Rowville
Rowville | |||||||||||||
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  Rowville | |||||||||||||
 Interactive map of Rowville | |||||||||||||
| Coordinates: 37°56′13″S 145°13′44″E / 37.937°S 145.229°E | |||||||||||||
| Country | Australia | ||||||||||||
| State | Victoria | ||||||||||||
| City | Melbourne | ||||||||||||
| LGA | |||||||||||||
| Location | |||||||||||||
| Established | 1882 | ||||||||||||
| Government | |||||||||||||
| • State electorate | |||||||||||||
| • Federal division | |||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||
• Total | 19.5 km2 (7.5 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Elevation | 70 m (230 ft) | ||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||
| • Total | 33,571 (2021 census)[1] | ||||||||||||
| • Density | 1,722/km2 (4,459/sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Postcode | 3178 | ||||||||||||
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Rowville is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 27 km (17 mi) south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Knox local government area.[2] Primarily residential, it is one of the largest suburbs south-east of Melbourne, recording a population of 33,571 at the 2021 census.
Rowville is named after the Row family, whose property Stamford Park was established in 1882.[3] The original Rowville Post Office operated between 1905 and 1987, reopening within the Stud Park Shopping Centre in 1989. Rowville developed rapidly throughout the latter half of the 20th century, particularly during the 1980s and 90s with housing and light industrial premises being built.[4]
Residential development
[edit]Rowville remained predominantly rural until the second half of the twentieth century. Its transformation into a residential suburb occurred through a series of large housing estates developed from the late 1950s onwards, with particularly rapid expansion during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.
Early development
[edit]The first major suburban development followed the subdivision of land associated with the historic Stamford Park property. In 1958, German-born businessmen Hans Bachrach and Max Naumburger announced plans for a £2 million residential development covering approximately 700 acres at Rowville.[5] Keith Stevenson, then head of engineering at Swinburne Technical College, was engaged to design the subdivision, incorporating a curvilinear street layout influenced by contemporary American suburban planning.[6]
Part of this development was initially marketed as Wellington Park. Residential land was offered during 1959 and 1960 around what is now Stamford Crescent. The development formed part of the first substantial conversion of former farming land in Rowville to suburban housing. Bachrach and Naumburger also established the nearby Stamford Inn.
In 1961, the Twin Views estate was established at the southern end of Taylors Lane. Unlike most subsequent Rowville developments, it comprised more than 50 allotments of approximately one acre each. The area retained a semi-rural character as the surrounding suburb became progressively more densely developed. Since 2021, the estate has been designated within a Low Density Residential Zone intended to preserve this character.[7]
Local councillor and asbestos-products manufacturer Bernie Seebeck also subdivided land on the southern bank of Corhanwarrabul Creek in 1962, with a second release occurring in 1963. New planning controls subsequently restricted further large-scale residential subdivision, and another major Rowville housing development was not approved for more than a decade.[8]
Expansion during the 1970s
[edit]Large-scale development resumed during the 1970s as Melbourne's suburban growth extended eastwards.
In 1976, Bexarm Investment Corporation established the Woodview Estate off Valleyview Drive, creating the residential area around Hillside Park.[9]
At approximately the same time, Hooker Rex began development of Rowville Lakes west of Stud Road. More than 1,500 homes were ultimately constructed, making it the largest residential development undertaken in Knox at the time.[10]
The scale of Rowville Lakes marked a transition from isolated subdivisions to large planned residential communities incorporating local roads, reserves and neighbourhood facilities.
Another major development was the Park Ridge estate, developed by Stocks & Holdings on approximately 150 hectares between Kelletts Road and Wellington Road. The development was planned to contain approximately 1,000 houses.[11]
Residential boom of the 1980s and 1990s
[edit]Development accelerated substantially during the 1980s as the remaining rural and institutional land in Rowville was progressively subdivided.
During the mid-1980s, approval was granted for the Timbertop Estate on part of the former Rowville Training Camp site.[12] Other developments from this period included the Turramurra Estate at the northern end of Turramurra Drive and the Sovereign Hill estate around Tirhatuan Drive.[13][14]
A further wave of development occurred during the late 1980s. Tirhatuan Hills was developed adjoining the Tirhatuan Wetlands,[15] while Rowville Heights was established near Arcadia Reserve.[16] Studwell Park was developed around the southern end of Waradgery Drive,[17] and AVJennings developed the Peppertree Hill retirement village off Fulham Road.[18]
Wellington Park
[edit]A second residential development using the Wellington Park name, unrelated to the earlier development near Stamford Crescent, was established in southern Rowville from the late 1980s.
