Koo Wee Rup is a town and satellite suburb in

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 ...

, 63 km south-east of

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 ...

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

Shire of Cardinia The Shire of Cardinia is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, in the south-east of Melbourne between Western Port and the Yarra Ranges on the outskirts of Melbourne. It has an area of 1,283 square kilometres, and had a population of ...

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 ...

. Built on former marshland now converted to

market garden A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumer A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or uses purchased goods, products, or s ...

s, Koo Wee Rup recorded a population of 4,047 at the 2021 census. Prior to December 1994 the suburb was part of the

Shire of Cranbourne The City of Cranbourne was a local government area about southeast of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The city covered an area of , and existed from 1860 until 1994. It was notable for being the last local government area ...

. The post office opened on 7 January 1891. In the early 1950s many Dutch and Italian families settled in the area. Prior to European settlement the area was occupied by the

Bunurong The Boonwurrung people are an Aboriginal people of the Kulin nation, who are the traditional owners of the land from the Werribee River to Wilsons Promontory in the Australian state of Victoria. Their territory includes part of what is now the c ...

Aboriginal people. It is from their language that the town's name derives. ''Ku-wirup'' is believed to mean "plenty of blackfish" or "blackfish swimming". Koo Wee Rup is Australia's largest

asparagus Asparagus, or garden asparagus, folk name sparrow grass, scientific name ''Asparagus officinalis'', is a perennial flowering plant species in the genus ''Asparagus''. Its young shoots are used as a spring vegetable. It was once classified in ...

-growing district. It is also a beef-farming and potato-growing area. The town was previously well known for its potato festival, which was held each March to raise funds for the Westernport Memorial Hospital (now Kooweerup Regional Health Service). Schools include Koo Wee Rup Primary School, St John the Baptist Primary School and Koo Wee Rup Secondary College. The town has an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

team competing in the West Gippsland Football League.

Transport

Koo Wee Rup railway station was formerly situated on the

South Gippsland railway line The South Gippsland railway line is a partially closed railway line in Victoria, Australia. It was first opened in 1892, branching from the Orbost line at Dandenong, and extending to Port Albert. Much of it (the section up to Leongatha) remaine ...

that operated as far as a terminus at

Yarram The township of Yarram (formerly Yarram Yarram) is in Victoria, Australia, in the Shire of Wellington, located in the southeast of Gippsland. At the , the population of the town was . The town is the regional centre of a prosperous farming distri ...

in the 1970s, and was cut back to

Leongatha Leongatha is a town in the foothills of the Strzelecki Ranges, South Gippsland Shire, Victoria, Australia, located south-east of Melbourne. At the , Leongatha had a population of 5,869. Canadian dairy company Saputo which trades in Australia ...

in the early 1980s. A

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 ...

road coach service replaced the rail passenger service to Leongatha on 24 July 1993, running between Melbourne and Yarram. However, since the closure of the South Gippsland rail line by the Kennett state government on 14 December 1994, the South and West Gippsland Transport Group, represented by the local council, have campaigned for the rail service to be reinstated beyond its current terminus at Cranbourne by the 2020s, which had been promised by the Bracks government on its election in 1999.

Ventura Bus Lines Ventura Bus Lines is a large bus and coach operator in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, operating a fleet of 893 buses on 141 bus routes, including 2 SmartBus routes and 2 V/Line services. It commenced operations in December 1924. History Earl ...

operates a bus service from Koo Wee Rup to Pakenham on behalf of

Public Transport Victoria Public Transport Victoria (PTV) is the brand name for public transport in the Australian state of Victoria, Australia, Victoria. It was the trading name of the Go Public Transport Development Authority (PTDA), a now-defunct statutory authorit ...

Airport Proposal

In 2017, Koo Wee Rup was announced the proposed site for a third Melbourne airport. The

claimed it has been kept in the dark about an investment company's plan to build a $7 billion south-east airport; however, they urged the State Government to find a location for an airport in the area.

References

External links

Koo-wee-rup
('' SMH'' Travel) {{DEFAULTSORT:Koo Wee Rup, Victoria Towns in Victoria (Australia) Shire of Cardinia

Transport

Airport Proposal

See also

References

External links