displays on Indigenous Flora & Fauna and be on hand to talk about their activities.
- Live Music – School Bands / ensembles will perform at the George street picnic ground. Vermont Secondary College 10 -11am and Emmaus College from 11 – 12noon.
- Nature Walks – Nature walks will be conducted in the BBD, starting at the George street entrance - duration 1 hour.
- Bird walk – 10am - bring along binoculars if you have them.
- Nature Walk - 10.30am – Focus on plants, animals, insects and fungi
- Nature Walk – 11am - Focus on plants, animals, insects and fungi
- NADRASCA Farm, 82 Morack road– Display and site tours. Toilet facilities available.
- Nethercote, 140 Boronia Road – Equestrian activities
Free Sausage sizzle from 12.30 – 2pm – At George Road entry to Bellbird Dell to be run by the Vermont South Lions Club. Toilet facilities at Terrara Park
Community workshops - Download VicRoads report.897.43 KB
It is concerning to note that there is no report for the Deliberative forum, which was a key consultation forum, to get the views of the broader community, living close to and far away from the site. VicRoads went to great lengths and at taxpayer expense, ran that forum, however even 7 months later, have not yet put out a report on it. Instead they refer any enquiries to 'The Way Forward' document, which in their own words is a document that incorporates where practical the views expressed in all the consultation activities till that time.Which is a discretionary and filtered collection of views. We believe the community is entitled to better that that. In the interest of transparency, VicRoads should make the full report on the Deliberative Forum available to the public, so they can be fully informed of how it was run and the views expressed as the outcomes.
Gifting of the land issue - Still working on it, if anyone knows the name of the Flower farm or its owner's name please let me know, I know the name of the apple orchard owner but do not know what the orchard was called, any info on that would be great. The more precise the info we ask for the better the chance we get something meaningful out.
Nardasca Petition - 
Download the petition sheet
If you could print off a few and get as many signatures as possible that would be great. There is no end date but asap would be best.
Council brochure - Download brochure
This is the brochure that council has printed about the action they have taken so far on the HFR issue.
The Friends of the Healesville Freeway Reserve thank the following organisations for their support in aiding the community groups trying to retain the Healesville Freeway Reserve as an open space in public ownership.
Update on the Petition -
13th Dec’12 – tabled by Neil Angus – 4308
7th Feb’13 – Tabled by Luke Donnellan – 76
25th March – Handed over to Neil Angus - 263
13th June - Tabled by Luke Donnellan – 334
Grand total – 4981 signatures.
If you value the open space and want to have your voice heard, please download the petition form below and get your family and friends to sign.
It needs to be returned by 31 January 2013, so it can be tabled in Parliament when it resumes in the new year in February.
4371 signatures have been submitted in the first petition submission that will go to Parliament before Christmas 2012. Read more...
- Collect Signatures
- Please return to:
Friends of the Healesville Freeway Reserve
PO Box 371
Vermont, VIC 3133
- by 31st January 2013.
Earlier this week Friends of the Healesille Freeway Reserve presented State Member for Forest Hill, Mr Neil Angus, with the petition signed by 4371 people, so that it could be tabled in State Parliament before the Christmas break.
- Maintain the reserve as Open Space for the use of the community
- Protect the endangered vegetation on the site.
The petition asks the Legislative Assembly of Victoria to:
Further signatures are being collected over summer and will be submitted for tabling in February.