Hoppers Crossing Melbourne, VIC
Population:	38,108 (2006)[1]
Postcode:	3029
Area:	17.8 km² (6.9 sq mi)
Property Value:	AUD $225,000 [2]
Location:	30 km (19 mi) from Melbourne 5 km (3 mi) from Werribee
LGA:	City of Wyndham
State District:	Tarneit, Altona
Federal Division:	Lalor
Suburbs around Hoppers Crossing: Tarneit Truganina Hoppers Crossing Laverton Werribee Point Cook Point Cook

Hoppers Crossing is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 30 km south-west from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Wyndham. At the 2006 Census, Hoppers Crossing had a population of 38,108.

Hoppers Lane runs through Werribee's animal research institute, crossing Princes Highway and the Railway Line: this street and the suburb were both named after the Hoppers family. Other major roads include Heaths Road (C701) and Derrimut Road (C702), Hogans Road, Morris Road, Tarneit Road and Sayers Road.

Contents 1 Transport System 2 History 3 Parks 4 Fauna and Flora 5 Education 6 Entertainment 7 Sports 8 Planning Issues 9 References 10 External links

[edit] Transport System

Hoppers Crossing is serviced by the Hoppers Crossing railway station situated to the South of the suburb, on the Werribee line. An increasing number of bus routes service the surrounding area. A tramway was proposed for the Hoppers Crossing-Werribee area to replace bus services, however it was deemed unfeasible by the City of Wyndham and State of Victoria.

[edit] History

Until 1963, Hoppers Crossing's only notable feature was a general store. In 1963 the town started to take shape, the first subdivision of residential land taking place. Growth of Hoppers Crossing followed into the 1970s, with the Post Office opening on 2 June 1975. ^[3] Hoppers Crossing's first shopping centre was built, called Woodville Park. In 1970, the area's first primary school, Mossfiel Primary School, had its first student intake.

In 1981, Hoppers Crossing Shopping Centre opened. This included a Target store, and 10 other stores. Between the years 1980 and 1994, Hoppers Crossing experienced a period of great growth, with the population growing nearly five times in size (from 8,500 to 40,000 people).

Werribee Plaza opened in the late 1980s. It was modernised between 2000 and 2006. Several significant redesigns and extensions have been built. It now includes shops such as Myer, Safeway, Big W, K-Mart, Coles, JB Hi Fi, The AFL Store, Adairs, Regent Cinemas, Best and Less and more.

A small shopping location called Hogans Corner was established in 1997-1998 and is located on the corner of Derrimut Road and Hogans Road. It houses a Safeway, McDonalds, Red Rooster, Dairy Bell, Pulse Pharmacy, 2 Fish and Chip shops, newsagency, chicken shop and a number of other small shops.

Another shopping centre, Wyndham Village, was built on Sayers Road in 2005, and is quickly expanding: it includes numerous shops including Coles, Aldi, Sams Warehouse (Formerly known as The Warehouse), Donut King, CT Lane, Video Ezy, Medical Center, Chemist, Hair dressers, ANZ bank, Australia Post, a small deli and several other stores.

There are also a large variety of warehouse and clearance sale shops are on Old Geelong Road, such as furniture shops and hardware stores. These shops include Bunnings Warehouse, The Good Guys, Harvey Norman, Mitre 10, The Big Picture People, Pet Stock, Just Fitness and many other shops. In fact, many of the shops located on Old Geelong Road are found nowhere else in the Western suburbs.

A new shopping centre known as Point Cook Town Centre has now been established including shops, Coles, Aldi, Target, The Reject Shop, Fenix Fitness Centre, Dick Smith, several restaurants and Harris Scarfe (opened in 2008).

[edit] Parks

Recreation reserves mostly exist along drainage reserves and the local Skeleton Creek.

[edit] Fauna and Flora

Until recently Skeleton Creek had healthy populations of native reptiles, including;

 Tiger snake Eastern Blue-tongued Lizard Eastern brown snake Striped skink Stump-tailed skink Brush tail possom 

Due to development these species are now depleting in the area.

[edit] Education

There are currently six state primary schools in the suburb -Bellbridge -Baden Powell College (est)2007, Derrimut Heath Campus (est) 1992 -The Grange Primary Campus -Mossfiel Primary School -Woodville and Cambridge also two state secondary colleges (Hoppers Crossing Secondary College and The Grange P-12 College's Secondary Campus).

There are two Catholic primary schools: St Peter Apostle and St James the Apostle Primary School, and a Catholic Regional Secondary College: Thomas Carr College. Other religious schools include an Islamic College (Prep to Year 12), Heathdale Christian College and Westbourne Grammar School (Prep to Year 12), though Westbourne is disputably in Truganina.

The Werribee campus of Victoria University is in Hoppers Crossing. It offers TAFE and higher education courses.

In 2006 the principal of Derrimut Heath Primary School (Now Baden Powell College), Julie Mason, was chosen as the "Wyndham Citizen of the Year" for her key role in the development of the Wyndham Community Education Plan 2004-2007 and serving as chair of the Quality Community Plan Education Committee.^[4]

[edit] Entertainment

In Hoppers Crossing, there has been a nightclub at the Werribee Plaza, Volt, for some time and in recent years a cinema was built at 'the plaza'. Also, there is a skate park in the area and numerous offroad bike tracks. Hoppers Crossing also has a BMX track which is situated near the Fire Station There are a number of clubs for those interested in sport. Recreation for young people is hampered by a relatively poor transport system, but for younger children in the area there is the Wonderland Indoor Play Centre, near the Bible College and next to Hoppers indoor-sports where there are indoor soccer teams operating.

[edit] Sports

Hoppers Crossing has many gyms and sports grounds. There are facilities for tennis, soccer, Australian rules football, basketball, netball and more. In 2004 part of the Federation Trail was in Hoppers Crossing for cycling. A new soccer complex was built at the Grange for the Hoppers Crossing Soccer Club. They previously played at Mossfield Reserve, which is now a rugby football field.

Hoppers Crossing Cricket Club [1] was formed in 1977 and its first team was entered into the “B turf" section of the Sunshine Cricket Association in season 1977/78. The result in the club's first season was runners-up. For more information, visit its article at Hoppers Crossing cricket club.

[edit] Planning Issues

Hoppers Crossing, or more appropriately its satellite suburbs of Tarneit and Truganina have since the early 2000s experienced a period of intense urban sprawl, significantly boosting its population and placing severe pressure on local infrastructure. As a result there are innumerous low-density housing estates stretching to the outskirts of the town; redefining its boundaries. They are mostly poorly serviced by public transport and far from community areas that provide a catalyst for social interaction and cohesion.

The estates, which are largely built on farm land place strain on existing arterial roads which were not designed to cope with such numbers. Examples of these roads include Sayers Road, Morris Road and Derrimut Road (which has been the subject of a partial upgrade).

Irresponsible planning and approval is mainly to blame. There is, however, hope for the future, with ongoing infrastructure and transport upgrades providing more effective traffic flow and overall urban effectiveness.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Hoppers Crossing, Victoria is at coordinates 37°52′08″S 144°41′35″E / 37.869°S 144.693°E / -37.869; 144.693Coordinates: 37°52′08″S 144°41′35″E / 37.869°S 144.693°E / -37.869; 144.693

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