| Hoppers Crossing Melbourne, Victoria |
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Canola Fields and Radio Towers in Hoppers Crossing |
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Hoppers Crossing
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| Population: | 39,051 (2006)[1] | ||||||||||||
| Postcode: | 3029 | ||||||||||||
| Area: | 17.8 km² (6.9 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Location: | |||||||||||||
| LGA: | City of Wyndham | ||||||||||||
| State District: | Tarneit, Altona | ||||||||||||
| Federal Division: | Lalor | ||||||||||||
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Hoppers Crossing is an outer suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 28.8 km south-west of Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Wyndham. According to estimated Population figures from 2006 the population of Hoppers Crossing was 39,051. It is estimated that in 2011 the population would be 38,204 and will decrease by 0.3 percent or 2,379 persons by 2031.
Hoppers Lane runs through Werribee's animal research institute, crossing Princes Highway and the Railway Line: this street and the suburb were both named after the Hoppers family. Other major roads include Princes Highway (C109), Heaths Road (C701), Derrimut Road (C702), Hogans Road, Morris Road, Tarneit Road and Sayers Road.
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Hoppers Crossing is serviced by the Hoppers Crossing railway station situated to the south of the suburb, on the Werribee line. The station opened in 1970 as a small station on the Geelong line, and was only served by a few diesel trains each day. In 1983 the station was relocated in conjunction with electrification of the Geelong line as far as Werribee. It was not until the mid 1990s that Hoppers Crossing started to receive train services comparable with the rest of suburban Melbourne.
A tramway was proposed for the Hoppers Crossing-Werribee area to replace bus services, however it was deemed unfeasible by the Wyndham City Council and Victorian State Government.
Bus services in Hoppers Crossing have typically connected areas close to the station with the station, Werribee Plaza, and Werribee. As Hoppers' satellite suburbs Tarneit and Truganina grow, bus services have also been extended. Hoppers is served by various buses.
Until 1963, Hoppers Crossing's only notable feature was a general store. In 1963 the town started to take shape, the first subdivision of residential land taking place. Growth of Hoppers Crossing followed into the 1970s, with the Post Office opening on 2 June 1975.[2] Hoppers Crossing's first shopping centre was built, called Woodville Park. In 1970, the area's first primary school, Mossfiel Primary School, had its first student intake.
In 1981, Hoppers Crossing Shopping Centre opened. It includes a Target store, a Safeway supermarket and 10 other stores. Between the years 1980 and 1994, Hoppers Crossing experienced a period of great growth, with the population growing nearly five times in size (from 8,500 to 40,000 people).
Werribee Plaza opened in the late 1980s. It was modernised between 2000 and 2006. Several significant redesigns and extensions have been built. It now includes shops such as Myer, Safeway, Big W, K-Mart, Coles, JB Hi Fi, The AFL Store, Adairs, Regent Cinemas, Best and Less and many more. The Victorian State Government announced plans of a $300 million upgrade, which will more than double the plaza's retail space. Once completed, the plaza will be just a tad smaller than Highpoint, the biggest shopping centre in the Western area of Melbourne.
A smaller shopping centre called Hogans Corner was established in 1997-1998 and is located on the corner of Derrimut Road and Hogans Road. It houses a Safeway supermarket, McDonalds, Red Rooster, Dan Murphy's, Pulse Pharmacy, 2 Fish and Chip shops, newsagency, chicken shop and a number of other small shops.
Another shopping centre, Wyndham Village, was built on Sayers Road on the border of Hoppers and Tarneit in 2005, and is quickly expanding: it includes numerous shops including Coles, Aldi, Sams Warehouse, Donut King, CT Lane, Video Ezy, Brumbys Bakery, a Medical Centre, Chemist, Hair dressers, ANZ bank, Australia Post, a small deli and several other stores.
There are also a large variety of warehouse and clearance sale shops are on Old Geelong Road, such as furniture shops and hardware stores. These shops include Bunnings Warehouse, The Good Guys, Harvey Norman, Mitre 10, The Big Picture People, Pet Stock, Just Fitness and many other shops. In fact, many of the shops located on Old Geelong Road are found nowhere else in the Western suburbs.
There several parks including playgrounds and recreational areas generally 2-4 blocks of land in residential streets. Recreation reserves mostly exist along what once was a river or stream, although now serve as drainage reserves and the local Skeleton Creek.
Until recently Skeleton Creek had healthy populations of native reptiles, including;
Due to development some species are now depleting in the area. However the Tiger Snake and the Eastern Brown Snake have been seen around the area recently.
Primary Schools
Secondary Colleges
Primary Schools
Secondary Colleges
In 2006 the principal of Derrimut Heath Primary School (Now Baden Powell College), Julie Mason, was chosen as the "Wyndham Citizen of the Year" for her key role in the development of the Wyndham Community Education Plan 2004-2007 and serving as chair of the Quality Community Plan Education Committee.[3]
There is a cinema called the "Werribe 10 Cinemas" at Werribee Plaza in Hoppers, as well as the Volt Nightclub. There is a skate park, 2 sporting ovals, 6 netball courts, tennis courts and a playground located at Mossfiel Reserve. There are numerous offroad bike tracks including a BMX track which is situated near the Fire Station. For younger children there is Wonderland Indoor Play Centre and next to Hoppers indoor-sports where indoor soccer teams play. The Wyndham Leasure And Events Centre with a multi-purpose pool and a lap pool, gym and community function rooms and stage. The youth resource centre frequently operates activities for young children and teenagers.
Hoppers Crossing has many gyms and sports grounds. There are facilities for tennis, soccer, Australian rules football, basketball, netball and more. In 2004, the Federation Trail was opened, which links Werribee with Brooklyn, and soon Yarraville. A new soccer complex was built at The Grange for the Hoppers Crossing Soccer Club. They previously played at Mossfiel Reserve, which is now a rugby football field.
The Hoppers Crossing Football Club, nicknamed the 'Warriors', play out of Hogans Road Reserve. The currently compete in the Western Region Football League first division where they won senior premierships in 2002 and 2004. The Warriors are one of the biggest clubs in the league, boasting numerous junior sides as well seniors and reserves. They wear the colours navy blue and white.
Hoppers Crossing Cricket Club [2], known as the 'Cats' was formed in 1977 and its first team was entered into the “B turf" section of the Sunshine Cricket Association in season 1977/78. The result in the club's first season was runners-up. For more information, visit its article at Hoppers Crossing cricket club.
Hoppers Crossing is the home of Australian Olympic Gold Medalist Russell Mark and his wife Lauryn, a triple Commonwealth Games Gold Medalist.
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