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Produced and published by the School of Historical & Philosophical Studies, The University of Melbourne
Published July 2008
Published July 2008
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(3139, 50 km E, Yarra Ranges Shire)
Woori Yallock is a mainly rural district located on the Warburton Highway. In its various spellings (Wori Yolaok, Worri Yalloak) its name is derived from an Aboriginal term meaning 'running creek'. Barak, the famous Wurundjeri leader, settled briefly near here on a short-lived Aboriginal reserve gazetted in 1862. Opera-singer Nellie Melba's father, the builder David Mitchell, had a property at Woori Yallock named Steele's Flat, which David Syme of the Age newspaper took over and expanded. Timber milling and tourism were mainstays in the early 20th century, and residential expansion in the 1970s doubled the town's population.