Blackburn North, Victoria
Encyclopedia
Blackburn North is a suburb in Melbourne
, Victoria
, Australia
, 17 km east from Melbourne's central business district
. Its Local Government Area is the City of Whitehorse
. At the 2006 Census, Blackburn North had a population of 6816.
North Blackburn is a predominantly residential suburb, with wide green and leafy streets and houses on quarter acre blocks. The suburb had its start in the early 1960s, much of it being built on land formerly used as an apple orchard. North Blackburn Shopping Centre was originally known as Old Orchard Shopping Centre for this reason, as is Old Orchard Primary School today. North Blackburn Post Office opened on 2 May 1955 and was renamed Blackburn North around 1990.
Property prices have risen markedly in the last 10 years, especially since the Eastern Freeway was extended to run past the suburb.
Prior to the formation of the City of Whitehorse in 1994, North Blackburn was a part of the now defunct City of Nunawading.
. The large Westfield Doncaster
is in nearby Doncaster
.
Centro Box Hill, formerly Box Hill Central and now incorporating the former Centro Whitehorse, can also be found in Box Hill
. It can be accessed through several busses, notably Busses 270/271, which can also be taken in the opposite direction to Eastland Shopping Centre
and other shopping locations.
Small strip shopping areas exist in Raymond Street, Katrina Street and Diana Drive.
bus routes service the area.
These route run through the suburb to the nearby public transport hub at Box Hill, where a bus terminus, tram terminus and Box Hill Railway Station
can be found.
Other nearby train stations are Laburnum and Blackburn
. Blackburn Station can be reached by bus from North Blackburn.
On its Northern Boundary is the Eastern Freeway, along which also runs a bicycle track, the Koonung Creek Trail
. The northern boundary is also marked by Koonung Creek
, which flows into the Yarra River
further downstream. Exit the Freeway at Middleborough Road or Blackburn Road, to best reach North Blackburn.
Middlefield Primary School, formerly located on Verbena street, has now been torn down and replaced with housing. It's soccer pitch survives as part of koonung reserve. It amalgamated with Blackburn North Primary School in 1992 to form Old Orchard Primary School. Once located on Springfield Road, it has now also been replaced by housing on the new street of Kurrajong Way.
There are no secondary schools in North Blackburn. Blackburn High School
can be found in nearby Blackburn. The former Blackburn Technical School has closed down, and since 1995, Old Orchard Primary School has used a portion of that site.
's Nunawading Football Club
.
After a stint in Adelaide, he and his family settled in Hibiscus Road, North Blackburn under the assumed name of Cook. There the family briefly lived a normal life, before Biggs fled alone to Brazil
the day before police raided his house. His now ex-wife, Charmaine, and children still reside in Melbourne, albeit not in Blackburn North.
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, 17 km east from Melbourne's central business district
Melbourne city centre
Melbourne City Centre is an area of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. It is not to be confused with the larger local government area of the City of Melbourne...
. Its Local Government Area is the City of Whitehorse
City of Whitehorse
The City of Whitehorse is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. It has an area of and has a estimated population of 155,725 people....
. At the 2006 Census, Blackburn North had a population of 6816.
North Blackburn is a predominantly residential suburb, with wide green and leafy streets and houses on quarter acre blocks. The suburb had its start in the early 1960s, much of it being built on land formerly used as an apple orchard. North Blackburn Shopping Centre was originally known as Old Orchard Shopping Centre for this reason, as is Old Orchard Primary School today. North Blackburn Post Office opened on 2 May 1955 and was renamed Blackburn North around 1990.
Property prices have risen markedly in the last 10 years, especially since the Eastern Freeway was extended to run past the suburb.
Prior to the formation of the City of Whitehorse in 1994, North Blackburn was a part of the now defunct City of Nunawading.
Industry
A small light industrial area is sited in the North East corner of the suburb, along Joseph Street. A former clay pipe factory on Springfield Road has been closed and replaced by housing.Shopping
No major shopping centre exists in North Blackburn, while it is well served by North Blackburn Square Shopping Centre on Springfield Road, it is in fact located in BlackburnBlackburn, Victoria
Blackburn is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 17 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Whitehorse. At the 2006 Census, Blackburn had a population of 11,958....
. The large Westfield Doncaster
Westfield Doncaster
Westfield Doncaster is a shopping centre 50% owned by the Westfield Group and 50% owned by LaSalle Investment Management located in Doncaster, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia...
is in nearby Doncaster
Doncaster, Victoria
Doncaster is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 15 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Manningham. At the 2006 Census, Doncaster had a population of 17,879....
.
Centro Box Hill, formerly Box Hill Central and now incorporating the former Centro Whitehorse, can also be found in Box Hill
Box Hill, Victoria
Box Hill is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 14 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Whitehorse. At the 2006 Census, Box Hill had a population of 8,616....
. It can be accessed through several busses, notably Busses 270/271, which can also be taken in the opposite direction to Eastland Shopping Centre
Eastland Shopping Centre
Eastland Shopping Centre is a large shopping centre located in the outer eastern suburb of Ringwood, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, which first opened on 31 October 1967....
and other shopping locations.
Small strip shopping areas exist in Raymond Street, Katrina Street and Diana Drive.
