| Noble Park Melbourne, Victoria |
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Noble Park Station |
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| Population: | 26,282 (2006 census)[1] | ||||||||||||
| Established: | 1909 | ||||||||||||
| Postcode: | 3174 | ||||||||||||
| Area: | 12.4 km² (4.8 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Location: | |||||||||||||
| LGA: | City of Greater Dandenong | ||||||||||||
| State District: | Lyndhurst, Mulgrave, Dandenong | ||||||||||||
| Federal Division: | Bruce, Isaacs, Hotham | ||||||||||||
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Noble Park is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 26 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Greater Dandenong. At the 2006 Census, Noble Park had a population of 26,282.
Noble Park has a mixture of residential, commercial and industrial zones and is home to a highly multicultural population, with residents who have immigrated from Europe, Asia, the Americas and Africa.[1]
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The history of Noble Park as a Suburb in Melbourne began in 1909 when Allan Buckley turned Noble Park into a subdivision after having used the land to test explosives developed by Alfred Nobel. Allan Buckley nicknamed the estate Nobel Park eventually turning it to the Noble Park it now is.[2] Early settlement was encouraged by building a community centre, church, school, postal centre and later, a railway station. The postal centre was opened in August 1910 and the railway station was completed in July 1912. In the early days, growth was relatively slow due to the lack of population growth in the area. In the early 1920s, the Railway Department set up a poultry farm and eventually a plant nursery was set up in the eastern part of the suburb. The focus of the small community was based around its local town hall.[2] In the 1980s Noble Park became renowned for its infamous gangs that carried out violent crimes against the community[3] as well as the scene of a major shoot out between members of the Victorian Police and Pavel Marinof, a burglar on the run.[4] Residential growth in the second half of the century saw an end to the grazing paddocks and market gardens. By the 1990s, 56% of Noble Park’s population was born overseas, with the largest being from Western Europe (including Great Britain and Ireland), followed by Eastern Europeans (including Bosnians, Italians and Greeks); and South and South East Asians (including Indians, Sri Lankans and Vietnamese), according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. In recent years there has been an upsurge of migrants and refugees settled from North African countries, especially Sudan.[5]
Noble Park is commonly considered to have a low socioeconomic standing in comparison with other suburbs in the south eastern part of Greater Melbourne, although some enclaves have been redeveloped with large and elaborate homes.[6] Due to the relatively low property costs in Noble Park, however, it has recently undergone substantial residential redevelopment. There has also been recent investment by local and state governments, including the Paddy O'Donoghue Community Complex which opened in 2006 and the redevelopment of Noble Park Railway Station. In terms of public amenities, there are a number of schools; and religious centers including Churches, Temples and Mosques indicating a multicultural community. In terms of businesses, the Noble Park shopping district houses mainly bakeries, cafés and restaurants and convenience stores. Being formerly market gardens, Noble Park has fertile soil and to this day still has a large number of River Red Gum trees. Area problems include flooding during storms due to the flat profile and old drains. Noble Park has an active Rotary Club and an active Rotaract Club.
Noble Park is serviced by two bus services (which is operated by Grenda's Bus Services; Route 811 and 815 ) and multiple train services (which are the Cranbourne/Pakenham railway lines) from Noble Park railway station. To use public transport in Noble Park requires a valid Zone 2 ticket (Noble Park was part of Zone 3 until this zone was abolished from Sunday, 4 March 2007).
However, technically, there are two stations in the Noble Park vicinity (Noble Park and Yarraman) and four bus routes that service the suburb.
It is a racetrack and also an area where the Australian Shooter's Association have their meets and practice.
The suburb has an Australian Rules football team, The Noble Park Bulls, competing in the Eastern Football League, and whose legalised gambling makes it one of the League's richest football clubs.[8] It includes cricket and lawn bowls.
Noble Park is represented by Southern Stars FC. The team currently competes in the Victorian State League Division 1 which is the third tier in Australia behind the A-League and the Victorian Premier League.
Noble Park is also home to the Parkfield Netball Club and Parkfield Cricket Club.
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