Vermont South, Victoria

Vermont South Melbourne, Victoria
Vermont South
Population:	11,485 (2006)
Postcode:	3133
Area:	6.3 km² (2.4 sq mi)
Location:	20 km (12 mi) from Melbourne
LGA:	City of Whitehorse
State electorate:	Forest Hill
Federal Division:	Aston, Bruce
Suburbs around Vermont South: Forest Hill Vermont Wantirna Burwood East Vermont South Wantirna South Glen Waverley Glen Waverley Wantirna South

Vermont South is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 20 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Whitehorse. At the 2006 Census, Vermont South had a population of 11,485.

The eastern boundary of Vermont South is the Dandenong Creek, which travels from the Dandenong Ranges through to Port Phillip. The suburb was mostly developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s, after developers bought the local apple orchards in the area.

History

Prior to the first European settlers, the landscape was thickly timbered bushland, occupied by the Wurundjeri, Indigenous Australians of the Kulin nation, who spoke variations of the Woiwurrung language group. They were hunters and gatherers, camping near the creeks and gullies of the area now known as Bellbird Dell. The creek flowed from immediately north of the Dell, through it, and on to join the Dandenong Creek.

The first settlers, who were woodcutters and charcoal burners, came in the 1850s before land sales. Selectors followed and they marked out, leased and improved allotments which would enable them to gain freehold titles from the Crown. Temporary wattle and daub huts were erected and later substantial timber cottages.

Apart from some general farming, orchards dominated the landscape until the 1950s and 60s when the demand for new housing areas led to the subdivision of orchards. Nunawading Council (Whitehorse Council) began the acquisition of property in 1966 with the purchase of a large block (7.26 hectares) from local orchardist Cecil Rhodes to form Bellbird Dell.

Vermont South Post Office opened on 22 October 1974 as the suburb developed.

In 1972 when, after heavy rains, the increased run-off from the subdivisions caused flooding of Morack Road and the Burwood Highway, BellBird Dell creek was barrelled and the natural watercourse disappeared, but the site and its adjoining land was reserved as public open space.

Vermont South was the location of the Australian Gun Club in the 1960s and 1970's.

Landmarks

View of Pin Oak Court, (also known as Ramsay Street)

Pin Oak Court, Vermont South, is the filming location for "Ramsay Street" in the Australian soap opera Neighbours. A Neighbours Tour Bus operates on a regular basis which is very popular with UK Backpackers.

Vermont South is also the home of the Nunawading motorcross track just off Burwood Highway. Behind the motorcross track is a series of bush walk trails connecting to Dandenong Creek and a spectacular lookout. The lookout is located at the peak of a man-made hill, this hill is the remains of The City of Nunawading Tip that was closed in the 1970s. These walking/bike trails (Dandenong Creek Trail) connect to the greater bike trails of eastern Victoria, including: Mount Dandenong National Park, Nortons, Napier, and Jells Parks.

The Burvale Hotel (named after its location at the intersection of Springvale Road and Burwood Highway), with a pub, bottle shop (previously a drive-thru, now developed into a Dan Murphy's Store) and motel. The Dan Murphy's Store has now closed at Vermont South Shopping Centre.

Commercial areas

Vermont South Shopping Centre is located on Burwood Highway which contains a Coles supermarket, and adjoining McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Subway, Blockbuster Video and other small outlets. On the south side of Burwood Highway is the head office and laboratories of the former Australian Road Research Board, now ARRB Group Ltd. This property has now sold majority of its land to developers, where a retirement village has been constructed.

The following business' have previously been established in the Burwood Highway front location of Vermont South Shopping Centre: Venture (department store), Jewel Supermarket, Dan Murphy's Liquor Super Store and Get Fresh Green Grocer and butcher (current occupier).

At the end of 2005, the largest Bunnings Warehouse in the Southern Hemisphere was built in Vermont South. The Australian Lifestyle television program, Better Homes and Gardens filmed a special at this location.

Transport

The Government of Victoria extended tram route 75 from its former terminus at Burwood East to the Vermont South Shopping Centre in 2005. In addition to the tram, a Transit Bus Link has been added, which travels down Burwood Highway to Knox City Shopping Centre.

This transit bus, named the "Knox Transit Link" runs up to 21 hours per day, in conjunction with the route 75 tram timetable, making a "seamless connection" to and from the tram.

On Weekdays it runs from 4:30am–1:20am the next morning, running at every 10 minutes in the daytime off-peak period, and from every 5–7 minutes in the morning and afternoon peak periods, while after 7:30pm on weeknights, service intervals are set at every 20 minutes. On Saturdays, the Knox Transit Link bus service also runs from approximately 4:30am–1:20am the next morning, at 12 minute intervals in the daytime, and every 15–20 minutes beyond the 12 minute interval periods. On Sundays, a 12 minute daytime frequency is offered with a 30 minute service in the early morning and at night, with the last service to run from Vermont South at approximately 12:45am.

These improvements make the "Knox Transit Link" arguably the most frequent bus service in Metropolitan Melbourne in that section only. However, while the remaining sections of the 732 which have not been upgraded to the same extent), they are still sufficient enough, with a recent upgrade in November 2007 seeing the introduction of an hourly Sunday service and buses running until 9pm 7 days a week.

