Oakleigh, Victoria
Encyclopedia
Oakleigh is a suburb of Melbourne
, Victoria
, Australia
and is located 14 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district
. Its Local Government Area is the City of Monash
. At the 2006 Census, Oakleigh had a population of 6,876.
Once a large independent city, Oakleigh was absorbed into Melbourne as part of the eastward expansion of the metropolis in the 1950s. As a result, it once had its own large historic Central Business District
, its own municipality in the former City of Oakleigh
and its own suburbs.
The area is traditionally known to have a strong Greek cultural influence, largely due to the influx of said immigrants to Australia in the mid-20th century. Fourteen per cent of those living in the suburb speak only Greek
at home.
The origins of the name of the suburb, "Oakleigh," is unclear, local historians have three main theories - that it was derived from she-oaks
that grew near Scotchmans Creek; from "Oakleigh Park" an estate near Malvern Hills
in England
; or from Mrs. Oakley an early settler.
settlers in the area in and near the run (including the McMillan, Campbell, and McPherson families). By 1853, Scotchman's Creek was known as South Yarra Creek, due to the well known South Yarra Pound (built in the area in the early 1840s on behalf of the government to collect stray livestock) and the associated South Yarra Inn. Part of the Parish of Mulgrave, County of Bourke, Oakleigh was first surveyed in 1853, and the first blocks of land were sold soon after. Oakleigh Post Office opened on 1 August 1854.
The Shire of Oakleigh was created in 1871 and a boom in settlement followed the opening of the Melbourne-Oakleigh railway line in 1877.
Oakleigh, along with Dandenong, soon became one of the closest large cities to Melbourne, and the key to its development was the railway line to Melbourne. Railway workshops, brick works (until 1953, the area supplied 20% of Melbourne's bricks), sand mining, and market gardens became the most important industries in Oakleigh at the end of the 19th century. The suburb contributed greatly to Melbourne's rapid growth, and as a result, Oakleigh has a legacy of many large old buildings and institutions, mostly located between the railway line and the main road at Dandenong Road (which once serviced the city).
The Oakleigh Hall (formerly the Mechanics' Institute) which once served as the town hall (1906), post office (1924) and courthouse (1934) still remains, as does a grandstand of the cricket and football
oval. The Sacred Heart Church, a large Edwardian
church with its twin copper dome, is still a landmark of the area and is now part of a school.
Oakleigh's urban potential was increased by the addition of part of Caulfield, comprising present day Hughesdale
, in 1913. In 1924 Oakleigh was proclaimed a town and on 2 August, 1927, a city. By then the Oakleigh area was substantially built up, and housing was extending to Hughesdale and Huntingdale
(East Oakleigh) in the vicinity of their railway station. At the close of the war these areas were described as rising suburbs. Because the land in Oakleigh South
was sandy and fairly flat - suitable for golf courses - Oakleigh South was the home of Sand Belt private golf courses such as the Metropolitan, Commonwealth, and Huntingdale Golf Clubs.
The Convent of the Good Shepherd occupied the northernmost boundary of the city until it was demolished in the 1960 to make way for the development of Chadstone Shopping Centre
. Chadstone Shopping Centre is now part of Malvern East
. Chadstone Shopping Centre was built about 1.5 kilometres from the Oakleigh shopping centre. Although trading in the three or four active street in the Oakleigh shopping centre was maintained with one-way traffic and pedestrianisation, the contrast with climate-controlled Chadstone was apparent.
The Oakleigh General Cemetery was in operation from 1860 until 1960. It is situated in Oakleigh Pioneer Memorial Park.
The Oakleigh library, now a branch of Monash Public Library, was moved to its current location on Drummond Street in 1967 and a new foyer integrated it with the old Mechanics Institute Hall and Senior Citizens rooms.
Oakleigh Primary School No. 1601 was established in 1875. The lower-school is situated in a renovated building (first opened in 1914). The middle and upper school are situated in the modern building (opened in 1977). The school opened a purpose-built kindergarten
in 2005 for 3- and 4-year old children.
