Kinglake

Kinglake is a town in Victoria, Australia, 46 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District. Its local government areas are the Shires of Murrindindi and Nillumbik. At the 2016 Census, Kinglake had a population of 1,536.The town was one of the worst affected during the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009.LocationKinglake, comprising forest, farmland, a national park and a township, is located 57 km north east of Melbourne, in the Kinglake Ranges, part of the Great Dividing Range. The Kinglake Ranges vary in height from 525 m - 610 m above sea level. Many areas of Kinglake overlook the Melbourne skyline to the south west and the Yarra Valley wineries to the south. Kinglake is generally 3 °C colder than Metropolitan Melbourne, with the summers being very pleasant and heavy frosts and occasional snowfalls during winter.HistoryGold was discovered in 1861 on Mount Slide to the east of the locality at an area which became known as Mountain Rush. A Mountain Rush Post Office opened on 7 May 1862, but closed in January 1863 as the miners moved to other locations.Kinglake township was established much later and was named after British historian Alexander William Kinglake, whose eight-volume history of the Crimean War had recently been completed.