Cockatoo
Postcode: 3781
Cockatoo is a town in the Dandenong Ranges, 50 km east of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, named after Cockatoo Creek which runs through the town, and which the town was previously named. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Cardinia.
Cockatoo was named after Cockatoo Creek. It was first settled in the 1870s but progress was tardy as the land was difficult to clear. Timbergetting was the major source of employment and this industry received a considerable boost when the narrow-gauge railway from Upper Ferntree Gully to Gembrook was completed in 1900. Moreover, the railway brought leisure-seeking Melburnians into the area and a market for subdivision arose. The railway is operated today by the Puffing Billy heritage railway.
Cockatoo’s town centre is centred on a community shopping centre which includes supermarket, butcher, pharmacy, clothing store and various takeaway stores. Cockatoo has recently built a town centre garden square with the assistance of local government.