Local government, landmarks and heritage in Ringwood

Ringwood was ceded from the Shire of Lilydale and created a borough on 22 October 1924. It was officially proclaimed a borough on 13 December 1924.

Ringwood was proclaimed a city on 19 March 1960. On 15 December 1994 the City of Ringwood was amalgamated to form part of Maroondah City Council. The new municipality also included the former City of Croydon.

mayors-borough-and-city-ringwood.pdf(PDF, 183KB)

Ringwood is known for its clocktower. Conceived as a War Memorial after the Great War, the clock tower was built in 1928 on the corner of Whitehorse Road (Main Street) and Warrandyte Road. It was formally unveiled by the Mayor of the newly formed Borough of Ringwood, and not by military ceremony.

The clocktower became an icon and, increasingly, a traffic hazard. With the proposed development of Eastland Shopping Centre nearby, it was decided, after some controversy, to re-erect the Clock Tower at the site of the former Cool Stores on the corner of Whitehorse Road and Wantirna Road.

It was re-dedicated in December 1967.

Watch an archival video of the move from 1967, which involved the clocktower being rebuilt brick by brick.

Ringwood Clocktower's Keeper

Ron has been maintaining the Ringwood Clocktower for 30 years. He served an apprenticeship in England, is a Craft Member of the British Horological Institute and is also a member of the Watch and Clockmakers of Australia Guild. Watch the video to find out more about Ron and the Ringwood Clocktower.

The Blood family, and its descendants, are an important contributor to the history of Ringwood. Robert Blood was a Box Hill pioneer in the early 1850s. His sons, William and John, moved to Ringwood a decade later and grew extensive orchards in the Ringwood East area, near the Dublin and Bedford Roads intersection. Two of William’s sons, Arthur and William John, established a general store and bakery at the Braeside Avenue and Mount Dandenong Road corner. In that location was the original village of Ringwood, supporting families who worked at the local mines and brick and tile works, as well as attracting passing trade on their way to Lilydale.

With the closure of the mining industry, Ringwood businesses moved to the area around the railway station. In those days, the railway crossing was an extension of Greenwood Avenue, traffic going over the railway lines. The Blood Brothers established two stores, one on the north side of the crossing, where the Council offices are located on Maroondah Highway today, and the other on the south side at 1 Bedford Road. Arthur Blood managed the northerly The Block Emporium, built in 1912, selling mainly clothing and attire, with a small bakery. Arthur was a man of local affairs, a foundation member of the first Ringwood Borough Council in 1924 and Mayor on many occasions.

The southern store, The Blood Bros. Store, was built in 1914 by local builder Roy Wilkins, using material from the Standard Brickworks in Box Hill and the Tesselated Tile Works in Mitcham. Roy was a fellow Foundation Councillor with Arthur, his wife a cousin of Arthur and his son, Bill Wilkins OAM, an Honorary Freeman of the City of Maroondah Council, Councillor and Mayor of the Council. This store was managed by William, selling groceries and household wares.

To make way for a new car park in 2023, the Blood Brothers general store building was hydraulically moved 30 metres and rotated 120 degrees into its present position, using a technique that had been used just once before in Australia. It remains the City’s earliest example of a retail building and honours the development of Ringwood as a major hub of commercial enterprise.

To learn more about housing and buildings of heritage significance visit Council’s Heritage planning page.

Council is committed to ensuring the identification, protection and recognition of its heritage assets. Part of this role involves undertaking heritage studies with assessments of places thought to be of heritage value.

Accordingly, a number of Heritage studies have been prepared in accordance the Australia ICOMOS Burra Charter, 1999 and its guidelines.

You can read previous heritage studies from 1998, 2003 and 2020 which detail the thematic history of Maroondah with details of the main themes and places since the time of European exploration.

Learn more about heritage in Maroondah.

Council is committed to ensuring the identification, protection and recognition of its heritage assets, which includes housing. Part of this role involves undertaking heritage studies with assessments of places thought to be of heritage value.

Accordingly, a number of Heritage studies have been prepared in accordance the Australia ICOMOS Burra Charter, 1999 and Planning Practice Note 1 Applying the Heritage Overlay (PPN01) including the HERCON criteria.

You can read previous heritage studies from 1998, 2003 and 2020 which detail the thematic history of Maroondah with details of the main themes and places since the time of European exploration. For more information see Heritage planning and Maroondah’s cultural heritage.