Epping, Victoria

Suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Epping
Melbourne, Victoria

Findon Road, Epping

Epping

Location in metropolitan Melbourne

Coordinates| 37°38′16″S 145°01′35″E﻿ / ﻿37.63778°S 145.02639°E﻿ / -37.63778; 145.02639
Population| 33,489 (SAL 2021)[1]
Established| 1853
Postcode(s)| 3076
Elevation| 137 m (449 ft)
Area| 14.8 km2 (5.7 sq mi)
Location| 18 km (11 mi) N of Melbourne
LGA(s)| City of Whittlesea
State electorate(s)|

* Mill Park
* Thomastown

Federal division(s)| Scullin
| Suburbs around Epping:

Craigieburn | Wollert | South Morang
Somerton | Epping | South Morang
Campbellfield | Lalor | Mill Park

Epping is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 18 km (11 mi) north of Melbourne's central business district, located within the City of Whittlesea local government area. Epping recorded a population of 33,489 at the 2021 census.[2]

## Boundaries and terrain

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Epping is bounded by Mill Park and Lalor to the south, Somerton to the west, South Morang to the east and Wollert to the north.

Epping has a mainly flat terrain though, towards the north, lie several large hills, which provide an excellent view of Melbourne. McDonalds Road and High Street are the main thoroughfares. The majority of commercial activity is located on High Street and Cooper Street, where Pacific Epping is located.

## History

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A village reserve was surveyed in 1839, where Epping later developed. The village was named Epping, after Epping Forest,[3] in 1853, by which time a hotel (from 1844) and a Catholic school were established. Epping Post Office opened on 1 September 1857.[4] The Epping Road Board was established a year later. In 1870, the area around Epping became Darebin Shire, which was renamed Epping Shire in 1893, until it was united with Whittlesea Shire in 1915. By the time the Shire was created, Epping township contained several churches, hotels and a state school, as well as church school. Farmers of Irish origin predominated, but English, Scots and Germans settled there. There were several dairy farms. The Melbourne to Whittlesea railway (1889–1960) had a station at Epping, and the main areas to benefit were the transport of milk and quarry products.

The original Epping township is on higher ground west of the Darebin Creek (the Catholic Church being the only one not to have moved from lower flood-risk land). Several older buildings are constructed in bluestone, plentiful in the surrounding volcanic plains.

Major suburban development took place from the 1970s onwards, and the northern fringes of the area are currently in the process of being developed for housing.

During the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic, Epping was one of the more heavily affected areas of Melbourne, as it was host to several large virus outbreaks, including the Epping Gardens Aged Care outbreak, which claimed the lives of 38 elderly residents during the second wave in Melbourne.[5]

In 2022, Major Road Projects Victoria are implementing the Epping Road upgrade, which includes adding extra lanes, new traffic lights, upgrading existing intersections and pedestrian lights, building a new shared walking and cycling path, adding on-road bicycle lands and installing safety barriers along the road.[6]

## Facilities

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The Northern Hospital from the south

One of Melbourne's many shopping centres, Pacific Epping, is located 500 metres (550 yd) away from the Epping railway station. The Northern Hospital adjoins it. Dalton Village is a small shopping centre which is located on Dalton Road in Epping. There are many parks and reserves located throughout the suburb. A mobile library visits the Galada Community Centre in Epping. It is operated by Yarra Plenty Regional Library.[7] In addition, a click and collect service operates five days a week, with regular storytime sessions.[8]

## Education

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There are several government and private schools in Epping, including one of the biggest Catholic High Schools in Australia; St Monica's College, and the second largest public school in Victoria; Mill Park Secondary College, with its senior campus located in the east of Epping, as well as Epping Secondary College and Lalor North Secondary College. Primary schools include Epping Primary School, opening in 1872,[9] Epping Views Primary School, Greenbrook Primary School, Meadow Glen Primary School and St Peter's Primary School.[10]

Melbourne Polytechnic has a campus at Epping, which was developed in 1992 with State Government funding. Along with Melbourne Polytechnic rural training centres of Northern Lodge Equine Stud farm at Eden Park, a farm at Yan Yean and the Growling Frog Vineyard, the Epping campus of Melbourne Polytechnic is the largest provider in Victoria of training to the agriculture sector, offering courses from certificate to bachelor's degree level in Aquaculture, Equine Studies, Agriculture and Land Management and Viticulture and Winemaking.[11] A new Green Skills Centre, built in 2009/2010, provides courses and training in renewable energy, sustainable design and building and construction.[12] The campus boasts one of Victoria's few indoor recirculating aquaculture facilities. Many other vocational education and training courses are also available.