The Oakleigh Motel, the first of its kind, and an example of Googie architecture, was opened in time for the 1956 Summer Olympics
. The building was on the Monash Council heritage register, but despite this the council granted permission to demolish it. Heritage Victoria has since granted provisional heritage status to the building. The motel ushered in an era when the motor car dominated the city as Melbourne sprawled and expanded to absorb Oakleigh and also Dandenong into its ever expanding south-eastern conurbation
.
Oakleigh was defined as a Major Activity Centre as part of the Melbourne 2030
planning policy.
at home.
Evidence of Greek cultural influence can be found in the Oakleigh Cannons
football
club, which was established in 1972 by Greek immigrants. Further evidence of Greek cultural influence can be found in the Greek Orthodox church of Agioi Anargyroi
and the eponymous college (located in neighbouring Hughesdale
but administered by the Oakleigh Greek Orthodox Community).
while Drummond Street is its former civic spine. This area contains many older commercial buildings including banks and retail complexes dating back to the early days of the city. There are a small number of multi-storey office buildings which date back to the city's growth period.
Eaton Street is a pedestrian mall
which connects Atherton Road with the Centro Shopping Centre and railway station. The CBD is a popular activity centre with locals with a great many cafes, several hotels, restaurants and retail shops. The thriving shopping district has an abundance of butchers, bakeries, beauty salons, and specialty shops selling sweets. There are also multiple laneways with Greek-themed cafés that specialise in café frappé
. A police station, primary school, public Library, RSL, Community Hall and historical centre (Monash Federation Centre) Cemetery and football ground and park are in the nearby historical precinct of Drummond Street.
A smaller commercial area developed along Dandenong Road. Both centres continue to develop.
), which takes many residents to Dandenong
(situated east of Oakleigh) and to the CBD
(situated west of Oakleigh). Ferntree Gully Road is a major road also going to Ferntree Gully
via Scoresby
, but Ferntree Gully
is a long distance from Oakleigh and is not the only destination of this road. Ferntree Gully Road is a main route that residents take when travelling to Belgrave
to have a ride on Puffing Billy
. Warrigal Road
is a very major road travelling to Burwood
.
Oakleigh railway station provides suburban railway services on both the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines.
Oakleigh is also the hub of a large component of Melbourne's eastern bus network. Many of the buses interchange at a terminus alongside the railway station and follow routes which run through the suburb.
Bicycle transport is facilitated by a network of on-road and also segregated bicycle facilities.
.
The suburb has two main Australian rules football
teams, namely the Oakleigh Chargers
TAC Cup
team and the Oakleigh District Football Club. The former Oakleigh Football Club
the city's most popular sporting team competed in the Victorian Football League
from 1929 until 1994.
Golfers play at the Oakleigh Golf Club on Park Road.
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...
and is located 14 km south-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 Monash
City of Monash
The City of Monash is a Local Government Area in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is located in the southeastern suburbs of Melbourne and has an area of 81.0 square kilometres and has a estimated population of 176,069 people...
. At the 2006 Census, Oakleigh had a population of 6,876.
Once a large independent city, Oakleigh was absorbed into Melbourne as part of the eastward expansion of the metropolis in the 1950s. As a result, it once had its own large historic Central Business District
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
, its own municipality in the former City of Oakleigh
City of Oakleigh
The City of Oakleigh was a Local Government Area located about southeast of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The city covered an area of , and existed from 1891 until 1994.-History:...
and its own suburbs.
The area is traditionally known to have a strong Greek cultural influence, largely due to the influx of said immigrants to Australia in the mid-20th century. Fourteen per cent of those living in the suburb speak only Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
at home.
The origins of the name of the suburb, "Oakleigh," is unclear, local historians have three main theories - that it was derived from she-oaks
Allocasuarina
Allocasuarina is a genus of trees in the flowering plant family Casuarinaceae. They are endemic to Australia, occurring primarily in the south. Like the closely related genus Casuarina, they are commonly called sheoaks or she-oaks, they are notable for their long, segmented branchlets that...
that grew near Scotchmans Creek; from "Oakleigh Park" an estate near Malvern Hills
Malvern Hills
The Malvern Hills are a range of hills in the English counties of Worcestershire, Herefordshire and a small area of northern Gloucestershire, dominating the surrounding countryside and the towns and villages of the district of Malvern...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
; or from Mrs. Oakley an early settler.
