Mount Waverley is a large suburb, rectangular in shape, bounded by Highbury Road in the north, Ferntree Gully Road in the south, Huntingdale Road in the west, and Blackburn Road in the east. At the centre of the suburb is Mount Waverley Village Shopping Centre, and in the south-east is Pinewood Shopping Centre.
History
The Mount Waverley area, then part of the Parish of Mulgrave, was divided by straight roads running north–south and east–west, each exactly one mile apart, by Assistant Surveyor Eugene Bellairs, in 1853.[5] Mount Waverley Post Office opened on 9 October 1905.[6]
Mount Waverley is famous for its heritage streets which date from the 1930s. Due to the onset of the Great Depression, the building of houses on the suburb's earliest estates did not commence in earnest until the early 1950s. According to Lachlan Bath, president of the Ashburton Historical Society, the suburb's streets had been laid down, but no houses were built; merely a row of "cardboard boxes" housed the first few residents who had migrated east from the "slums of Ashburton to enjoy a better standard of living", only to be bitterly disappointed with the estate agents who promised milk and honey but instead delivered a mosquito infested swamp. However, the Ashburton immigrants, while disappointed, all agreed that the "swamp" was a major step up from their former homes.[7] Post Offices at Mount Waverley North (opened 1959 closed 1983), Mount Waverley South (opened 1968 closed 1973), and Mount Waverley West (opened 1964 closed 1977) chart the wider residential development of the suburb.[6]
Glen Alvie Estate
Close to Mount Waverley Village are the suburb's first streets, once designed to become the very epitome of prestigious country estate living and an extravagant idea decades ahead of its time. Sherwood Park was part of the prestigious Glen Alvie estate that sought to form country club type living to Waverley. Top quality land was acquired – 25 acres were bought from Mr Jack Lechte in 1928, and some from Mr Cornell, as well as a large parcel of land from Mr F. Closter – in all about 50 acres. This fertile land had been dairy farm – Ayrshire-Jersey cross cows, with some pigs, a plum and apple orchard, and stock feed crops – canola, maize and lucerne (alfalfa). Glen Alvie Estates Limited allocated five of the fifty acres for recreation facilities. There was to be a club house, six tennis courts, a bowling green, a croquet lawn, a mashee lawn, and a large swimming pool. These were to be laid out adjacent to Sherwood Park, a huge central area, lined with date palms that are still seen today. Large houses around the periphery were to be built, and one-way roads would be constructed to prevent traffic problems; and also elsewhere in the estate – tucked between the large unfenced building sites and gardens to give a sense of living on a country estate. A golf course had been established nearby by 1930; St John's Wood Golf Links, (now Riversdale Golf Club), the gardens of which were designed by Edna Walling,[8] and a school was also nearby; Mount Waverley Primary School. This was to be garden suburb living.
The suburb's original streets, including Park Lane, Virginia Street and Sherwood Road, were built of concrete, not the less expensive asphalt. Council intended to charge an extra rate to residents of the estate to cover the huge loan of building these concrete streets.[9] The surface is still the same as it was in the 1930s, with only minor maintenance over the decades. Residential development did not resurge until the 1950s. In early 2008, a new smoother asphalt surface was finally laid along the strip of Stephensons Road between Waverley Road and Mount Waverley Village shopping centre.
Stephensons Road (which is the sixth name change of a long continuous road beginning at the intersection of Palm Beach Drive & Old Wells Road, Patterson Lakes and beginning as state route 23 in Chelsea Heights) is the main road of Mount Waverley that runs straight through the middle of the suburb. The name Stephensons Road is solely in the suburb of Mount Waverley, which is between its southern boundary Ferntree Gully Road (continuing as Clayton Road) to its northern boundary Highbury Road (continuing as Middleborough Road).[6][7]
One of the highest points in Mount Waverley is the reservoir on High Street Road. The natural land surrounding this landmark is over 138–150 metres above sea level. Construction of the reservoir began in 1927.
