Warburton East, a quiet village of about 865 surrounded by small farms and orchards, has its own thriving primary school and a well-used community hall. Still loosely following the Yarra the main road snakes past smaller hamlets and larger acreages, ever deeper into State forest. The family-owned sawmills are now gone but timber harvesting still takes place in the warmer months as many logging access roads will testify.

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When Upper Yarra Shire (1888-1994) was created in 1888 its first office was in East Warburton.

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In 1930's East Warburton had its own Football team 'Yarra Rovers'. According to Brian Carroll it was reported  in 1935 that 'Yarra Rovers, the baby team of the competition was only a junior side, a team in the making. The Rovers deserved credit for finishing the season without missing a fixture, although overwhelmed week after week.' 

 

Yarra Rovers shared the Warburton ground with the powerful Warburton club. The Rovers, who wore purple and gold jerseys, won only one of their 22 matches in 1935 to finish a distant last. By 1937, however, the club had improved enough to win 10 of 18 matches and finish sixth. A swift decline in 1938 saw Yarra Rovers fall to second-last. The club failed to re-form in 1939. The reason given was that the severe bushfires of Black Friday (13 January 1939) had caused much unemployment and made it too difficult to find players to travel each Saturday. Read more about former clubs in the Yarra Valley from here.

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Source:

‘Upper Yarra Shire’, Victorian Places, 2014, accessed on 6/3/2023

Brian Carroll, 'The Upper Yarra'- an illustrated history, Yarra Junction, 1988

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Further reading:

Brian Carroll, The Upper Yarra, an illustrated history, Yarra Junction, 1988