History
Originally inhabited by the Kulin people, a grazing run was established in the settled district east of Melbourne in the early 1840s. The lease for the grazing run was taken up by farmers John and Archibald McMillan. Scotchman's Creek Run, as it became known, was named after the ScottishScottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
settlers in the area in and near the run (including the McMillan, Campbell, and McPherson families). By 1853, Scotchman's Creek was known as South Yarra Creek, due to the well known South Yarra Pound (built in the area in the early 1840s on behalf of the government to collect stray livestock) and the associated South Yarra Inn. Part of the Parish of Mulgrave, County of Bourke, Oakleigh was first surveyed in 1853, and the first blocks of land were sold soon after. Oakleigh Post Office opened on 1 August 1854.
The Shire of Oakleigh was created in 1871 and a boom in settlement followed the opening of the Melbourne-Oakleigh railway line in 1877.
Oakleigh, along with Dandenong, soon became one of the closest large cities to Melbourne, and the key to its development was the railway line to Melbourne. Railway workshops, brick works (until 1953, the area supplied 20% of Melbourne's bricks), sand mining, and market gardens became the most important industries in Oakleigh at the end of the 19th century. The suburb contributed greatly to Melbourne's rapid growth, and as a result, Oakleigh has a legacy of many large old buildings and institutions, mostly located between the railway line and the main road at Dandenong Road (which once serviced the city).
The Oakleigh Hall (formerly the Mechanics' Institute) which once served as the town hall (1906), post office (1924) and courthouse (1934) still remains, as does a grandstand of the cricket and football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
oval. The Sacred Heart Church, a large Edwardian
Edwardian architecture
Edwardian architecture is the style popular when King Edward VII of the United Kingdom was in power; he reigned from 1901 to 1910, but the architecture style is generally considered to be indicative of the years 1901 to 1914....
church with its twin copper dome, is still a landmark of the area and is now part of a school.
Oakleigh's urban potential was increased by the addition of part of Caulfield, comprising present day Hughesdale
Hughesdale, Victoria
Hughesdale is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 18 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Monash. At the 2006 Census, Hughesdale had a population of 6,503....
, in 1913. In 1924 Oakleigh was proclaimed a town and on 2 August, 1927, a city. By then the Oakleigh area was substantially built up, and housing was extending to Hughesdale and Huntingdale
Huntingdale, Victoria
Huntingdale is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 16 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Monash...
(East Oakleigh) in the vicinity of their railway station. At the close of the war these areas were described as rising suburbs. Because the land in Oakleigh South
Oakleigh South, Victoria
Oakleigh South is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 17 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Monash and the City of Kingston...
was sandy and fairly flat - suitable for golf courses - Oakleigh South was the home of Sand Belt private golf courses such as the Metropolitan, Commonwealth, and Huntingdale Golf Clubs.
The Convent of the Good Shepherd occupied the northernmost boundary of the city until it was demolished in the 1960 to make way for the development of Chadstone Shopping Centre
Chadstone Shopping Centre
Chadstone Shopping Centre is a super regional shopping centre located in the inner south-eastern suburb of Malvern East in the city of Melbourne, Australia...
. Chadstone Shopping Centre is now part of Malvern East
Malvern East, Victoria
Malvern East is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 11 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stonnington...
. Chadstone Shopping Centre was built about 1.5 kilometres from the Oakleigh shopping centre. Although trading in the three or four active street in the Oakleigh shopping centre was maintained with one-way traffic and pedestrianisation, the contrast with climate-controlled Chadstone was apparent.
The Oakleigh General Cemetery was in operation from 1860 until 1960. It is situated in Oakleigh Pioneer Memorial Park.
The Oakleigh library, now a branch of Monash Public Library, was moved to its current location on Drummond Street in 1967 and a new foyer integrated it with the old Mechanics Institute Hall and Senior Citizens rooms.
