| Heidelberg Melbourne, Victoria | |||||||||||||||
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 Austin Hospital dominates the Heidelberg skyline (as viewed from Westerfolds Park) | |||||||||||||||
  Heidelberg | |||||||||||||||
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| Coordinates | 37°45′07″S145°04′12″E / 37.752°S 145.07°E /-37.752; 145.07 | ||||||||||||||
| Population | 7,360 (2021 census)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| • Density | 2,730/km2 (7,060/sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Established | 1838 | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 3084 | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation | 51 m (167 ft) | ||||||||||||||
| Area | 2.7 km2 (1.0 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Location | 11 km (7 mi) fromMelbourne | ||||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | City of Banyule | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Ivanhoe | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Jagajaga | ||||||||||||||
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Heidelberg (/haɪdəlbɜːrɡ/) is a suburb ofMelbourne,Victoria,Australia, 11 kilometres (7 mi) northeast of Melbourne'scentral business district, located within theCity of Banyulelocal government area. Heidelberg recorded a population of 7,360 at the2021 census.[1]
Once a large town on Melbourne's outskirts, Heidelberg was absorbed into Melbourne as part of the latter's northward expansion afterWorld War II. Heidelberg once had its own historiccentral business district including its own municipality in the formerCity of Heidelberg.
Heidelberg lends its name to theHeidelberg School, animpressionist art movement that developed in and around the town in the late 19th-century.
The land at Heidelberg was sold byCrown auction in 1838, making it one of the earliest rural allotments in Australia, asMelbourne was founded only three years earlier. By 1840,Warringal had been established as a surveyed township, the name referring to an Aboriginal term foreagle's nest. Eventually,Warringal was changed toHeidelberg by a land agent, after the German city ofHeidelberg. FollowingAnti-German sentiment duringWorld War I, the Heidelberg City Council proposed to change the name to a British-sounding name, with the most prominent suggestion being Georgetown after British Prime MinisterDavid Lloyd George. However, despite public debates and a community naming competition, the name Heidelberg remained unchanged.[2]
When it was settled, Heidelberg was reached by track from Melbourne viaFitzroy North and, in 1841, the Heidelberg Road Trust was formed. As a form of Local Government, it preceded the Melbourne Town Council. By the late 1840s, the road had a toll bar atMerri Creek, and aMacadam surface. It became a tourist attraction, enhancing Heidelberg's reputation as a desirable place for views, excursions and rural estates. Cattle overlanderJoseph Hawdon built his GothicBanyule Homestead in 1846,[3] overlooking theYarra Valley.
The Post Office opened on 19 October 1853 asWarringal and was renamed Heidelberg in 1865.[4] Heidelberg was proclaimed aShire on 27 January 1871.
Heidelberg's rural scenery attracted artists during the 1880s, due to the absence of public utilities or a railway (until 1888), causing houses to be vacant, and available at low rents.[citation needed]Tom Roberts,Arthur Streeton,Frederick McCubbin and other members of theBox Hill artists' camp relocated toEaglemont in 1888, forming what was subsequently named the "Heidelberg School" of Australian art. Two years later, the Chartersville Homestead[5] was occupied for similar purposes.
Heidelberg was proclaimed a city on 11 April 1934, but its rural space exceeded the urban area. TheHeidelberg Town Hall[6] was built in 1937. Subdivision and settlement clustered around Heidelberg Road and theMelbourne to Hurstbridge railway line, which bisected the municipality in a generally north-east direction. Along that line areDarebin,Ivanhoe,Eaglemont,Heidelberg,Rosanna,Macleod,Watsonia andGreensborough.Mont Park was reached by a spur line from Macleod.Heidelberg West, then and now unserved by a railway, was sparsely settled until the 1950s, when it was built on by theHousing Commission of Victoria. It also provided the site for the athletes' village for the1956 Melbourne Olympic Games.[7]
By the 1970s, the residential development of the Heidelberg Municipality was complete, except for some areas inViewbank andLower Plenty. The shopping areas were mostly strips, but a free-standing centre was built in Heidelberg West in 1956, to a design by the Housing Commission which drew on American trends.
