Doncaster, Victoria

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Doncaster
Melbourne, Victoria

Westfield Doncaster Office Tower in Doncaster
Population: 17,879 (2006)[1]
Established: 1860s
Postcode: 3108
Area: 8.9 km² (3.4 sq mi)
Property Value: AUD $675,000[2]
Location: 18 km (11 mi) from Melbourne
LGA: City of Manningham
State District: Doncaster, Bulleen
Federal Division: Menzies
Suburbs around Doncaster:
Bulleen Templestowe Lower Templestowe
Balwyn North Doncaster Doncaster East
Mont Albert North Box Hill North Blackburn North

Doncaster is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is in the Local Government Area of the City of Manningham.

Contents

[edit] History

The Doncaster region was settled in the 1860s and 1870s predominantly by German settler orchardists. The German community was named Waldau,[3] but the name Doncaster gradually became commonly accepted. A Lutheran church was the first one in Doncaster in 1858. A Lutheran school opened in 1860 and a denominational school in 1861.[4] Schramm's Cottage, an historic stone cottage originally situated in Doncaster Road (at the site of the fountain next to the Municipal Offices) has been relocated to the site of the original Lutheran Church building in Victoria Street in the 1970s. The remains of the Waldau Cemetery, where approximately 150 burials took place between 1853 and 1888, are located in the grounds of Schramm's Cottage.[5]

In the 1880s an observation tower (285 ft high) was constructed on Doncaster Hill, which attracted day-trippers to (what was then) the countryside.

Doncaster was the location of the first electric tram to run in Melbourne in 1889. The tram started in Doncaster and ended in Box Hill (Approx 3.5km away). Consequently this was named "Tram Road". However, the service didn't gain any profit, so the service ended in 1896 due to feuds with land holders and financial problems.[6]

Doncaster remained an orchard area until the 1970s with the majority of houses built from the 1950s to the 1980s.

Doncaster Hill is an ambitious project transforming Central Doncaster, (Doncaster Hill) into an apartment and retail mecca. Being only 12 km from the city and with fantastic views of the Melbourne CBD skyline, much time and investment has been placed by the City of Manningham. However, a lot of apartments have not sold like predicted, and there is much controversy about the cost and scale of the project, and the impact that extra traffic chaos will create - especially as there is poor public transport services in the area.

[edit] Geography

Doncaster is a suburb centred around Doncaster Hill, which is 12 km east from the Melbourne central business district. The border of the suburb follows the Koonung Creek from Doncaster Road, along the south of the suburb to Wetherby Road, Wetherby Rd & Victoria St form the eastern border and the northern border follows Ruffey Creek, Williamsons Road, Manningham Rd and Ayr Street to the junction of the Koonung Creek and Doncaster Road.

[edit] Transport

Doncaster was first settled with the first electric tram in the Southern Hemisphere in the late 1800s. Operating from Box Hill to Doncaster (along what is today Tram Road), the tram opened up accessibility to much land in the area. Unfortunately, the line did not last more than a few years.

The major east-west road (Doncaster Road) leads from Kew to Donvale. The Eastern Freeway terminated at Doncaster Road at the western edge of the suburb from 1983 to December 1997.

As a result of a decision by the Victorian Cain Labor Government, the stage 2 section from Bulleen Road to Doncaster Road was only 2 lanes each way. During this period Doncaster suffered from heavy traffic congestion and air pollution as Doncaster Road carried 60,000 vehicles a day as a major arterial road. Since the Kennett Government extended the Eastern Freeway along the course of the Koonung Creek to Springvale Road, Doncaster's through-traffic has dropped considerably.

Throughout the 1970s the Doncaster line was planned by the state government to run down the middle of the Eastern Freeway, with land acquired for the line but sold in the 1980s.[7] Various plans have also been made for extension of the route 48 tram north to Doncaster.[8] Present bus services exist in the area running from a park and ride centre, along dedicated transit lanes to the city.

[edit] Shopping

In 1969, Westfield Doncaster (or "Westfield Shoppingtown Doncaster") was built on the corner of Doncaster and Williamsons Roads, and is a well-known shopping complex in Melbourne. In the early 1980s and again in the early 1990s, it was renovated and extended to its current state. From September 2006 however, it has been under construction as the centre is extended once more, due to be completed in late 2008.[1]

[edit] Schools

Schools In Doncaster are

[edit] Government

Doncaster has a Victorian State Parliamentary seat named after it, the Electoral district of Doncaster. The current member is Mary Wooldridge. Doncaster is encompassed within the Federal Seat of Menzies, and Kevin Andrews is the local member. At the municipal level, it is situated within the City of Manningham.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). Doncaster (State Suburb). 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved on 2007-09-29.
  2. ^ Doncaster Suburb Profile, accessed 6 May 2008
  3. ^ German placenames in Australia. www.teachers.ash.org.au. Retrieved on 2008-03-17.
  4. ^ Doncaster, Victoria (via web.archive.org). Australian Places Gazetteer. Retrieved on 2008-03-17.
  5. ^ Schramm's Cottage (via web.archive.org). Doncaster Templestowe Historical Society. Retrieved on 2008-03-17.
  6. ^ Box Hill - Doncaster Electric Tramway 1889-1896, Box Hill and Doncaster Victoria - Engineering Heritage Victoria. home.vicnet.net.au. Retrieved on 2008-03-17.
  7. ^ Stephen Cauchi (February 1998). "Whatever Happened to the Proposed Railway to Doncaster East". Newsrail 26 (2): page 40-44. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division). 
  8. ^ The Age - 'Rail line would replace 10,000 cars' - October 18, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-07-30.

[edit] External links

Churches

Member of Parliament

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