Coldstream is a locality and township within Greater Melbourne beyond the Melbourne metropolitan area Urban Growth Boundary, 36 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Yarra Ranges. At the 2011 Census, Coldstream had a population of 2,338.
History
The township developed around the railway station after the railway arrived in 1888, the Post Office opening on 7 February 1889. Prior to that the locality was known as "The Lodge".
In 1909, Dame Nellie Melba bought Coombe Cottage at Coldstream. The house is located at the junction of Maroondah Highway and Melba Highway (named in her honour). It became the home of Melba's granddaughter, Lady Pamela Vestey, until her death in 2011. It is now the property of Lady Vestey's sons, Sam (3rd Baron Vestey) and Mark, who reside in the United Kingdom.
Today
Coldstream has a local primary school, community centre, landfill and several farms. The Coldstream Timber and Hardware company have premises on Maroondah Highway. Coldstream is also home to the Coldstream Brewery, which opened in June 2007 and has its brewery and restaurant open 7 days a week. It had a railway station that closed to passengers in 1983, but was used for freight purposes up until 1992 when it closed with the buildings being destroyed by fire.
Coldstream Airport is owned by the Doake Family and has been in operation since the early 1960s. It is home to:—
Coldstream has an active CFA (Country Fire Authority) volunteer fire brigade established after the serious fires of 1962. This was essentially a name change from the Lilydale Rural Fire Brigade originally established in 1939 as the Lilydale Bushfire Brigade, changing its name in 1945 on the establishment of the CFA (Country Fire Authority).
On clear winter mornings Coldstream is one of the coldest places around Melbourne, with the temperature dropping below 0 °C (32 °F) on several mornings each year (it very rarely drops below 2 °C in the centre of Melbourne). Overall, the daily minimum temperatures are even lower than nearby Mount Dandenong despite being much closer to sea level.
The Bureau of Meteorology operates an automatic weather station at Coldstream Airfield. A private automatic weather station is also maintained in the Coldstream Estate.
The Domaine Chandon Australia winery, sister to Domaine Chandon California, a division of Moët & Chandon, is located there.
Sport
The town has an Australian Rules football team, The Coldstream Cougars, competing in the Eastern Football League.