RJ Hamer Arboretum

RJ Hamer Arboretum is a 126-hectare arboretum within Dandenong Ranges National Park at Olinda in the Yarra Ranges, Victoria, about 40 km east of Melbourne. Established in 1973 and named after former Victorian Premier Sir Rupert Hamer, it contains more than 150 species of native and exotic trees planted for conservation, study and display. Known for vivid autumn colour, sweeping views over the Yarra Valley and tranquil walking tracks, it is a popular destination for nature appreciation and photography.

Visitors can expect a peaceful, forested landscape of planted avenues and open lawns set on a hillside within Dandenong Ranges National Park. Sealed and unsealed walking tracks wind through collections of exotic and native trees, including maples, oaks, conifers and eucalypts, with lookouts offering views across the Yarra Valley. The site has car parks, picnic tables, toilets and an information shelter. Activities are low-key and nature-based, centred on walking, sightseeing, photography and birdwatching.

Established in 1973 on former farmland and pine plantation in the Dandenong Ranges, the arboretum was created to establish a collection of native and exotic trees for conservation, research, education and public enjoyment. It was named in 1977 after Sir Rupert James Hamer, Premier of Victoria from 1972 to 1981, who supported expansion of the state's park system and environmental conservation.

The arboretum is valued as a living horticultural and forestry collection and as a community recreation landscape within the Dandenong Ranges, reflecting Victoria's 1970s conservation ethos and providing an educational resource for tree identification and landscape appreciation.