Transport
No railway station serves North Blackburn. However Melbourne MetlinkMetlink
Metlink, formerly The Met, is the marketing body and umbrella brand for public train, tram and bus transport operators in Greater Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.-Responsibilities:Metlink is responsible for the promotion of travel by public transport...
bus routes service the area.
These route run through the suburb to the nearby public transport hub at Box Hill, where a bus terminus, tram terminus and Box Hill Railway Station
Box Hill railway station, Melbourne
Box Hill railway station is on the Belgrave and Lilydale railway lines in Melbourne, Australia. It is located under Centro Box Hill shopping centre near the corner of Whitehorse Road and Station Street in Box Hill. A major bus interchange is part of the same complex, and the 109 tram route...
can be found.
Other nearby train stations are Laburnum and Blackburn
Blackburn railway station, Melbourne
Blackburn is a railway station on the Lilydale and Belgrave railway lines in Melbourne, Australia. It is located between Railway Road and South Parade in Blackburn, about west of Blackburn Road. The station is 17.4 kilometres by rail from Flinders Street Station...
. Blackburn Station can be reached by bus from North Blackburn.
On its Northern Boundary is the Eastern Freeway, along which also runs a bicycle track, the Koonung Creek Trail
Koonung Creek Trail
The Koonung Creek Trail is a shared use path for cyclists and pedestrians, which follows Koonung Creek in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia...
. The northern boundary is also marked by Koonung Creek
Koonung Creek
Koonung Creek is a small tributary of the Yarra River in Melbourne's east. The creek originates in Nunawading near Springvale Road, and flows to join the Yarra at the border between Ivanhoe East, Bulleen and Balwyn North. The place the two waterways meet forms the borders between these suburbs...
, which flows into the Yarra River
Yarra River
The Yarra River, originally Birrarung, is a river in east-central Victoria, Australia. The lower stretches of the river is where the city of Melbourne was established in 1835 and today Greater Melbourne dominates and influences the landscape of its lower reaches...
further downstream. Exit the Freeway at Middleborough Road or Blackburn Road, to best reach North Blackburn.
Schools
There are two public primary schools in North Blackburn, Old Orchard Primary School and St. Phillips (Catholic) on Junction Road. Springview Primary School which although is next door to St. Phillips is actually in neighbouring Nunawading.Middlefield Primary School, formerly located on Verbena street, has now been torn down and replaced with housing. It's soccer pitch survives as part of koonung reserve. It amalgamated with Blackburn North Primary School in 1992 to form Old Orchard Primary School. Once located on Springfield Road, it has now also been replaced by housing on the new street of Kurrajong Way.
There are no secondary schools in North Blackburn. Blackburn High School
Blackburn High School
Blackburn High School is a public secondary school for girls and boys in years 7 to 12 in Blackburn, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The school has traditionally had a strong music curriculum, with its varied bands and orchestras consistently winning state and national awards...
can be found in nearby Blackburn. The former Blackburn Technical School has closed down, and since 1995, Old Orchard Primary School has used a portion of that site.
Sport/Recreation
The area is well serviced by Koonung Reserve located on Springfield Road. It has cricket nets, a Cricket/football oval, a tennis club and a soccer field. It is the sporting home of several cricket and football teams, including the Eastern Football League (Australia)Eastern Football League (Australia)
The Eastern Football League is an Australian rules football League, based in the eastern suburbs of metropolitan Melbourne....
's Nunawading Football Club
Nunawading Football Club
Nunawading Football Club is an Australian rules football club located 20 km east of Melbourne in the suburb of Blackburn North, Victoria. Nunawading Football Club colours are Maroon with gold lightning strikes, gold lion emblem and maroon shorts and are affiliated with the Eastern Football...
.
Notable residents
- Ronnie BiggsRonnie BiggsRonald Arthur "Ronnie" Biggs is an English criminal, known for his role in the Great Train Robbery of 1963, for his escape from prison in 1965, for living as a fugitive for 36 years and for his various publicity stunts while in exile. In 2001, he voluntarily returned to the United Kingdom and...
- In 1970, the English fugitive Ronnie BiggsRonnie BiggsRonald Arthur "Ronnie" Biggs is an English criminal, known for his role in the Great Train Robbery of 1963, for his escape from prison in 1965, for living as a fugitive for 36 years and for his various publicity stunts while in exile. In 2001, he voluntarily returned to the United Kingdom and...
arrived in Australia while on the run from the UK authorities for his part in the Great Train RobberyGreat Train Robbery (1963)The Great Train Robbery is the name given to a £2.6 million train robbery committed on 8 August 1963 at Bridego Railway Bridge, Ledburn near Mentmore in Buckinghamshire, England. The bulk of the stolen money was not recovered...
of 1963.
After a stint in Adelaide, he and his family settled in Hibiscus Road, North Blackburn under the assumed name of Cook. There the family briefly lived a normal life, before Biggs fled alone to Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
the day before police raided his house. His now ex-wife, Charmaine, and children still reside in Melbourne, albeit not in Blackburn North.
- Guy PearceGuy PearceGuy Edward Pearce is an English-born Australian actor and musician, known for his roles as Leonard Shelby in Christopher Nolan's Memento, Lieutenant Ed Exley in L.A...
- Actor Guy Pearce lived in Fithie Street, Blackburn North in the late 1980s1980sFile:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
. Pearce appeared in the Australian Television soap opera NeighboursNeighboursNeighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
and has a successful film career.