Kalkallo is a suburb in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, north of Melbourne's

Central Business District A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

, located within the

City of Hume The City of Hume is a local government area located within the metropolitan area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It includes the outer north-western suburbs and a number of rural localities between 13 and 40 kilometres from the Melbourne c ...

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

. Kalkallo recorded a population of 5,548 at the 2021 census. Located on the

Hume Freeway Hume Highway, inclusive of the sections now known as Hume Freeway and Hume Motorway, is one of Australia's major inter-city national highways, running for between Melbourne in the southwest and Sydney in the northeast. Upgrading of the route ...

, Kalkallo had, until the 2010s, a few streets, a service station and a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

. It was formerly surrounded by

farms A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

that were not developed by the

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...

of Melbourne.Cloverton
/ref>

History

The Kalkallo area is located on the traditional lands of the people of the

Woiwurrung The Woiwurrung, also spelt Woi Wurrung, Woiwurrong, Woiworung, Wuywurung, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Woiwurrung language group, in the Kulin people, Kulin alliance. The Woiwurrung people's territory in Central Victoria (Austral ...

. It is believed that the clan which occupied land including, the

South Morang South Morang is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 21 km north-east of Melbourne's central business district, located within the City of Whittlesea local government area. South Morang recorded a population of 24,989 at the 2021 ...

area, was the

Wurundjeri The Wurundjeri people are an Australian Aboriginal people of the Woiwurrung language group, in the Kulin nation. They are the Traditional Owners of the Birrarung (Yarra River) Valley, covering much of the present location of Narrm (Melbourne ...

William. Colonisation occurred in Victoria from 1835, and land sales commenced in the Parish of Kalkallo in 1840. An example of an early rural town settlement, Kalkallo contains many natural and cultural heritage sites of significance including churches, hotels, monuments, bridges, waterways and grasslands. In 1848, residents began requesting a post office for the township, and Kinlochewe Post Office opened on 1 November 1850. The post office was located in the Robert Burns Inn on Summerhill Road and

Sydney Road Sydney Road (in its northernmost part also known as the Hume Highway) is a major urban arterial in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Geography Sydney Road starts at the northern end of Royal Parade at the boundary of P ...

. In 1854 it was moved and renamed Donnybrook, then renamed Kalkallo in 1874, before eventually closing in 1971. During the

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...

years the town boomed as travellers made their way up

and the township featured seventeen accommodation houses, a police station, jail and court house. In the 1870s, the duplication of the Hume Highway and the opening of the

North East railway line The North East railway line is a railway line in Victoria, Australia. The line runs from Albury railway station in the border settlement of Albury–Wodonga to Southern Cross railway station on the western edge of the Melbourne central busines ...

decimated the population.

Environment

Kalkallo is located amongst the large Gilgai plain. Located near Donovans Lane, north-west of the town centre, is the Bald Hill

volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are ...

that last erupted over 1 million years ago.

Merri Creek The Merri Creek is a waterway in southern parts of Victoria, Australia, which flows through the northern suburbs of Northcote. It begins near Wallan north of Melbourne and flows south for 70 km until it joins the Yarra River at Dights Fa ...

runs through Kalkallo to the east of the suburb. The Kalkallo Grasslands are remnants of a large area of grassland which houses many threatened species of plants, amphibians and reptiles.

Flora

* Gilgai Brown Grass * Small Pepper Cress *

Dianella amoena ''Dianella amoena'', commonly known as the matted flax-lily, is an endangered, herbaceous, perennial plant endemic to Australia. It belongs to the family Asphodelaceae, subfamily Hemerocallidoideae. It has long grey-green leaves which grow in clu ...

Prasophyllum frenchii ''Prasophyllum frenchii'', commonly known as the maroon leek orchid or swamp leek orchid, is a species of orchid endemic to south-eastern continental Australia. It has a single tubular green leaf and up to sixty five green, reddish-brown or red ...

Pussy tails ''Ptilotus'' R.Br. is a genus of approximately 120 species of annual and perennial herbs and shrubs in the family Amaranthaceae. All species are native to mainland Australia, although one species, '' Ptilotus spathulatus'' (R.Br.) Poir., also occ ...

* Narrow-leaf new holland daisy * Chaffy bush-pea * Smooth rice flower * Plains Yam Daisy

Fauna

Growling Grass Frog The growling grass frog (''Ranoidea raniformis''), also commonly known as the southern bell frog, warty swamp frog and erroneously as the green frog, is a species of ground-dwelling tree frog native to southeastern Australia, ranging from sout ...

Red-chested buttonquail The red-chested buttonquail (''Turnix pyrrhothorax'') is a species of bird in the family Turnicidae. It is endemic to Australia. The species is generally regarded as widespread, although uncommon, in New South Wales, Queensland, northern Western A ...

* Plains froglet * Common spade foot toad *

Cunningham's spiny-tailed skink Cunningham's spiny-tailed skink (''Egernia cunninghami''), also known commonly as Cunningham's skink, is a species of large skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is native to southeastern Australia. Etymology Both the specific ...

* Bougainvilles skink *

Lowland copperhead The lowland copperhead or lowlands copperhead (''Austrelaps superbus'') is a venomous snake species in the family Elapidae, found in southeastern Australia and Tasmania. It is commonly referred to as the copperhead, but is not closely related to ...

Australian Smelt The Australian smelt (''Retropinna semoni'') is a small, pelagic silvery freshwater fish found in large numbers in waters of the south eastern Australian mainland. Distribution The fish is endemic to Australia and widely distributed through the ...

* Water Rat * Engaeus Quadrimanus *

Eastern three-lined skink The eastern three-lined skink (''Acritoscincus duperreyi''), also known commonly as the bold-striped cool-skink, is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Australia. ''A. duperreyi'' has been extensivel ...

