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Park Orchards

Coordinates: 37°46′41″S 145°12′50″E / 37.778°S 145.214°E / -37.778; 145.214
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Park Orchards
Melbourne, Victoria
Park Orchards shops
Park Orchards is located in Melbourne
Park Orchards
Park Orchards
Location in metropolitan Melbourne
Map
Coordinates37°46′41″S 145°12′50″E / 37.778°S 145.214°E / -37.778; 145.214
Population3,835 (2021 census)[1]
 • Density403.7/km2 (1,046/sq mi)
Postcode(s)3114
Elevation134 m (440 ft)
Area9.5 km2 (3.7 sq mi)
Location25 km (16 mi) from Melbourne CBD
LGA(s)
State electorate(s)Warrandyte
Federal division(s)
Suburbs around Park Orchards:
Warrandyte Warrandyte Warrandyte South
Donvale Park Orchards Ringwood North
Donvale Nunawading Ringwood North

Park Orchards is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 25 kilometres (16 mi) north-east of the Melbourne Central Business District, located within the City of Manningham and City of Maroondah local government areas. At the 2021 census, Park Orchards recorded a population of 3,835.

Park Orchards is primarily within the City of Manningham, with a small portion (the southern side of Williams road) located within the City of Maroondah. The suburb is within a Green Wedge area[2] and is listed in the Australian Heritage Database.[3]

History

[edit]
Knees Road

Prior to European colonisation, the Wurundjeri people cared for the land.

In 1902, prominent Victorian orchardist, Tom Petty,[4] purchased 559 acres (226 ha) of land north of the Mitcham district and converted it to 80 orchard blocks.[5]

In 1925, South Melbourne timber merchants, Australias Sharp[6] and John Taylor, purchased Petty's land and launched the Park Orchards Country Club Estate.[7] They had the subdivisions designed by Saxil Tuxen and Miller.[7] Tuxen had previously worked with Marion Mahony and Walter Burley Griffin on the Ranelagh Estate in Mt Eliza, which Sharp and Taylor had owned. Park Orchards was designed around a similar "Country Club" development, that had become popular during the 1920s in the USA. The circular street layout is clearly inspired by the Mahony-Griffin style.[8]

The Clubhouse, named "The Chalet" (c.1929), was built in the Spanish Mission style, featuring a blackwood panelled interior, with a ballroom and billiard rooms. The Estate failed to attract buyers during the 1930s Depression, so Sharp and Taylor cleared much of the land and planted plant pine trees (many which still remain) to provide timber for their business.[9][10]

In 1944, during World War II, the Australian Army requisitioned the Chalet and the football ground, and set up the School For Eastern Interpreters[11] for Z Special Unit,[12] as well as a training facility for the Australian Special Wireless Group.[13][14][15][16][17][18] 400 personnel were stationed there, living in tents on the football ground. The army constructed the first water mains and connected the estate to the electrical grid.[19]

The Chalet in 1943 when being used by the Australian Army.
Domeney Reserve (behind the Chalet) in 1943 when being used by the Australian Army.

In late 1946, Sharp & Taylor sold the Estate at auction to Edments Ltd, owners of a department store in Melbourne, who reportedly planned to develop part of it into a holiday resort for their staff.[20] They had a 9-hole golf course and cricket ground constructed in the 1950s.

By the late 1950s, the post-war migration boom[21][22] saw an increase in properties being developed, and most of the blocks had been sold by 1960.[citation needed] The Park Orchards Post Office opened on 1 November 1959,[23] and the Primary School opened on 14 March 1961.[24] The final blocks sold in the early 1990s.[citation needed]

In 1965, The Chalet was the location of the first Catholic mass in Park Orchards.[25] From the 1970s, the building was used as a restaurant and reception centre,[26] and hosted the wedding of Mick Gatto in 1978.[27] In 1994, the exterior was heritage-listed by the local council.[28]

After The Chalet was sold in 2007, the new owners shut it down and submitted an application to build an aged care facility, which was rejected by the local council.[29] In 2009, the community attempted to raise $1.5m to purchase the property to turn it into a community centre but failed.[30] In 2010, VCAT determined, contrary to the local council ruling, that a planning permit should be issued, albeit with a requirement for reticulated sewerage services to be established. Later in 2010, the Park Orchards Ratepayers Association submitted that both The Chalet and the original Estate area be registered as places of significance by the Heritage Council, but the application was rejected due to not meeting the minimum criteria. As of 2015, The Chalet remains unused and neglected.[citation needed]

Facilities

[edit]

Park Orchards features a small commercial-zoned area on Park Rd (spread over either side of Hopetoun Rd) with around 20 lots.

There are two local primary schools and a number of private and state secondary schools in close proximity. The two primary schools are Park Orchards Primary School (public), which hosts a monthly Farmers Market, and St. Anne's (private).

Park Orchards Reserve is home to the Basketball Centre, Community House, Tennis Club, Children's Service Centre, Pre-school and Playground.

There are several other public reserves, including a large 41 hectare area of natural bushland known as 'The 100 Acres'.

Horse riding is a popular pastime in the area, with facilities including Helmast Park providing agistment and riding arenas, along with others in nearby Warrandyte.