Green Skills Centre on NMIT Epping Campus rated by the Green Building Council of Australia as 5 GreenStar

## Transport

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### Bus

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Nine bus routes service Epping:

* 356 : Epping station – Wollert East via Hayston Boulevard. Operated by Dysons.[13]
* 357 : Wollert West – Thomastown station via Epping station. Operated by Dysons.[14]
* 358 : Epping station – Wollert via Pacific Epping. Operated by Dysons.[15]
* 555 : Pacific Epping – Northland Shopping Centre via Lalor, Thomastown and Reservoir. Operated by Dysons.[16]
* 556 : Pacific Epping – Northland Shopping Centre via Keon Park station. Operated by Dysons.[17]
* 566 : Lalor – Northland Shopping Centre via Childs Road, Plenty Road and Grimshaw Street. Operated by Dysons.[18]
* 569 : Pacific Epping – South Morang station. Operated by Dysons.[19]
* 577 : Pacific Epping – South Morang station via Findon Road. Operated by Dysons.[20]
* SmartBus 901 : Frankston station – Melbourne Airport. Operated by Kinetic Melbourne.[21]

### Train

[edit]

Epping is served by Epping station, which is located on the Mernda line.

## Sport

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* Epping Football Netball Club, an Australian rules football team, competes in the Northern Football Netball League.[22]
* Epping Tennis Club is also located next to the Epping Football Club.
* The Meadowglen International Athletics Stadium offers an international standard, all-weather synthetic athletics facility. It is managed by the City of Whittlesea.[23]
* Epping Stadium is located off Harvest Home Road, and is currently the home ground of Whittlesea Ranges FC. The ground has hosted several clubs from the national leagues, including the National Soccer League and A-league.

## See also

[edit]

* Aurora, Victoria

## References

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1. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Epping (Vic.) (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
2. ^ a b Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Epping (Vic.) (Suburbs and Localities)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
3. ^ "Pioneers honored". The Age. 6 September 1977. p. 3. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
4. ^ Phoenix Auctions History, Post Office List, retrieved 25 March 2021
5. ^ "Report into COVID-19 outbreaks at St Basil's and Epping Gardens". 21 December 2020.
6. ^ Build, Victoria’s Big (7 December 2021). "Epping Road Upgrade". Victoria’s Big Build. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
7. ^ "Mobile Library". Yarra Plenty Regional Library. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
8. ^ "Galada Community Centre Hub Click & Collect Service". Yarra Plenty Regional Library. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
9. ^ "Epping Primary School".
10. ^ "Schools within the City of Whittlesea - City of Whittlesea, Melbourne, Australia". Archived from the original on 22 September 2009. Retrieved 2 March 2009.
11. ^ Andrew Coulthard, Operations Manager, Faculty of Earth Science, NMIT. pp27, Hansard, House of Representatives Standing Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry regarding Rural skills training and research Archived 5 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Monday 14 November 2005
12. ^ Paige Mason, Skills with green tinge Archived 2 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Whittlesea Leader, 16 November 2010. Retrieved 17 September 2011
13. ^ "356 Epping Station - Wollert East via Hayston Bvd". Public Transport Victoria.
14. ^ "357 Wollert West - Thomastown Station via Epping Station". Public Transport Victoria.
15. ^ "358 Epping Station - Wollert via Epping Plaza SC". Public Transport Victoria.
16. ^ "555 Epping - Northland via Lalor & Thomastown & Reservoir". Public Transport Victoria.
17. ^ "556 Epping Plaza SC - Northland SC via Keon Park". Public Transport Victoria.
18. ^ "566 Lalor - Northland via Plenty Road & Childs Road & Grimshaw Street". Public Transport Victoria.
19. ^ "569 Epping Plaza SC - South Morang". Public Transport Victoria.
20. ^ "577 Epping Plaza SC - South Morang Station via Findon Rd". Public Transport Victoria.
21. ^ "901 Frankston - Melbourne Airport (SMARTBUS Service)". Public Transport Victoria.
22. ^ Full Points Footy, Northern Football League, archived from the original on 9 March 2009, retrieved 15 April 2009
23. ^ "Meadowglen International Athletics Stadium". City of Whittlesea. Retrieved 16 May 2019.

## External links

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* Victorian Places - Epping
* City of Whittlesea - Place Snapshot: Epping

* v
* t
* e

Suburbs of the City of Whittlesea

* Aurora
* Beveridge^
* Bundoora^
* Donnybrook
* Doreen^
* Eden Park
* Epping
* Humevale
* Kinglake West^
* Lalor
* Mernda
* Mill Park
* South Morang
* Thomastown
* Whittlesea
* Wollert
* Woodstock
* Yan Yean^

^ = territory divided with another LGA
*[SAL]: suburb and locality
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template