Burwood East Melbourne, Victoria
Population:	10,011 (2006)[1]
Postcode:	3151
Area:	4.3 km² (1.7 sq mi)
Property Value:	AUD $602,500 [2]
Location:	17 km (11 mi) from Melbourne
LGA:	City of Whitehorse
State District:	Forest Hill
Federal Division:	Chisholm, Deakin
Suburbs around Burwood East: Box Hill South Blackburn South Forest Hill Burwood Burwood East Vermont South Mount Waverley Glen Waverley Glen Waverley

Burwood East is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located 17 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Whitehorse. The suburb is bounded by Springvale Rd to the east, by Middleborough Rd to the west, by Eley Rd and Hawthorn Rd to the north and Highbury Rd to the south. At the 2006 Census, Burwood East had a population of 10,011.

Contents 1 History 2 Commercial activity 3 Sport 4 Education 5 Future developments 6 References 7 External links

[edit] History

The Wurundjeri Aboriginal clan, one of four Koorie clans that inhabited the Port Phillip region, were the original owners of the area now occupied by East Burwood. To the east of present day Middleborough Road, much of the land was initially not very attractive to European squatters for settlement and parts were mostly covered with open forests, consisting of Red Stringybark, Red Box and Long Leaf Box, Candlebark and Manna Gum.^[3] Highbury Park contains some of the few stands of remnant vegetation including the locally uncommon Shiny Wallaby-grass (Austrodanthonia induta).^[4]

By the mid 19th century, East Burwood and the surrounding districts were under cultivation, and local horticulturists were supplying Melbourne's markets, including the Victoria Markets, with cut flowers and produce. Jonquils and Daffodils were harvested in the area well into the 1950s. Apple, cherry and pear groves covered the hill slopes for close to a century. Local orchardist Walter Mock developed the Red Williams’ pear variety in East Burwood during the 1930s.^[5] The 'Reds' found favour and the variety was exported to Europe and North America.^[6] However little more than thirty years later, the last of the orchards located in East Burwood had been ripped up or relocated in one case to Bacchus Marsh.^[7][8]

[edit] Commercial activity

Burwood East is notable as the site of the first Kmart department store in Australia. The Kmart Plaza store ^[9] opened in 1969 at the intersection of Burwood Road (Now Highway) and Blackburn Road. Moreover it was the first 24-hour KMart store, and proved very popular with locals frustrated with the limited shopping hours on offer at the time.

The Tally Ho business park on the corner of Burwood Highway and Springvale Road hosts the headquarters of many corporations and organisations including MYOB, the Country Fire Authority and a regional headquarters of VicRoads and Yokogawa. The site of the Tally Ho business park and its surrounds was previously occupied by the Tally Ho Boys' Home, which was established on land provided at a reduced price to the Methodist Church by Abel Hoadley, the inventor of the Violet Crumble bar.

On the North side of Burwood Hwy, there is currently construction underway (Dec 2006) for additional Business buildings, therefore expanding the business park beyond the boundary of the original Tally Ho Boys' Home. In the future this precinct will be the eastern business district of Victoria. It is epected that this area will be linked to the Syndal railway station using the Syndal Heatherdale Pipe Reserve Trail.

Vision Drive (Located adjacent to the Tally Ho Business Park) is the current location of World Vision Australia's National Office, Crossway Baptist Church and The GPT Group.

Burwood East is very well serviced by public transport. The 2 SmartBus routes - 703 Middle Brighton - Blackburn and 888/889 (combined route) Nunawading - Chelsea, which both run past midnight weekdays run along Blackburn Road and Springvale Road respectively. Burwood East is also serviced by the 736 Mitcham-Blackburn, the 735 Box Hill - Burwood East K-Mart as well as the 732 Box Hill - Upper Ferntree Gully.

The Burwood Highway is part of Melbourne's Tram Network. Tram Route 75 originally terminated at the intersection of Blackburn Road and Burwood Highway until July 2005 and the completion of the 3 km line extension to Hartland Rd in Vermont South.

[edit] Sport

Burwood East is home to the Nunawading Basketball Centre, Nunawading Velodrome, and Burwood East Football Club on Burwood Highway.

Football has been played in East Burwood area since 1915 and local fruit and flower growers produced an abundance of footballers. The club is built a family tradition and families names such as Fankhauser, Tainton and Mullens.^[10] Today the football club is an Australian Rules football team nicknamed The Rams, competes in the Eastern Football League.^[11]

[edit] Education

Schools in the suburb include:

• A part of Burwood East is in the Mount Waverley Secondary College School Zone
• Forest Hill College
• Burwood East Primary School
• Burwood East Special Developmental School
• Burwood Heights Primary School
• Blackburn English Language School

[edit] Future developments

The State Government has declared the Burwood Heights area as a 'Major Activity Centre' because of the easy access to public transport, current uses and the potential for significant development. In March 2008 the Whitehorse Council approved a development plan that will see housing for up to 1000 residents at the old brickworks site in East Burwood.^[12]

The development will comprise over 25,000sqm of retail floorspace, multiscreen cinemas, up to 700 dwelings, leisure and entertainment and community facilities all based around “main street” retail/entertainment precinct and urban plaza. The project is scheduled for completion in 2015. Details of the Burwood Height Activity Center Project are listed here

Kmart Plaza will also under go a facelift with renovations scheduled to start early 2010. The owners of the K-Mart Plaza, also known as the East Burwood Plaza, will double the size of the complex, on the corner of Burwood Highway and Blackburn Road, from 15,000 square metres to 30,000 square metres.

Pomeroy Pacific development manager Paul Chiodo said the $35 million extension will add about 30 specialty shops, a 5,500 square metre Coles supermarket, a 333 seat restaurant, gymnasium, and a First Choice bottle shop. The extension will be built over an an existing car park, on the western side of the 6.3 hectare site.

German discount supermarket chain Aldi will lease the 2,981 square metre supermarket space currently occupied by Coles. K-Mart, which occupies about 8,444 square metres of space and trades 24-hours a day, will not relocate.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Burwood East, Victoria is at coordinates 37°51′07″S 145°09′00″E / 37.852°S 145.15°E / -37.852; 145.15Coordinates: 37°51′07″S 145°09′00″E / 37.852°S 145.15°E / -37.852; 145.15
• Australian Places - Burwood & Burwood East

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