The estate lies generally north of Wellington Road and extends through the residential area around Liberty Avenue, Buckingham Drive, Halsbury Drive, Cromwell Drive and adjoining streets. It comprises approximately 300 residential properties.
The estate was predominantly designed for detached family housing on comparatively large suburban allotments, with many properties occupying sites of approximately 700–800 square metres. The subdivision incorporated local open space and pedestrian connections, including Liberty Avenue Reserve.
Land within the developing neighbourhood was also reserved for educational use. Heany Park Primary School opened in 1993, serving the growing population of southern Rowville.[19]
The later development of Wellington Village on Wellington Road provided a commercial centre for this part of Rowville. Construction of the shopping centre began in 2004, several years after most of the surrounding residential development had been completed.
Later residential estates
[edit]Residential expansion continued through the 1990s and early 2000s as the amount of undeveloped land within Rowville diminished.
The Silkwood Estate was among the developments established during the 1990s.[20]
During 2001–2002, Sunland Group developed Sovereign Manors near Karoo Road. The project reportedly cost more than $35 million and provided approximately 100 houses.[21]
The much larger Sovereign Crest development followed around Sovereign Crest Boulevard. Developed by Nev Pask, it comprised more than 800 residential allotments.[22]
Waterford Valley Lakes, developed during the 2000s, combined residential development with a retirement village and golf course. The development received a Knox community award in 2007.[23]
By the early twenty-first century, these successive developments had transformed Rowville from a sparsely populated rural district into one of the largest predominantly residential suburbs in Melbourne's outer east.
Industrial
[edit]Rowville's first light industrial precinct was established in 1986 by the Property and Investment Group.[24] It was marketed as the Scoresby Industrial Park and is identifiable by its technology-themed street names, including Laser Drive and Seismic Court.[25]
This marked the beginning of the suburb's industrial estate boom, which continued until the early 1990s. Four rival industrial developments were approved in the suburb over the next two years.
Education
[edit]Rowville has one dual-campus high school, Rowville Secondary College, with an Eastern Campus (7–12) and a Western Campus (7–12). Students from the Eastern Campus used to move to the Western Campus to complete their VCE. But now they can complete VCE at the eastern campus as well.[citation needed]
Rowville is served by four public primary schools:
- Rowville Primary School (established 1973)[26]
- Park Ridge Primary (established 1990)[27]
- Karoo Primary School (established 1992)[28]
- Heany Park Primary (established 1993)[29]
It is also served by a Catholic primary school, St. Simon the Apostle School, which was established in 1982.[30]
When Lysterfield Primary School moved to its present site in the 1990s, it was based in Rowville, however the boundary between the suburbs has changed and Lysterfield Primary is once again in Lysterfield.[citation needed]
Commerce
[edit]Rowville's main centre of commerce is Stud Park Shopping Centre which opened in 1989[31] and is the largest shopping centre in the suburb. It houses Coles, Woolworths and Kmart stores, and over 60 specialty stores including two hairdressers, a pharmacy, two travel agents, banks, a vet and assorted food outlets. It has approximately 1500 car park spaces and is serviced regularly by bus services.[32]
Wellington Village, in Wellington Road, is Rowville's second-largest shopping centre. Rowville Lakes is a third, smaller shopping centre on Kelletts Road.
Sport
[edit]- Rowville Football Club in the Eastern Football League
- Rowville Knights Community Football Club in the Eastern Football League[33]
- Lysterfield Junior Football Club in the Eastern Football League
- Rowville Cricket Club in the Ferntree Gully District Cricket Association
- Eildon Park Cricket Club in the Ferntree Gully District Cricket Association
- Lysterfield Cricket Club in the Ferntree Gully District Cricket Association
- Rowville Eagles Soccer Club
- Knox United Soccer Club
- Knox Churches Soccer Club
- Blue Park
- Eildon Park Tennis Club
- Rowville Tennis Club
- Rowville Netball Club
- Aston Athletic FC
- Rowville Little Athletics Club
- Rowville Lakes Little Athletics Club
- Rowville Rockets Basketball Club
- Lysterfield Netball Club
- Omega Trampoline Sports Club
Golfers play at the Kingston Links on Corporate Avenue,[34] at the course of the Tirhatuan Park Golf Club on Police and Stud Roads[35] or at the course of the Waverley Golf Club on Bergins Road.[36]
Community service groups
[edit]Rowville is supported by local community groups, including the 1st Rowville Scout Group since 1972 and based in its Scout Hall since 1991.
