Wheelers Hill, Victoria

Wheelers Hill Melbourne, Victoria
Wheelers Hill Location in metropolitan Melbourne
Coordinates	37°53′56″S 145°10′59″E / 37.899°S 145.183°E / -37.899; 145.183Coordinates: 37°53′56″S 145°10′59″E / 37.899°S 145.183°E / -37.899; 145.183
Population	19,105 (2011 census)[1]
• Density	1,855/km2 (4,804/sq mi)
Postcode(s)	3150
Area	10.3 km2 (4.0 sq mi)
Location	23 km (14 mi) from Melbourne
LGA(s)	City of Monash
State electorate(s)	Mulgrave
Federal Division(s)	Bruce
Suburbs around Wheelers Hill: Mount Waverley Glen Waverley Scoresby Notting Hill Wheelers Hill Scoresby Mulgrave Mulgrave Rowville

Wheelers Hill is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 23 km south-east of Melbourne's central business district. Its local government area is the City of Monash. At the 2011 census, Wheelers Hill had a population of 19,105.^[1]

History

Wheelers Hill was almost certainly named after the Wheeler brothers, John and Bartholomew, who were early settlers in the area. The Wheelers Hill Hotel was a post office and stopping point for farmers before a 6 to 8 hour drive to the city by horse to sell their goods. The Wheelers Mansion was destroyed by a fire in the late 1920s. The house was located somewhere to the south of the Wheelers Hill Library. The Post Office opened on 1 January 1869 but was called Mulgrave until 1888.^[2]

Wheelers Hill was the last suburb of the now Monash City Council to be linked up to the electricity grid. This is because, at the time, there was a dispute between the Shire of Mulgrave and the Council of Waverley on whose suburb it was. The main roads in Wheelers Hill were named after land owners and run along the boundaries of old orchards and farms.

In Columbia Park on Jells Road, there are steps and a brick outline indicating where "Bellenden" homestead once stood. This was a solid brick home reportedly built for W.D. Robertson, a retired Melbourne baker. It had a tower which gave a commanding view towards the Dandenong Ranges. During World War II, the building was in use as a home for children with infantile paralysis, then known as "spastic" babies. When the mothers were needed to work on the farms left idle by the men who had gone to war, their special needs babies were cared for at Columbia Park. The house was occupied by a family named Jungwirth post-war and was in ruins by the time V.F.L Park was built nearby.

Today

Wheelers Hill is home to Jells Park, a major recreational facility of over 127 hectares. It contains 9 km of cycle paths and walking tracks which surround a large lake. Wheelers Hill is known for its trees. Parklands make up 31% of the total area of Wheelers Hill.

Secondary Schools

• Wheelers Hill Secondary College
• Brentwood Secondary College

Primary Schools

• Wheelers Hill Primary School
• Jells Park Primary School
• Waverley Meadows Primary
• St. Justin's Parish School
• Brandon Park Primary School
• Good Shepherd Parish School

Private Schools

• Caulfield Grammar School

Sports Clubs

Wheelers Hill Cricket Club is the area's major cricket team.

Golfers play at the course of the Glen Waverley Golf Club at Waverley Road.^[3]

Public Library and Art Gallery

The Monash Gallery of Art and the Wheelers Hill branch of the Monash Public Library Service are co-located in a fine building at the corner of Jells Road and Ferntree Gully Road, Wheelers Hill. The architect of the Gallery was Harry Seidler and he also approved of the integrated library wing which has a bay of windows facing a small lake. The Gallery contains a nationally significant collection of Australian photography, of which its permanent collection comprises over 1500 works illustrating the development and evolution of the photographic medium in Australia.

Notable people

Chris Cheney, guitarist and lead vocalist from The Living End went to school in Wheelers Hill, attending the Wheelers Hill Secondary College.

Transport

There are nine bus services that run in or through the vicinity of Wheelers Hill. Two SMARTBUS Services run through the boundaries of the suburb.

References