Deer Park, Victoria
Encyclopedia
Deer Park is a suburb in Melbourne
, Victoria
, Australia
, 17 km west from Melbourne's central business district
. Its Local Government Area is the City of Brimbank
. At the 2006 Census, Deer Park had a population of 12,152.
, after the creek running through the suburb but was renamed after the Melbourne Hunt Club used the area to house their stock of game deer. The original Hunt Club building still stands on the Western Highway, next to the Deer Park sports oval and is now a community centre.
Following the discovery of gold in Ballarat and Bendigo, to the west, there became a great demand for explosives. Deer Park was chosen as the site of Melbourne's first explosives factory, the Albion Explosives Factory, in the 1870s.
The site was chosen for its isolation, as it was several miles from the outskirts of Melbourne. The availability of water in Kororoit Creek was also a factor.
The Post Office opened in 1878 as Kororoit Creek and was renamed Deer Park in 1889.
In the 1920s suburban sprawl threatened the isolation of the factory but before a move was necessary, the sprawl was halted by the depression of the 1930s.
A fatal accident at the factory in 1923 led to production of Black powder being stopped.
In 1928, Imperial Chemical Industries of Australia and New Zealand (ICI) took control of the factory.
A new Black Powder factory was built in Deer Park in 1936 and enlarged during World War II. Charcoal from Australian timbers also began to be manufactured.
With labour shortages and a large demand for products during the post-war boom, ICI commenced housing development in Deer Park to attract workers to the area and many of the surrounding streets are named for localities in the UK, where ICI had operations.
From the early 1980s-1990s, Deer Park became a very popular location with migrants from Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The electrification of the train line to Deer Park was expected to occur in the 1980s however the project has been ignored by successive State Governments. Many residents believe the delay in upgrading the train line is related to the fact that Deer Park is situated in one of the safest Labor seats in the country.
Melbourne bus routes 215, 216, 400, and 451 service the area.
The main road through Deer Park is the Western Highway
, which carries traffic between Melbourne
and Ballarat, Victoria's third largest city. Station Road intersects North-South with the Western Highway and is a major local route. The Deer Park Bypass, completed in 2009, allows motorists to avoid the suburban streets of Deer Park on their journey from Melbourne to Caroline Springs, Ballarat and beyond.
.
is located on the northern boundary of the suburb. This area (particularly in the West) has been home to large healthy populations of native reptiles for thousands of years, including Tiger snake, Eastern Blue-tongued Lizard
, Stump-tailed skink
and Eastern brown snake
. Unfortunately due to development these species are now rarely seen in the area.
Due to more recent development of the Cairnlea estate and improved vegetation on the banks of Kororoit Creek, native species of frogs have taken advantage and have taken up residents in the new wetlands and lakes. The Common Eastern Froglet
and even the now endangered Growling Grass Frog
have been seen and heard in the new wetlands and around Kororoit Creek
.
The suburb has an Australian Rules football team competing in the Western Region Football League
., a cricket club and a tennis club.
Victoria's main maximum security female prison, the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre
is located in Deer Park.
Deer Park has also gained a slightly tarnished reputation, due to the maximum security prison that is located there. This myth was the subject of an advertisement by the radio station Nova 100
, in which comedian Dave Hughes
claimed that he had seen a car on fire on a Deer Park street. In a letter they received from a resident, they came to the said resident's house and then, whilst talking to her, the car they had arrived in was attacked by several men and a woman, though this was staged for the commercial.
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 west 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 Brimbank
City of Brimbank
The City of Brimbank is a Local Government Area located within the metropolitan area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It comprises the western suburbs between 10 and 20 km west and northwest from the Melbourne city centre.It has an area of 123 km²...
. At the 2006 Census, Deer Park had a population of 12,152.
History
The suburb was originally named Kororoit CreekKororoit Creek
Kororoit Creek is a major waterway of over 80 km in length in the north-west and western parts of Melbourne. Its headwaters are north of Sunbury at 400m above sea level in ordovician geology...
, after the creek running through the suburb but was renamed after the Melbourne Hunt Club used the area to house their stock of game deer. The original Hunt Club building still stands on the Western Highway, next to the Deer Park sports oval and is now a community centre.
Following the discovery of gold in Ballarat and Bendigo, to the west, there became a great demand for explosives. Deer Park was chosen as the site of Melbourne's first explosives factory, the Albion Explosives Factory, in the 1870s.
The site was chosen for its isolation, as it was several miles from the outskirts of Melbourne. The availability of water in Kororoit Creek was also a factor.
The Post Office opened in 1878 as Kororoit Creek and was renamed Deer Park in 1889.
In the 1920s suburban sprawl threatened the isolation of the factory but before a move was necessary, the sprawl was halted by the depression of the 1930s.
A fatal accident at the factory in 1923 led to production of Black powder being stopped.
In 1928, Imperial Chemical Industries of Australia and New Zealand (ICI) took control of the factory.
A new Black Powder factory was built in Deer Park in 1936 and enlarged during World War II. Charcoal from Australian timbers also began to be manufactured.
With labour shortages and a large demand for products during the post-war boom, ICI commenced housing development in Deer Park to attract workers to the area and many of the surrounding streets are named for localities in the UK, where ICI had operations.
From the early 1980s-1990s, Deer Park became a very popular location with migrants from Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Transport
The suburb is serviced by a railway station on the Melton greater-metropolitan line.The electrification of the train line to Deer Park was expected to occur in the 1980s however the project has been ignored by successive State Governments. Many residents believe the delay in upgrading the train line is related to the fact that Deer Park is situated in one of the safest Labor seats in the country.