Heany Park Scout Group has been a part of the Rowville community since 1965, starting as 3rd Knox Scout Group. It later moved to Heany Park in 2001 and its name was changed to Heany Park Scout Group. Surrounding the Heany Park Scout Hall is Heany Park, which comprises 9 hectares (23 acres) of natural bushland .
Governance
[edit]Rowville is in the federal Division of Aston, which is held by Mary Doyle of the Australian Labor Party.
Rowville is in the state Legislative Assembly seat of Rowville, which is held by Kim Wells of the Liberal Party.
Rowville is part of the City of Knox and is represented by three ward councillors.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Rowville (Suburbs and Localities)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
- ↑ "Rowville". Victorian Places. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
- ↑ Sassall, Yeong (9 May 2019). "A heritage Victorian homestead reimagined as a stunning restaurant and event space". Vogue Australia. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
- ↑ "Post Office List". Phoenix Auctions History. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
- ↑ "£2m Estate Planned on 700 Acres at Rowville". The Age. 12 November 1958. p. 17.
- ↑ Stevenson, Keith (16 November 1957). "Stamford Heights Estate Section 3 - Copy of fieldnotes of Survey of Crown Portion 2, Parish of Narree Worran" (Document). Victorian Department of Transport and Planning.
- ↑ Review of Rowville, LDRZ and adjoining, GRZ2 land (Report). City of Knox. March 2021.
- ↑ "Copy of Fieldnotes of Survey, Part of Crown Sections 4 and 5, Parish of Mornington" (Document). Victorian Department of Transport and Planning. 10 November 1959.
- ↑ Pratt, Robert (30 August 1976). "Survey plan report LP119564" (Document). Victorian Department of Transport and Planning.
- ↑ "Down by the lakes". The Age. 21 March 1979. p. 46.
- ↑ "Park Ridge, Rowville". The Age. 3 November 1979. p. 78.
- ↑ "New Knox estate is proving popular". The Age. 21 September 1985. p. 17.
- ↑ "Building blocks with views on the popular Turramurra Estate". The Age. 21 December 1985. p. 50.
- ↑ "Sovereign Hill – Tirhatuan Drive". The Age. 10 February 1990. p. 9.
- ↑ "Tirhatuan Hills Rowville: The Investor's Paradise". The Age. 17 May 1986. p. 80.
- ↑ "The best, yes, the best – in Rowville". The Age. 25 April 1987. p. 93.
- ↑ "Barry Plant – New Homes". The Age. 14 January 1989. p. 65.
- ↑ "Jennings, the people with experience, set the standards in retirement villages". The Age. 24 March 1988. p. 51.
- ↑ "Heany Park Primary School - Number 5345". Government of Victoria. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- ↑ Archer, Alice (4 May 1996). "Boomers lead the market on city fringe". The Age. p. 6.
- ↑ Westwood, John (23 March 2002). "Rowville Riviera". The Age. p. 46.
- ↑ Rose, Michelle (11 May 2002). "Lot at stake for buyers". Herald Sun. p. 9.
- ↑ "Knox community's award is par for the course". Knox Leader. 18 September 2007. p. 3.
- ↑ Survey plan report LP203653. Millar & Merrigan Pty Ltd for Property Investment Group Pty Ltd. 1987. p. 1 – via Victorian Department of Transport and Planning.
- ↑ "Scoresby Industrial Park". The Age. 14 February 1987. p. 96 – via State Library Victoria.
- ↑ "Schools". Rowville-Lysterfield Community News. March 1996. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
- ↑ "Park Ridge Primary School - Number 5281". Victorian Schools Directory. Government of Victoria. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
- ↑ "Karoo Primary School - Number 5295". Victorian Schools Directory. Government of Victoria. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
- ↑ "Heany Park Primary School - Number 5345". Victorian Schools Directory. Government of Victoria. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
- ↑ "St Simon's School, Rowville". Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
- ↑ "Thanks for the welcome! Stud Park Shopping Centre now open". Rowville-Lysterfield Community News. No. 86. August 1989. p. 11. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
- ↑ "Stud Park". www.studparksc.com.au. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
- ↑ St. Simons Football Club. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
- ↑ Golf Select, Kingston Links, retrieved 11 May 2009
- ↑ Golf Select, Tirhatuan Park, retrieved 11 May 2009
- ↑ Golf Select, Waverley, retrieved 11 May 2009