Parks and reserves

Vermont South has many local parks including Billabong Park, Charlesworth Park, Terrara Park, Tyrol Park and Dandenong Valley Metropolitan Park (West of Dandenong Creek).

Bellbird Dell is a natural park, located in the north of the suburb. It is a 1.4 km linear park with an area of 17.5 hectares, named after the many bellbirds that can be heard in the park. The majority of the park is thick bush, however there are many walking trails, wetlands and ornamental lakes. Open grassed areas with picnic tables provide places for quiet enjoyment. For walkers 'The Dell' offers short or long strolls but dogs must be on a leash as the main pathways are shared with cyclists. Many varieties of birds and frogs can be seen and heard here and, in spring, there are many wildflowers. Victoria's floral emblem the Pink Heath (Epacris impressa) can be seen growing 'wild' within the remnant areas.

Hanover Reserve in Vermont South is a great playground for children of all abilities and also has an accessible swing. A pocket guide to Walking and Wheeling in Whitehorse has been produced highlighting some of the great parks and walking trails in the municipality.

Education

• Emmaus College (Years 7-10 Campus)
• Vermont South Special School
• Weeden Heights Primary School, established in 1980.
• Livingstone Primary School
• Holy Saviour Primary School
• Barriburn Pre-School, Birralee Pre-School Association, Terrara Pre-School Association,
• Vermont South Children's Services Centre

Clubs and facilities

Vermont South Club

$1 million redevelopment works began at Vermont South Club on 3 October 2007. The redevelopment for the Bowling Clubhouse would be extended to increase capacity from 60 people to 120 people. Other changes proposed include improving disabled access, toilet, shower and kitchen facilities.

Sustainability street hub activities

Sustainability Street hubs have been operating successfully in Blackburn, Box Hill, Vermont South and most recently Wattle Hill. Participating communities are guided through a process where they learn about sustainability and how to share practical sustainable principles and actions with others, as well as how to organise themselves as a group in implementing an event/project. This six month training period is loosely organised around four stages called mulch (learn), sow (plan), grow (do) and harvest (teach).

Sportlink multipurpose indoor sports facility

A new $8 million, multi-purpose netball stadium was opened in Hanover Road on the 7^th of February, 2009. Sharelle McMahon gave a motivational speech and umpired a community netball match for the occasion. It provides for netball, basketball, indoor soccer, badminton and volleyball games, and is already home to a number of local clubs. The new multipurpose indoor sports facility in Vermont South was opened on Saturday 7 February 2009. To celebrate this milestone event, everyone was invited to join in the ‘Come and Try Day’ at Sportlink Vermont South in Hanover Road, with the chance to see the new development, watch sports demonstrations and take part in fun activities. Sportlink, which features four indoor and four outdoor courts, includes a multipurpose room, community room, café, first aid room and change rooms. It includes netball, basket ball, volley ball, bad mitten and many more Planning for this facility started in 2006 with Community consultation conducted in November 2006.

Vermont South skateboard ramp

Located at Lookout Trail Park, on the corner of Morack Road and Burwood Highway, Vermont South. The ramp features a vertical half pipe that is suitable for advanced skaters and is built to international standards.

Other clubs and facilities include:

• Vermont South Tennis Club
• Vermont South Cricket Club
• Vermont South School of Physical Cultures
• Morack Golf Course
• Holy Saviour Tennis Club
• Livingstone Netball Club
• Hi-Lites Netball Club
• Lions Club of South Vermont Incorporated

Churches

• Vermont South Evangelical Church
• Holy Saviour Catholic Church
• Anglican Church of the Holy Name of Jesus
• Evangelical Church

Services

Vermont South Metropolitan Fire Brigade (South Vermont Fire Station No. 28) is located at 721 Highbury Road, on the corner of Springvale Road. This Brigade moved from 535 High Street Road, Mount Waverley in 1999. The building won a design award soon after being commissioned.

The Vermont South Community House, is one of nine community and neighbourhood houses that provide a diverse range of courses and activities for all age groups within the City of Whitehorse. Vermont South Community House was established in 1976 and has been a sustainable community organisation ever since. They have created an environment where the community can gather in a nurturing space and work together to achieve common goals. The house is run by an extensive volunteer network who run programs to share information and advocate on behalf of the community. The Community House was the winner of the 2008 Whitehorse Sustainability Awards.

• Whitehorse Manningham Regional Library - Vermont South Campus The Whitehorse Manningham Regional Library Corporation holds over 421,503 items which includes books, magazines, audio cassettes, language kits, videos, compact discs, electronic games, sheet music and large print books. Joining the library is free.

The library now loans books, talking books, videos, CDs, and CD-Roms in Chinese.

• Vermont Village

• Whitehorse Recycling & Waste Centre

The Centre processes & manages Green Waste located at 638-640 Burwood Highway, Vermont South (Corner of Morack Road).

Future Developments

SmartBus Routes 888/889 travelling south are often delayed due to traffic congestion in the morning and evening peak periods. A combination of new linemarking and traffic signal modifications has been completed creating a short bus lane to give buses priority, enabling them to cross the intersection before other traffic. Springvale Road forms part of the Green Orbital SmartBus route, this jump lane will improve public transport through the intersection and overall region.

Statistics

According to Census the population in Vermont South has reduced by 170 people over a 5 year period.

11,655 (2001 census) 11,485 (2006 census)