Oakleigh Primary School No. 1601 was established in 1875. The lower-school is situated in a renovated building (first opened in 1914). The middle and upper school are situated in the modern building (opened in 1977). The school opened a purpose-built kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
in 2005 for 3- and 4-year old children.
The Oakleigh Motel, the first of its kind, and an example of Googie architecture, was opened in time for the 1956 Summer Olympics
1956 Summer Olympics
The 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in Melbourne, Australia, in 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, which could not be held in Australia due to quarantine regulations...
. The building was on the Monash Council heritage register, but despite this the council granted permission to demolish it. Heritage Victoria has since granted provisional heritage status to the building. The motel ushered in an era when the motor car dominated the city as Melbourne sprawled and expanded to absorb Oakleigh and also Dandenong into its ever expanding south-eastern conurbation
Conurbation
A conurbation is a region comprising a number of cities, large towns, and other urban areas that, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban and industrially developed area...
.
Oakleigh was defined as a Major Activity Centre as part of the Melbourne 2030
Melbourne 2030
The Metropolitan Strategy Melbourne 2030 is a Victorian Government strategic planning policy framework for the metropolitan area of Greater Melbourne, intended to cover the period 2001-2030. During this period the population of the metropolitan area is expected to grow by a million people to over 5...
planning policy.
Demographics and housing
The area is traditionally known to have a strong Greek cultural influence, largely due to the influx of said immigrants to Australia in the mid-20th century. Fourteen per cent of those living in the suburb speak GreekGreek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
at home.
Evidence of Greek cultural influence can be found in the Oakleigh Cannons
Oakleigh Cannons
Oakleigh Cannons Football Club is a football club based in the south-east Melbourne suburb of Oakleigh, Victoria, Australia. The club was formed in 1972 as the South Oakleigh Soccer Club by members of Oakleigh's Greek Australian community...
football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
club, which was established in 1972 by Greek immigrants. Further evidence of Greek cultural influence can be found in the Greek Orthodox church of Agioi Anargyroi
Saints Cosmas and Damian
Saints Cosmas and Damian were twin brothers, physicians, and early Christian martyrs born in Cilicia, part of today's Turkey. They practiced their profession in the seaport of Ayas, Adana, then in the Roman province of Syria...
and the eponymous college (located in neighbouring Hughesdale
Hughesdale, Victoria
Hughesdale is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 18 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Monash. At the 2006 Census, Hughesdale had a population of 6,503....
but administered by the Oakleigh Greek Orthodox Community).
Central Business District
Oakleigh has a large historic Central Business District spanning some nine city blocks. Atherton Road is Oakleigh's historic commercial main streetMain Street
Main Street is the metonym for a generic street name of the primary retail street of a village, town, or small city in many parts of the world...
while Drummond Street is its former civic spine. This area contains many older commercial buildings including banks and retail complexes dating back to the early days of the city. There are a small number of multi-storey office buildings which date back to the city's growth period.
Eaton Street is a pedestrian mall
Pedestrian mall
Pedestrian malls in the United States are also known as pedestrian streets and are the most common form of pedestrian zone in large cities in the United States. It is a street lined with storefronts and closed off to most automobile traffic...
which connects Atherton Road with the Centro Shopping Centre and railway station. The CBD is a popular activity centre with locals with a great many cafes, several hotels, restaurants and retail shops. The thriving shopping district has an abundance of butchers, bakeries, beauty salons, and specialty shops selling sweets. There are also multiple laneways with Greek-themed cafés that specialise in café frappé
Frappé coffee
Frappé coffee is a Greek foam-covered iced coffee drink made from instant coffee . It is very popular in Greece and Cyprus, especially during the summer, but has now spread to other countries...
. A police station, primary school, public Library, RSL, Community Hall and historical centre (Monash Federation Centre) Cemetery and football ground and park are in the nearby historical precinct of Drummond Street.
A smaller commercial area developed along Dandenong Road. Both centres continue to develop.