Sporting clubs

[edit]

Domeney Reserve hosts the home games of the Park Orchards Cricket Club[31] and the Park Orchards North Ringwood Parish Sharks Junior Football Club[32] and the Park Orchards Football Netball Club.[33] The Yarra Valley Old Boys Football Club used to hold their home games here as well.[citation needed]

The Park Orchards Tennis Club,[34] the Steelers Park Orchards Basketball Club,[35] Park Orchards Power Netball Club[36] and the Park Orchards BMX Club[37] are also based here.

Domeny Reserve and several roads in the area were used during the 1960s up until 1975 by the Austin 7 Club as part of their Observed Section (Mud) Trials.[38]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Park Orchards (Suburbs and Localities)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 3 July 2022. Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ^ "Green Wedges". Melbourne 2030. Archived from the original on 21 July 2015.
  3. ^ "Park Orchards Country Club Estate & The Chalet, Brucedale Cr, Park Orchards, VIC, Australia". Australian Heritage Database - Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Climate and Water. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  4. ^ "Tom Petty JP". Norbury Family History. Archived from the original on 16 April 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  5. ^ Context Pty Ltd (16 February 2006). Manningham Heritate Study Review 2005 (PDF). www.manningham.vic.gov.au (Report). Vol. 2: Heritage place and precinct citations. City of Manningham. pp. 284–285.
  6. ^ "Timber Merchant's £480,769 Estate". The Argus. 5 July 1944. Retrieved 23 June 2025 – via Trove.
  7. ^ a b "Park Orchards". eMelb. The School of Historical & Philosophical Studies, The University of Melbourne. July 2008. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  8. ^ "History". PORA. Park Orchards Ratepayers Association. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  9. ^ "Park Orchards Estate and the Chalet Park Orchards Heritage Council Registrations Committee Decision". www.dtpli.vic.gov.au/. Department of Transport, Planning and Local Infrastructure. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  10. ^ "Park Orchards". Victorian Places. Monash University & The University of Queensland. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  11. ^ MacLaren, Roy (2004). Canadians Behind Enemy Lines, 1939-1945. UBC Press. p. 198. ISBN 0-7748-1100-5.
  12. ^ ""Z" Special Unit in Australia during WWII". OzAtWar. Peter Dunn. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  13. ^ Lucas, Sarah (25 April 2012). "Spy twins' top-secret war". The Australian. Archived from the original on 24 April 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  14. ^ "Australian Special Wireless Group, AIF in Australia during WW2". www.ozatwar.com. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  15. ^ Ball, Desmond (2013). "Chapter 1. David Sissons and D Special Section". In Ball, Desmond; Tamura, Keiko (eds.). Breaking Japanese Diplomatic Codes: David Sissons and D Special Section During the Second World War. ANU E Press. ISBN 978-1925021080.
  16. ^ Smith, Michael (2000). The Emperor's Codes: The Breaking of Japan's Secret Ciphers. Arcade Publishing. ISBN 155970568X.
  17. ^ "AWAS Signals" (PDF). WRAAC Newsletter (4). Women's Royal Australian Army Corps Association (Victoria) Inc. December 2009.
  18. ^ Padula, Bob (26 September 2010). "Wartime HF communications station in Melbourne". The Australian Shortwave Radio Journal. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  19. ^ "A Brief History of Park Orchards". www.hoskins.com.au. Hoskins Real Estate. Archived from the original on 30 November 2012.
  20. ^ "Park Orchards estate as staff holiday resort". The Argus. 21 December 1946. p. 2 – via Trove.
  21. ^ "The changing face of modern Australia – 1950s to 1970s". australia.gov.au. Australian Government. Archived from the original on 12 February 2014.
  22. ^ "Fact Sheet 4 – More than 65 Years of Post-war Migration". Department of Immigration and Border Protection. Australian Government National Communications Branch, Department of Immigration and Border Protection, Canberra. Archived from the original on 10 July 2006.
  23. ^ "Post Office List". Phoenix Auctions History. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  24. ^ "Overview". Park Orchards Primary School. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  25. ^ "Our History". Park Orchards & Warrandyte Parish of St. Gerard & St. Anne. Archived from the original on 15 April 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  26. ^ "Park Orchards Chalet". The Age. 31 May 1985. p. 19 – via Google News.
  27. ^ Gatto, Mick (2011). I, Mick Gatto. Victory Books. p. 46. ISBN 978-0522860665 – via Google Books.
  28. ^ "Park Orchards Country Club Chalet". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Victoria. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  29. ^ "War Icon's Battle". The Weekly Review Eastern. Metro Media Publishing. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
  30. ^ "Park Orchards Chalet Information Memorandum" (PDF). Park Orchards Tennis Club. Park Orchards Community. 7 May 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2015.
  31. ^ "Park Orchards Cricket Club". Play Cricket. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  32. ^ "Club history". Park Orchards North Ringwood Parish Sharks Junior Football Club. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  33. ^ "About us". Park Orchards Football Netball Club. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  34. ^ "Park Orchards Tennis Club". play.tennis.com.au. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  35. ^ "About the Park Orchards Steelers". Steelers Park Orchards Basketball Club. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  36. ^ "Park Orchards Power Netball Club". www.parkorchardsnetball.com.au. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  37. ^ "Park Orchards Panthers BMX Club". www.popbmx.com.au. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  38. ^ "Observed Section Trials, 60 years, 1950-2009" (PDF). Austin 7 Club of Victoria. Austin 7 Club. p. 9.
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