Marysville
Postcode: 3779
Marysville is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on Marysville Road, 34 kilometres north-east of Healesville, in the Murrindindi Shire. It has a population of approximately 650. At the 2001 census Marysville had a population of 592.
The town was established as a stopping point on the way to the Woods Point goldfields. Marysville was named after Mary Steavenson, the wife of Assistant Commissioner of Roads and Bridges John Steavenson whom the popular Steavenson Falls are named after.
In 2004 a telemovie, Little Oberon starring Sigrid Thornton, was filmed in and around Marysville.
Marysville’s primary industry is tourism. It contains numerous cafes, art galleries, restaurants, and craft shops. It is used as a base for the Lake Mountain ski resort. Resorts include The Cumberland Marysville and Villa Day Spa, El Kanah Marysville and Marylands Country House. Bed and Breakfast locations abound and there are several caravan parks and camping spots. During the snow season, the population of the town may double or even triple, due to the influx of other hospitality and tourism caterers, such as ski hire, toboggan hire, chain hire, and many other profitable ventures associated with snowplay and skiing. There are many tourist attractions throughout the area, such as Bruno’s Sculpture Garden, and Stevenson’s Falls.
According to the Wilderness Society, the local community has opposed logging, which threatens the area’s old growth forests and tourism. A large proportion of the logging and roading is in close vicinity to the Beech forests seen by tourists visiting the Lady Talbot Drive in the Upper Taggerty catchment. Marysville depends heavily on tourism for its economic prosperity and employment. In contrast, the agriculture, forestry and fishing industries combined accounted for less than three percent of the region’s employment in 1995.