Wonga Park, Victoria
Encyclopedia
Wonga Park a locality within Greater Melbourne beyond the Melbourne metropolitan area Urban Growth Boundary, 29 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district
. Its Local Government Area is the City of Manningham
. At the 2006 Census, Wonga Park had a population of 3505.
Wonga Park is bounded in the west by Jumping Creek, in the north by the Yarra River
, in the east by Brushy Park and Old Homestead Roads, and in the south by Holloway Road.
The name comes from the Wonga Park grazing property, which itself derives from Simon Wonga
elder of the Wurundjeri
indigenous
people of Melbourne. The area was part of Mooroolbark until the 1890s.
In 1895 a primary school was opened first called Warrandyte East, but later changed to Wonga Park in 1898. The area was a mixture of orchards and grazing properties and timbered land. Most smaller properties had been started with income from firewood that came from clearing the land.
Eight Hour Pioneer Settlement Post Office opened in 1902, was renamed Wonga Park around 1907 and closed in 1989. It reopened in its current location in 1994.
One of the grazing properties, Yarra Brae, was acquired by the Hon. L. Clifford in 1940. After being a war-time army training area, Clifford made it available for Australia's first Pan Pacific Scout Jamboree in 1948. Clifford Park also hosted jamborees during the 1950s.
In 1972 Yarra Brae was the site of a proposed lower Yarra River reservoir, but residents of the nearby Bend of Isles bushland estate persuaded the Victorian Government to abandon the proposal. The allied Sugarloaf Reservoir at Christmas Hills went ahead.
The residential development of Wonga Park came after the subdivisions in Croydon and Mooroolbark, which were on the Maroondah Highway and a railway line. Residential living is most concentrated around the old village settlement where the church, hall, sports facilities, fire station and local shops are found.
The northern boundary of Wonga Park, where land was acquired for the Yarra Brae storage, is a linear riverside part of the Warrandyte State Park. Wonga Park is also home to the largest residential block of land within metropolitan Melbourne, with many of the residential blocks being large in size, creating a private sanctuary for many of its residents. John Farnham
currently resides in Wonga Park as does V8 Supercar driver Garth Tander
.
Golfers play at the course of The Heritage Golf and Country Club.
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 Manningham
City of Manningham
The City of Manningham is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the northeastern suburbs of Melbourne. The total population is 118,544 , divided up into 10 suburbs, the largest being Doncaster and Templestowe, over an area of 113 square kilometres.The district spans a...
. At the 2006 Census, Wonga Park had a population of 3505.
Wonga Park is bounded in the west by Jumping Creek, in the north by 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...
, in the east by Brushy Park and Old Homestead Roads, and in the south by Holloway Road.
The name comes from the Wonga Park grazing property, which itself derives from Simon Wonga
Simon Wonga
Simon Wonga ngurungaeta and son of Billibellary, was an elder of the Wurundjeri indigenous people who lived in the Melbourne area of Australia.In 1840 Simon Wonga injured his foot in the Dandenongs...
elder of the Wurundjeri
Wurundjeri
The Wurundjeri are a people of the Indigenous Australian nation of the Woiwurrung language group, in the Kulin alliance, who occupy the Birrarung Valley, its tributaries and the present location of Melbourne, Australia...
indigenous
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
people of Melbourne. The area was part of Mooroolbark until the 1890s.
History
In 1889 the Wonga Park property came into the hands of an insurance company and, along with other holdings, the land was sold by the Wonga Park Land Co. Four years later, when small settlements were a way of relieving unemployment after the failure of the land boom, about twenty members of an Eight Hours Pioneer Memorial Association took up small holdings on a former timber reserve.In 1895 a primary school was opened first called Warrandyte East, but later changed to Wonga Park in 1898. The area was a mixture of orchards and grazing properties and timbered land. Most smaller properties had been started with income from firewood that came from clearing the land.
Eight Hour Pioneer Settlement Post Office opened in 1902, was renamed Wonga Park around 1907 and closed in 1989. It reopened in its current location in 1994.
One of the grazing properties, Yarra Brae, was acquired by the Hon. L. Clifford in 1940. After being a war-time army training area, Clifford made it available for Australia's first Pan Pacific Scout Jamboree in 1948. Clifford Park also hosted jamborees during the 1950s.
In 1972 Yarra Brae was the site of a proposed lower Yarra River reservoir, but residents of the nearby Bend of Isles bushland estate persuaded the Victorian Government to abandon the proposal. The allied Sugarloaf Reservoir at Christmas Hills went ahead.
The residential development of Wonga Park came after the subdivisions in Croydon and Mooroolbark, which were on the Maroondah Highway and a railway line. Residential living is most concentrated around the old village settlement where the church, hall, sports facilities, fire station and local shops are found.
The northern boundary of Wonga Park, where land was acquired for the Yarra Brae storage, is a linear riverside part of the Warrandyte State Park. Wonga Park is also home to the largest residential block of land within metropolitan Melbourne, with many of the residential blocks being large in size, creating a private sanctuary for many of its residents. John Farnham
John Farnham
John Peter Farnham, AO, formerly billed as Johnny Farnham , is an English-born Australian pop singer. He was a teen pop idol from 1964 to 1979, and has since forged a career as an adult contemporary singer. His career has mostly been as a solo artist although he briefly replaced Glenn Shorrock as...
currently resides in Wonga Park as does V8 Supercar driver Garth Tander
Garth Tander
Garth Tander is a multiple-championship winning Australian motor racing driver. Since 1998 Tander has been a competitor in touring car racing series V8 Supercar Championship Series. Tander was the 2007 series champion for the HSV Dealer Team and is a three-time winner in Australia's most...
.
Activities
Wonga Park has a tennis club, a cricket club and numerous horse riding clubs. With the Yarra River being so close, canoeing is also a popular activity. The Clifford Park Scout Camp is also located in Wonga Park.Golfers play at the course of The Heritage Golf and Country Club.