Melbourne bus routes 215, 216, 400, and 451 service the area.
The main road through Deer Park is the Western Highway
Western Highway, Victoria
The Western Highway is part of the principal route linking the Australian cities of Melbourne and Adelaide with a length of approximately 314 kilometres. It is a part of the National Highway network and designated as National Highway A8...
, which carries traffic between Melbourne
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...
and Ballarat, Victoria's third largest city. Station Road intersects North-South with the Western Highway and is a major local route. The Deer Park Bypass, completed in 2009, allows motorists to avoid the suburban streets of Deer Park on their journey from Melbourne to Caroline Springs, Ballarat and beyond.
Education
Currently Deer Park has one secondary college which is Victoria University Secondary College - Deer Park Campus. It has four primary schools which are Deer Park North, Deer Park West and St. Peter Chanel P.S . It has the minor and adolescent Wattle program of Western Autistic SchoolWestern Autistic School
Western Autisic School, Niddrie, Victoria, Australia, is an educational organisation for students who have an autism spectrum disorder . It has an adolescent program called the Baseroom in Niddrie Campus, Essendon Keilor College, in Airport West; a minors' program in Niddrie; an arts program in...
.
Flora and fauna
Kororoit CreekKororoit Creek
Kororoit Creek is a major waterway of over 80 km in length in the north-west and western parts of Melbourne. Its headwaters are north of Sunbury at 400m above sea level in ordovician geology...
is located on the northern boundary of the suburb. This area (particularly in the West) has been home to large healthy populations of native reptiles for thousands of years, including Tiger snake, Eastern Blue-tongued Lizard
Eastern blue-tongued lizard
The Eastern Blue-tongued Lizard is a subspecies of large skink which is common throughout Eastern Australia, often found in bushland and suburban areas where conditions are suitable...
, Stump-tailed skink
Stump-tailed skink
Tiliqua rugosa is a short-tailed, slow moving species of blue-tongued skink found in Australia. Three of the four recognized subspecies are found only in Western Australia, where they are known collectively by the common name bobtail. The name shingleback is also used, especially for T. rugosa...
and Eastern brown snake
Eastern brown snake
The eastern brown snake , often referred to as the common brown snake, is a species of genus Pseudonaja. This snake is considered the second most venomous land snake based on its value in mice. It is native to Australia, New Guinea and Indonesia.-Description:Adult eastern brown snakes are highly...
. Unfortunately due to development these species are now rarely seen in the area.
Due to more recent development of the Cairnlea estate and improved vegetation on the banks of Kororoit Creek, native species of frogs have taken advantage and have taken up residents in the new wetlands and lakes. The Common Eastern Froglet
Common Eastern Froglet
The Common Eastern Froglet is a very common, Australian ground-dwelling frog, of the family Myobatrachidae.-Distribution:...
and even the now endangered Growling Grass Frog
Growling Grass Frog
The Growling Grass Frog , also commonly known as the Southern Bell Frog, Warty Swamp Frog and erroneously as the Green Frog is a species of ground dwelling tree frog is native to South eastern Australia; ranging from southern South Australia along the Murray River though Victoria to New South...
have been seen and heard in the new wetlands and around Kororoit Creek
Kororoit Creek
Kororoit Creek is a major waterway of over 80 km in length in the north-west and western parts of Melbourne. Its headwaters are north of Sunbury at 400m above sea level in ordovician geology...
.
- Kororoit Creek TrailKororoit Creek TrailThe Kororoit Creek Trail is a shared use path for cyclists and pedestrians, which follows the Kororoit Creek in the inner western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
Modern Deer Park
On the southern outskirts of the suburb there are large farm properties which are now being developed for housing under the development names Brimbank Gardens and St Andrews Field. This area surrounds Mount Derrimut, which will be the location of the newly relocated Sunshine Golf Club.The suburb has an Australian Rules football team competing in the Western Region Football League
Western Region Football League
The Western Region Football League is an Australian rules football semi-professional league, based in the western suburbs of Melbourne, for both seniors and juniors.-History:The league was formed in 1931, as the Footscray District Football League...
., a cricket club and a tennis club.
Victoria's main maximum security female prison, the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre
Dame Phyllis Frost Centre
Dame Phyllis Frost Centre is a maximum security women's prison located at Deer Park, Victoria, Australia. It was designed by Guymer Bailey Architects Pty. Ltd. and built in 1996 as the first privately designed, financed and operated prison in Victoria...
is located in Deer Park.
Deer Park has also gained a slightly tarnished reputation, due to the maximum security prison that is located there. This myth was the subject of an advertisement by the radio station Nova 100
Nova 100
Nova 100 is a commercial radio station in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, broadcasting on 100.3 MHz. It is in the Melbourne radio market, with the intention of challenging the number one FM Austereo station Fox FM by playing alternative, hip hop, pop & dance music, with a strong lean towards...
, in which comedian Dave Hughes
Dave Hughes
David William "Hughesy" Hughes is an Australian stand-up comedian, radio and television presenter. He is currently co-host on the Network Ten's The Project and Before the Game as well as the breakfast radio show Hughesy and Kate.-Television:Hughes co-hosted the ABC comedy talk show The Glass House...
claimed that he had seen a car on fire on a Deer Park street. In a letter they received from a resident, they came to the said resident's house and then, whilst talking to her, the car they had arrived in was attacked by several men and a woman, though this was staged for the commercial.
See also
- City of SunshineCity of SunshineThe City of Sunshine was a Local Government Area located about west of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The city covered an area of , and existed from 1860 until 1994.-History:...
- the former local government area of which Deer Park was a part.