| Olinda Creek (Gnurt-bille-worrun) | |
| Name Etymology: | Named after Alice Olinda Hodgkinson, daughter of Deputy Surveyor-General Clement Hodgkinson |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | Australia |
| Subdivision Type2: | State |
| Subdivision Name2: | Victoria |
| Subdivision Type3: | Region |
| Subdivision Name3: | Central Victoria |
| Subdivision Type5: | City |
| Subdivision Name5: | Melbourne |
| Length: | 21.4km (13.3miles) |
| Discharge1 Location: | mouth |
| Source1: | Mount Dandenong |
| Source1 Location: | Great Dividing Range, Victoria |
| Source1 Elevation: | 580m (1,900feet) |
| Mouth Location: | Yarra River, Coldstream, Victoria, Australia |
| Mouth Elevation: | 76m (249feet) |
Olinda Creek (Woiwurrung: Gnurt-bille-worrun)[1] is a major tributary of the Yarra River in Victoria, Australia. Its origins are in the Dandenong Ranges, and it is notable for passing through the settlement of Lilydale (now a suburb of Melbourne) before joining with the Yarra near Coldstream.[2] [3]
When Europeans first entered this area of southern Australia, they moved up the valley of the Olinda Creek (then called Running Creek because it was a perennial stream). The formal naming process began with the survey of Lilydale township by John Hardy in 1859–60. At the same time that he named Lilydale, Hardy renamed the creek ‘Olinda’ after Alice Olinda Hodgkinson, daughter of Deputy Surveyor-General Clement Hodgkinson.
A major dam wall was built to create Silvan Reservoir in 1926. This stopped water flowing into Olinda Creek at the northern end of the reservoir. A second, minor dam wall at the southern end stops water flowing into Emerald Creek.
Between 1988 and 1990 a dam was built on the creek just south of Lilydale, creating Lillydale Lake. The lake provides flood mitigation to areas downstream. It incorporates extensive wetlands and is a community recreation facility.[4]