heidelberg suburb profile
Within the City of Banyule local government area, Heidelberg is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located 11 kilometres (7 mi) north-east of Melbourne’s central business district. At the time of the 2021 census, Heidelberg had 7,360 residents.
Heidelberg was once a sizable town on the outskirts of Melbourne, but it was incorporated into the city as part of Melbourne’s post-World War II northward growth. In the past, Heidelberg had its own historical downtown and separate municipality in the ancient City of Heidelberg.
The impressionist art movement known as the Heidelberg School, which emerged in and around the town in the late 19th century, takes its name from Heidelberg.
History
Given that Melbourne had only been established three years earlier, Heidelberg’s property was one of Australia’s first rural allotments when it was sold at auction by the Crown in 1838. With a name derived from an Aboriginal word for an eagle’s nest, Warringal was a surveyed township by the year 1840. Eventually, a land agent changed Warringal to Heidelberg in honour of the German city of Heidelberg. The Heidelberg City Council advocated changing the name to Georgetown after British Prime Minister David Lloyd George in response to anti-German feeling during World War I. This was by far the most popular choice. But the name Heidelberg persisted in spite of popular discussions and a community naming contest.
When Heidelberg was established, Fitzroy North in Melbourne was used to access there by track, and the Heidelberg Road Trust was established in 1841. It came before the Melbourne Town Council as a type of local government. The road featured a Merri Creek toll gate and a Macadam surface by the late 1840s. It became a popular tourist destination, increasing Heidelberg’s standing as a desirable location for vistas, outings, and country estates. Joseph Hawdon, a cattle overlander, constructed his Gothic Banyule Homestead, which overlooks the Yarra Valley, in 1846.
Warringal was the name of the post office when it first established on October 19, 1853. Heidelberg was added in 1865. On January 27, 1871, Heidelberg was declared a Shire.
Because there were no public utilities or a railway in Heidelberg until 1888, which left many homes unoccupied and available for affordable rent, Heidelberg’s rural setting attracted artists at this time.
A group of Box Hill artists, including Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton, Frederick McCubbin, and others, moved to Eaglemont in 1888, establishing what became known as the “Heidelberg School” of Australian art. Two years later, similar activities were taking place at the Chartersville Homestead.
On April 11, 1934, Heidelberg was declared a city, yet there was more rural land than there was urban. The 1937 construction of the Heidelberg Town Hall. The Melbourne to Hurstbridge railway line, which divided the municipality usually in the north-east, and Heidelberg Road were the focal points for development and subdivision. The following communities are located along the line: Darebin, Ivanhoe, Eaglemont, Heidelberg, Rosanna, Macleod, Watsonia, and Greensborough. A spur line from Macleod led to Mont Park. In the 1950s, the Housing Commission of Victoria began to develop Heidelberg West, which was previously and now without a railway. For the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games, it also served as the location for the athletes’ village.
District of shops on Burgundy Street
With the exception of a few locations in Viewbank and Lower Plenty, the residential construction in the Heidelberg Municipality was finished by the 1970s. The majority of the commercial areas were strip malls, although a free-standing shopping centre was constructed in Heidelberg West in 1956 to a design by the Housing Commission that was influenced by American styles.
Before the 1960s’ severances, Heidelberg Municipality’s populations were 8,610 in 1911, 34,401 (excluding Greensborough) in 1947, and 60,007 in 1960. (1961). 60,468 people called it home in 1991. On December 15, 1994, the majority of Heidelberg City and a portion of Eltham Shire were combined to establish Banyule City.
There are remnants of Heidelberg’s rich history and early colonisation all around the Municipality. Some of Victoria’s oldest burials are located in the Upper Heidelberg Road Cemetery. Graves dating back to 1852 are located in the cemetery, which is the size of a house block, located close to the intersection of St. James Road and Hawdon Street. The Old England Hotel on Lower Heidelberg Road initially welcomed guests in 1848, while Banyule Homestead, St. John’s Anglican Church, and Heidelberg Primary School all began construction in the 1840s. Today, each of these structures is still standing.
Population 6,225 individuals called Heidelberg home as per the 2016 Census. Australia is where 67.1% of individuals were born. India (3.1%), China (2.8%), England (2.6%), and Italy (1.9%) were the next most popular birthplaces. Only English was spoken at home by 69.7% of persons. Greek 2.0%, Italian 3.2%, and Mandarin 3.4% were the other languages often used at home. No Religion and Catholicism were the two most popular replies in terms of religion.
Facilities
Typical of the area’s style is this art deco home.
Austin Hospital in Heidelberg serves as the administrative hub for Austin Health. After recent, major renovations, the Mercy Hospital for Women is currently located on the Austin Hospital site. Victoria’s largest hospital is comprised of these two buildings.
The “Burgundy Street” section of the Heidelberg Shopping Center has just been renovated. The neighbourhood had become decrepit in the 1980s, but a brand-new supermarket and a plethora of hip cafes have made it much more liveable, which has caused a sharp rise in home prices.
Rosanna Physio is a well-known physio clinic in the Heidelberg area that can treat all types of muscle injuries and aliments. People needing treatment can give them a call on (03) 9457 2336 or book online for an appointment.
With more than 230 retail, commercial, and professional establishments, “Burgundy Street” is today known as Heidelberg Central Shopping Precinct. In order to improve the Precinct’s infrastructure over the past seven years, more than $1 million has been spent, including aerial bundling of overhead power lines, resurfacing of footpaths and roads, the addition of trees, seating areas, bollards, bike racks, and trash cans, and painting all street furniture in the Precinct Burgundy to suggest the limits of the retail strip.
This region is a bustling shopping attraction thanks to the Warringal Shopping Centre tenants as well as new significant anchor businesses including Leo’s Fine Food and Wine Supermarket and Safeway, as well as 20 cafés and takeout stores and 12 first-class restaurants. The old Old England Hotel may be found in Heidelberg Central.
There is a campus for Melbourne Polytechnic in Heidelberg.
In November 1984, the Austrian Club Melbourne moved into its new Heidelberg location after previously residing in Fitzroy.
Heidelberg’s 96.5 Inner FM community radio station broadcasts from studios inside Warringal Shopping Centre.
Yarra Plenty Regional Library offers services for public libraries. Ivanhoe is home to the closest library.
Market Square in Warringal
Warringal Shopping Centre, originally known as Centro Warringal, as seen from the intersection of Burgundy Street, was founded in 1987. Rosanna Road is home to this little shopping centre, which has its main entrance on Burgundy Street. About 41,000 people from the well-established suburbs of Heidelberg, Viewbank, Rosanna, Ivanhoe, and Eaglemont make up the center’s well-defined core trading area. Young professionals have moved into the region in greater numbers since the Austin/Mercy Hospital opened, and there is now a greater need for the construction of multi-density housing.
Information
11,743 m2 in total lettable space (126,400 sq ft)
569 places for parking
Achievements: 1987 Opened the centre.
Aldi was a part of the renovation in 2007.
Center location: Heidelberg, 12 km (7+12 mi) north-east of Melbourne’s central business district.
Type of centre: two supermarkets and a modest discount department store serve as its anchors in this single-level neighbourhood shopping centre.