* Tussock skink * Little whip snake * Southern lined earless dragon *

Striped legless lizard The striped legless lizard (''Delma impar'') is a species of lizards in the Pygopodidae family endemic to Australia. As of 2015 it is threatened with extinction, with few habitats left. The lizard is up to 30 cm in length.Department of Envi ...

Planning

Kalkallo has been a focus of a number of town planning ideas since colonisation, but did remain largely undeveloped until the 2010s. There are a number of housing developments current being planned and built.

Garden City

As part of the publication ''We Must Go On: A Study of Planned Reconstruction and Housing''

Frederick Oswald Barnett Frederick Oswald Barnett (1883–1972) was an Australian social reformer. He was responsible for raising public awareness of inner-city poverty and leading the campaign for improved housing conditions. Early life Born on 28 September 1883 in Bruns ...

, along with W.O. Burt and Frank Heath, focused on improvement of housing in Australia and Melbourne after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Barnett and Burt played a significant role in the Housing Investigation and Slum Abolition Board and the

garden city movement The garden city movement was a 20th century urban planning movement promoting satellite communities surrounding the central city and separated with greenbelts. These Garden Cities would contain proportionate areas of residences, industry, and ...

was a central focus proposed to solve the slum problems in Melbourne. Frank Heath was an architect who produced town plans based on garden city principles, and plans for Kalkallo as a garden city are printed in ''We Must Go On''. The book does not detail the motives for these plans, however they were never implemented, and as a result Kalkallo remained a small township.

Urban Growth Boundary

Melbourne's

Urban Growth Boundary An urban growth boundary, or UGB, is a regional boundary, set in an attempt to control urban sprawl by, in its simplest form, mandating that the area inside the boundary be used for urban development and the area outside be preserved in its natural ...

was extended to include Kalkallo in 2010. It was designated as part of the Urban Growth Zone in 2012. Urban sprawl is a divisive topic in Melbourne, as it is claimed to ease housing affordability, but can have significant impacts on the environment, as well as social impacts such as isolation due to a lack of transport infrastructure. The

Victorian State Government The Victoria State Government, also referred to as just the Victorian Government, is the state-level authority for Victoria, Australia. Like all state governments, it is formed by three independent branches: the executive, the judicial, and th ...

has expanded the Urban Growth Boundary several times since 2002 as a result of the

Melbourne 2030 The Metropolitan Strategy Melbourne 2030 is a Victorian Government strategic planning policy framework for the metropolitan area of Greater Melbourne, intended to cover the period 2001–2030. During this period the population of the metropolitan ...

plan (later known as Melbourne@5million).

introduced the notion of creating a limit on urban expansion. However, since the implementation of Melbourne 2030, the boundary has been extended, which is contradictory to a key objective. Plan Melbourne, established in May 2014 highlighted the need for the Metropolitan Planning Authority to establish a permanent urban boundary to replace the urban growth boundary, and restrict further expansion.

Today

Kalkallo, until the 2010s, was a small town servicing the highway trade and surrounding agricultural district. Current community infrastructure includes: * Kalkallo Common (a 9.8 ha crown land grassland reserve managed by Hume City Council) * Kalkallo Cemetery * Kalkallo CFA * John Laffan Memorial Reserve (an 8ha reserve containing two ovals)

New housing developments

As a result of the urban growth boundary expansion, there have been a number of new housing developments established: * Merrifield – Merrifield is an 880 hectare $8 Billion

mixed-use development Mixed-use is a kind of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning type that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions are to some ...

located on the corner of Donnybrook Road and the Hume Highway. Merrifield has been planned as an integrated mixed use development with capacity to provide 20,000 new jobs and homes for up to 30,000 people. * Cloverton – Located around the Ball Hill area, plans include a large metropolitan activity centre and a future train station north of Donnybrook. Clovertown will eventually house 30,000 residents. *Kallo – A smaller development north of Donnybrook Road that will border Merri Creek, close to the existing Donnybrook railway station. Master plans outline 730 homes with 2000 residents with facilities such as a community centre, primary school, open space, nature reserve and town centre. *The Woods – Mickleham

Transport

Bus

Two

bus routes A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for ...

service Kalkallo: * : Donnybrook station – Mandalay ( Beveridge) via Olivine ( Donnybrook). Operated by

Broadmeadows Bus Service Broadmeadows Bus Service is a bus and coach operator in Melbourne, Australia. It operates eight routes under contract to Public Transport Victoria. It is owned by Northern Transit Holdings, which also operates Kastoria Bus Lines, Nationwide Tour ...

.511 Donnybrook Station to Mandalay via Olivine
Public Transport Victoria * : Donnybrook station – Craigieburn station via Mickleham. Operated by

Dysons Dysons is a bus and coach operator in Victoria, Australia. History Dysons was founded in June 1952 when Laurie Dyson purchased the business of Ned Gastin with route 46A Regent station to Janefield Hospital. Over the years a number of route ...

.525 Donnybrook Station to Craigieburn Station via Mickleham
Public Transport Victoria

Train

The nearest railway station is Donnybrook station, located on the Seymour and

Shepparton Shepparton () ( Yortayorta: ''Kanny-goopna'') is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River in northern Victoria, Australia, approximately north-northeast of Melbourne. As of the 2021 census, the estimated population of Shepparton, ...

lines. The station is serviced by regional

V/Line V/Line is a statutory authority that operates regional passenger train and coach services in Victoria, Australia. It provides passenger train services on five commuter lines and eight long-distance routes from its major hub at Southern Cross ...

trains.

References

{{authority control Towns in Victoria (Australia) Hume Highway City of Hume