Burwood East, Victoria

History

The Wurundjeri Aboriginal clan, one of four Koorie clans that inhabited the Port Phillip region, were the original occupants 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, Long Leaf Box, Candlebark and Manna Gum. Highbury Park contains some of the few remaining stands of remnant vegetation, including the locally uncommon Shiny Wallaby-grass (Austrodanthonia induta).

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. The 'Reds' found favour and the variety was exported to Europe and North America. 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.

Commercial activity

Burwood East is notable as the site of the first Kmart department store in Australia. The Kmart Plaza store opened in 1969, at the intersection of Burwood Road (now Highway) and Blackburn Road. 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. Burwood East Kmart is the second largest in Australia, with a gross leasable area of 8,444 m² (90,890 sq ft).

The Tally Ho Business Park, on the corner of Burwood Highway and Springvale Road, hosts the headquarters of many corporations and organisations, including 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 chocolate bar. The Violet Crumble was supposedly manufactured in a Cottage where the ABC now stands.

On the north side of Burwood Highway, there are additional business buildings including a HP building, expanding the business park beyond the boundary of the original Tally Ho Boys' Home.

Vision Drive (located adjacent to the Tally Ho Business Park) is the current location of World Vision Australia's National Office, The GPT Group and the National Archives of Australia (Melbourne Repository).

Transport

Burwood East is serviced by public transport:

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, with the completion of the 3 km line extension to Hartland Road in Vermont South. Also, with the introduction of the new myki ticketing system, the tram zone boundaries have also been extended. This is good news for Route 75 passengers travelling across Zone 1+2, as they now only need to pay Zone 1 fares.

Sport

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

Football has been played in Burwood East since 1915 and local fruit and flower growers produced an abundance of footballers. The club has built a family tradition and families names such as Fankhauser, Tainton and Mullens. Today the club competes in the Eastern Football League.

Education

Schools in the suburb include:

Local churches

Current and 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 Whitehorse Council approved a development plan that will see housing for up to 1000 residents at the old brickworks site in East Burwood.

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 Heights Activity Center Project are listed [5]. However, the progress of the project is stalled or very slow.

Kmart Plaza has also undergo a facelift, with renovations scheduled to start early 2010. The owners of the Kmart 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 meters to 30,000 square metres. The new leasing floor plan can be viewed [6] here.

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 existing car park, on the western side of the 6.3 hectare site.

German discount supermarket chain Aldi [7] has leased the 2,981 square meter supermarket space currently occupied by Coles. Kmart, which occupies about 8,444 square metres of space and trades 24-hours a day, will not relocate. Construction work is currently underway, with stage 1 completed in 2011 and the centre is named to be 'Burwood One' [8].

RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) Burwood East is the largest RSPCA animal shelter in Victoria and features an animal adoption centre, animal shelter, veterinary clinic, animal behaviour training, grooming and education centre. Animal ambulance services also operate out of the Burwood East location. The site is undergoing a substantial re-development, scheduled for completion is mid-2013.