The population of Heidelberg Municipality (before the severances in the 1960s) was 8,610 (1911), 34,401 (1947, excludingGreensborough), and 60,007 (1961). The population in 1991 was 60,468. On 15 December 1994 most of Heidelberg City was united with part ofEltham Shire to form Banyule City.
Evidence of Heidelberg's long history and early settlement can be found throughout the Municipality. The cemetery on Upper Heidelberg Road contains some of the oldest graves in Victoria. The Heidelberg Old Cemetery, the size of a house block near the corner of St James Road and Hawdon Street, contains graves dating to 1852. Heidelberg Primary School[8][9] opened in 1854, Banyule Homestead[10] was built in 1846, St John's Anglican Church[11] was built in 1849 and the Old England Hotel on Lower Heidelberg Road first opened its doors in 1848. All of these buildings still stand today.
In the 2016 Census, there were 6,225 people in Heidelberg. 67.1% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were India 3.1%, China 2.8%, England 2.6% and Italy 1.9%. 69.7% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 3.4%, Italian 3.2% and Greek 2.0%. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 34.8% and Catholic 27.6%.[12]
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The administration ofAustin Health is based in Heidelberg at the Austin Hospital. The Austin Hospital site has recently undergone extensive renovations, and now also contains the Mercy Hospital for Women. These two facilities combined measure up to be largest hospital in Victoria.
The Heidelberg Shopping Centre, known as "Burgundy Street" has recently been revived. It had become rundown in the 1980s, but a new supermarket, and many trendy cafes have made the area much more liveable; as a result, house prices have increased dramatically.
"Burgundy Street" is now known as Heidelberg Central Shopping Precinct and has over 230 retail/commercial and professional businesses. Over $1 million has been spent over the last 7 years to upgrade the infrastructure of the Precinct e.g. Aerial bundling of overhead power lines, resurfacing of the footpaths and roadways, installation of trees, seating, bollards, bike racks and rubbish bins and painting of all street furniture in the Precinct to 'Burgundy' to suggest the boundaries of the retail strip. Heidelberg Central is also home to the historic Old England Hotel.
Melbourne Polytechnic has a campus in Heidelberg.
The Austrian Club Melbourne, previously inFitzroy took up its current Heidelberg premises in November 1984.[13]
Community radio station96.5 Inner FM is located in Heidelberg, broadcasting from studios located within Warringal Shopping Centre.
Public library facilities are provided byYarra Plenty Regional Library. The nearest library is in Ivanhoe.
Warringal Shopping Centre (formerly known as Centro Warringal) opened in 1987. It is a compact shopping centre located on Rosanna Road, with a main entrance on Burgundy Street. The centre serves a well defined main trade area population of approximately 41,000 residents from the established suburbs of Heidelberg, Viewbank,Rosanna,Ivanhoe andEaglemont. The opening of the Austin/Mercy Hospital has seen a shift in the demographic profile with an increase in the number of young professionals moving into the area and an increased demand for the development of multi density housing.
Private car is the main form of transport in Heidelberg. The main roads are Burgundy Street (also themain street), Rosanna Road, Upper Heidelberg Road and Banksia Street (which flows from theRoute 40 Highway).
Heidelberg railway station is located in the suburb, on theHurstbridge line and served byMetro Trains Melbourne.
Alocal bus transport hub services the area.
There is a network of on-road andsegregated bicycle facilities, including theMain Yarra Trail.
Heidelberg Football Club, anAustralian rules football club, competes in theNorthern Football League and is based at Warringal Parklands. Heidelberg West Football Club, also in the Northern Football League, plays at Heidelberg Park, opposite Warringal.[14]
Heidelberg United is anAssociation football club based in the suburb, which competes in theVictorian Premier League and plays second tier to theA-League. It once competed in theNational Soccer League, the precursor to the A-League, and is one of Victoria's largest clubs.
Golfers play at the course of the Heidelberg Golf Club on Main Road in the neighbouring suburb of Lower Plenty.[15]
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