Transport
The main form of transport in Oakleigh is the private vehicle. The main roads in Oakeigh are Dandenong Road (Princes HighwayPrinces Highway
The Princes Highway extends from Sydney to Port Augusta via the coast through the states of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, a distance of 1941 km or 1898 km via the former alignments of the highway ....
), which takes many residents to Dandenong
Dandenong, Victoria
Dandenong is a suburb and major urban centre in metropolitan Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 30 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Situated on Dandenong Creek and mostly flat land at the foothills of Mount Dandenong, it is the main administrative centre for the City of...
(situated east of Oakleigh) and to the CBD
City of Melbourne
The City of Melbourne is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia, located in the central city area of Melbourne. The city has an area of 36 square kilometres and has an estimated population of 93,105 people. The city's motto is "Vires acquirit eundo" which means "She gathers strength as she...
(situated west of Oakleigh). Ferntree Gully Road is a major road also going to Ferntree Gully
Ferntree Gully, Victoria
Ferntree Gully is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, in the Dandenong Ranges, 29 km east from Melbourne's central business district. It is in the Local Government Area's of the Shire of Yarra Ranges and the City of Knox...
via Scoresby
Scoresby, Victoria
Scoresby is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 25 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Knox...
, but Ferntree Gully
Ferntree Gully, Victoria
Ferntree Gully is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, in the Dandenong Ranges, 29 km east from Melbourne's central business district. It is in the Local Government Area's of the Shire of Yarra Ranges and the City of Knox...
is a long distance from Oakleigh and is not the only destination of this road. Ferntree Gully Road is a main route that residents take when travelling to Belgrave
Belgrave, Victoria
Belgrave is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 35 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Yarra Ranges. At the 2006 Census, Belgrave had a population of 4094...
to have a ride on Puffing Billy
Puffing Billy
Puffing Billy may refer to:* Puffing Billy Railway, a narrow gauge tourist railway near Melbourne, Australia* Puffing Billy , an early steam locomotive* Puffing Billy Tournament, a board game convention focusing on train games...
. Warrigal Road
Warrigal Road
Warrigal Road is a major inner urban road in southeastern Melbourne, Australia. On weekdays, it is usually congested as it runs through many major suburbs along its route, traversing Melbourne's inner eastern and south-eastern suburbs. This includes suburbs such as Chadstone, Oakleigh, and...
is a very major road travelling to Burwood
Burwood, Victoria
Burwood is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 17 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is largely the City of Whitehorse but includes the City of Monash in its south west corner. At the 2006 Census, Burwood had a population of 11,886.-History:The...
.
Oakleigh railway station provides suburban railway services on both the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines.
Oakleigh is also the hub of a large component of Melbourne's eastern bus network. Many of the buses interchange at a terminus alongside the railway station and follow routes which run through the suburb.
Bicycle transport is facilitated by a network of on-road and also segregated bicycle facilities.
Sport
An association football club, the Oakleigh Cannons FC, competes in the Australian second-tier competition, the Victorian Premier LeagueVictorian Premier League
The Victorian Premier League is the highest State level association football competition in Victoria, Australia, and second highest nationally after the A-League...
.
The suburb has two main Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
teams, namely the Oakleigh Chargers
Oakleigh Chargers
The Oakleigh Chargers are an Australian rules football club playing in the TAC Cup, an under-18 competition in Victoria, Australia. They are based at Warrawee Park in Oakleigh, Victoria, representing the southeastern suburban area of Melbourne...
TAC Cup
TAC Cup
The TAC Cup is an under 18 Australian rules football representative competition held in Victoria, Australia. It is based on geographic regions throughout country Victoria and metropolitan Melbourne with each team representing 12 Victorian regions....
team and the Oakleigh District Football Club. The former Oakleigh Football Club
Oakleigh Football Club
Oakleigh Football Club, nicknamed the Devils, was an Australian rules football club from Oakleigh which played in the VFA from 1929 until 1994...
the city's most popular sporting team competed in the Victorian Football League
Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association , taking its new name as from the 1996 season, is the premier Australian rules football league in Victoria The Victorian Football League (VFL) which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association...
from 1929 until 1994.
Golfers play at the Oakleigh Golf Club on Park Road.