Photos I took yesterday at Hurstbridge.

I'm not sure if the residents of Hurstbridge consider themselves rural or outer suburban - it could be either, as they are 32 kilometres northeast of Melbourne, and their railway station is the last one on the Hurstbridge line, which is part of the metropolitan rail network. Whatever it is classified as, Hurstbridge is a pretty little town, with a uniquely Australian feel to it. Someone told me the other day that if the wind hadn't changed direction on Black Saturday, Hurstbridge would have gone.
There are many other picturesque towns on the fringes of Melbourne with a similar feel, but as this one is the nearest to me, I decided to do a post on the blog for the benefit of my overseas readers, who also produce walkabout posts on their blogs about their local towns.
Strolling down the main street of Hurstbridge, you will find the railway station and some small business concerns on the right, and a variety of commercial shops and business on the left - bank, post office, cafes, real estate agents, etc.

This group of shops is behind the main street, and is a very pleasant area to sit and have a coffee with a friend after you've done your shopping. It is close to the children's playground (below).
The children's playground is situated among plenty of trees to provide shade on warm days.

Rusty iron roof and the sign "Anzac Avenue" contribute to that Aussie feel!



This isn't in Hurstbridge, but I'm including it on this post because it was taken on one of the roads we travelled on yesterday while driving between Hurstbridge and Kinglake. It was a pine plantation before the fires. I think the timber can still be used, as they were in the process of felling trees and loading them on to trucks to be transported somewhere, and it looked okay underneath the scorched bark.