The waterways in the suburb are Damper Creek in the north, and Scotchmans Creek, in the south. Significant parks within Mount Waverley include Valley Reserve, Damper Creek Reserve, and Federal Reserve. All reserves contain significant areas of remnant native bushland. Significant wetland areas in Mount Waverley are found within Valley Reserve and in the Scotchmans Creek valley.
The popular Melbourne Street Directory Melway was first produced in a garage in Mount Waverley in 1966. It is now published from premises in Ricketts Road in Mount Waverley.
Over many years, Mount Waverley has held an annual Christmas Carols event, which has featured many local performers. Matthew Clark took over as Executive producer in 2006, and grew the event enormously:
the 2009 event on 5 December at 7.30pm was a resounding success with audience numbers reaching over 5,500. The program featured artists Anthony Callea and Silvie Paladino, with Patti Newton hosting the event.
The large trader-supported event ceased to run from 2010, with the City of Monash preferring to put its main support behind the annual Carols by Candlelight in Jells Park.
Since 2012 a smaller-scale event called Carols in the Village has been organised by the Mount Waverley Council of Churches, with mostly local performers.
Mount Waverley is the home to numerous electronics and IT companies and the area is a hub of these industries in Melbourne.
The Mount Waverley branch of Monash Public Library Service is located on the north side of Mount Waverley station in Miller Crescent. Waverley Private Hospital is located on Blackburn Road and has served the community since 1972.
Demographics
Mount Waverley is a particularly large suburb, with 35,340 people in 2021.[10] In recent years, the suburb has been a popular destination for immigrants from Asia, particularly China and India. There is also a large Greek and Italian community. The suburb hosts Victoria's third largest Mandarin speaking and fourth largest Greek and Korean speaking population. 26.7% of the suburb identified as Chinese in the 2021 Census, making it one of the highest concentrations of Chinese in Melbourne.[11]
Education
Primary Schools
Public
Mount Waverley Primary School
Mount Waverley North Primary School
Essex Heights Primary School
Mount Waverley Heights Primary School (formerly Sussex Heights)
There are numerous places of worship in Mount Waverley. The Holy Family Catholic Church is located on Stephensons Road and has Korean and Indonesian services. There are three Uniting churches; St Luke's, St John's and High Street Road. There is a Renewal Chinese Christian Church at the site of St Luke's Uniting Church. There are two Anglican churches; St Stephen and Mary's and St Philip's. St Stephen and Mary's parish church was originally built in 1865 making it the oldest church in the suburb.[12]
The Mount Waverley Church of the Nazarene is located on Grenfell Road and has Greek services. An independent Chinese church also operates there.[13] There is an Italian Pentecostal Church associated with the Australian Christian Churches. A Christian Science church and reading room operates on Stephensons Road. Other churches include the Melbourne Bethel Presbyterian Church (with Korean services) and the Monash Jesus' Disciples Church. There is also a Tamil Christian congregation in the suburb. Christadelphians and Jehovah's Witnesses also worship in Mount Waverley.
The Mount Waverley Cricket Club was founded in 1906 and fields five senior sides playing on turf in the who play in the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association and the Box Hill Reporter competition (Veterans grade). The club also run a full program of junior cricket which includes having a team in the VSDCA's RM Hatch competition and nine under age sides playing on turf and synthetic wickets.
Cricket is also represented by the Mount Waverley Catholic Cricket Club who compete in the Southern District & Churches Cricket League (SDCCL). The club's home ground is Mayfield Park which has 2 training nets and is a synthetic wicket. The club has many junior teams ranging from under 11's all the way through to under 17's. In season 2008–2009 the senior team won their most recent SDCCL Menzies Shield,[14] which is the competitions highest grade. This is a feat the club has managed 3 times since joining the SDCCL.
Golfers play at the course of the Riversdale Golf Club on High Street Mount Waverley.[15]
Transport
Mount Waverley has two train stations, Mount Waverley, located on Stephensons Road, 17.8 km from Flinders Street; and Jordanville, located on Huntingdale Road, 16.4 km from Flinders Street on the Glen Waverley line.[4] Numerous bus services operate in the suburb.
