Roxburgh Park 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 ...

. Roxburgh Park recorded a population of 24,129 at the 2021 census. The suburb is bound by Craigieburn to the north, to the west by Aitken Boulevard skirting the

Greenvale Reservoir Greenvale Reservoir is an off-stream water storage dam in northern Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It has a capacity of . The dam was opened 18 April 1973 and is now managed by Melbourne Water. It is situated in the upper Yuroke Creek catchmen ...

, to the east by the

Craigieburn railway line The Craigieburn railway line (previously the Broadmeadows line and Essendon line) is a commuter rail passenger train service operating between Craigieburn in the northern suburbs and Flinders Street in Melbourne, Australia. The service is par ...

and to the south by Somerton Road.

History

Originally part of

Somerton Somerton may refer to: Places Australia * Somerton, New South Wales * Somerton Park, South Australia, a seaside Adelaide suburb ** Somerton Man, unsolved case of an unidentified man found dead in 1948 on the Somerton Park beach * Somerton, Victoria ...

, Roxburgh Park gets its name from the property "Roxburgh", which was named by local farmer Thomas Brunton in about 1885, after his house in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. Prior to the construction of Roxburgh Park, the area was the subject of a design by architect Philip Treeby for a

garden suburb 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 ...

called "Hopetoun" in 1889. Plans for the suburb included parks, schools, tennis courts and shops. The early 1890s economic depression prevented the construction of this design. In January 1951 the

Moonee Valley Racing Club The Moonee Valley Racing Club (MVRC) was founded by William Samuel (W.S.) Cox), in 1883 is located at The Valley Racecourse on McPherson Street, Moonee Ponds (a suburb of Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'' ...

bought the "Roxburgh Park" property for £35,000, as a speculative investment, although the purchase did give the club an option if it ever had to leave its somewhat cramped location in

Moonee Ponds Moonee Ponds is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Moonee Valley local government area. Moonee Ponds recorded a population of 16,224 at the 2 ...

. The

Victorian 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 ...

's Urban and Regional Land Corporation (later "VicUrban" and then "

Places Victoria Places Victoria, was the Victorian Government's property development agency delivering urban renewal. Based in Melbourne, Australia, Places Victoria developed surplus government land. In April 2017, Places Victoria combined with Major Projects ...

") purchased land in the area in 1988 to plan and develop Roxburgh Park (not unlike the new towns in the green wedges of

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

). The suburb, which was originally going to be named "Ruthvenfield", was to comprise 7000 house blocks for around 20,000 residents. Construction began in the early 1990s. Recognition of Roxburgh Park was promoted in widely screened TV commercials throughout the mid-1990s, presenting Roxburgh Park's avowed virtues as a planned community with a balance of residential and industrial land, along with public reserves (part of the Shankland Reserve is in the south of Roxburgh Park),

community service Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community without any form of compensation. Community service can be distinct from volunteering, since it is not always performed ...

s and access to transport. The slogan for the campaign was ''"Roxburgh Park – where dreams come true..."'' Developments over recent years include child care centres, a

retirement village A retirement community is a residential community or housing complex designed for older adults who are generally able to care for themselves; however, assistance from home care agencies is allowed in some communities, and activities and socializ ...

and an Islamic centre. The commercial hub of the suburb is on Somerton Road.

Demographics

The most common ancestries of residents in Roxburgh Park is Assyrian/Chaldean 15.9%, Turkish 13.4%, Australian 10.7%, English 8.6%, Iraqi 6.3% and Italian 6.1%.

Education

* Roxburgh Park Primary School * Roxburgh Rise Primary School * Roxburgh Homestead Primary School * Good Samaritan Catholic Primary School *

Roxburgh College Roxburgh College is a state secondary school in Roxburgh Park, Victoria, Australia. Previously Upfield Secondary College, the school completed its transition to the current site at Roxburgh Park during 2005. The school offers years 7–12, wi ...

Commercial

Three large shopping centres are located within the suburb; on Somerton Road is the Roxburgh Park Shopping Centre, which features 70 specialist stores, on

Pascoe Vale Road Pascoe Vale Road is a major thoroughfare through the northern suburbs of Melbourne, connecting the outer northern fringe to the inner northern suburbs. Route Pascoe Vale Road starts at the intersection with Somerton Road in Coolaroo and runs ...

near the Roxburgh Park Hotel is the Roxburgh Plaza and Homemaker Centre. The smaller Roxburgh Homestead Shopping Centre lies close to the Roxburgh Homestead Primary School. On Fouz Street, near the Good Samaritan Catholic Primary School and along Donald Cameron Drive, is Roxy Central. Roxy Central was finalised and fully opened during 2021. It contains national brands such as

FoodWorks FoodWorks is an Australian supermarket chain run by independent retail group Australian United Retailers Limited (AURL). The AURL was created in November 2004 from the merger of the FoodWorks Supermarket Group Ltd (FSG) and Australian United ...

and many different local small businesses.

Sport

Roxburgh Park Football Club The Roxburgh Park Football Club is an Australian rules football club located 24 km north of Melbourne in the new housing estate of Roxburgh Park. It was founded as a junior club in 2002, fielding seven junior teams in the Essendon District ...

, an

Australian Rules 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 ...

football team, competes in the

Essendon District Football League The Essendon District Football League (EDFL) is a professional Australian rules football league competition based in Essendon, Victoria, consisting of teams based in the north-west suburbs of Melbourne. Founded in 1930, the men's competition c ...

Transport

Bus

Seven

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 cha ...

service Roxburgh Park: * : Broadmeadows station – Roxburgh Park station via Greenvale. Operated by

CDC Melbourne CDC Melbourne is a bus operator in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It operates 55 bus routes under contract to Public Transport Victoria. It is a subsidiary of ComfortDelGro Australia. As at 2018, CDC Melbourne was the third-largest commuter bu ...

. * : Broadmeadows station – Craigieburn North. 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 ...

. * : Roxburgh Park station – Pascoe Vale station via Meadow Heights,

Broadmeadows Broadmeadows is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Hume local government area. Broadmeadows recorded a population of 12,524 at the 2021 census. Broadmeadow ...

and Glenroy. Operated by Dysons. * : Greenvale Gardens – Roxburgh Park station via Greenvale Village Shopping Centre. Operated by CDC Melbourne. * : Craigieburn station – Roxburgh Park station. 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 ...

. * : Frankston station –

Melbourne Airport Melbourne Airport , colloquially known as Tullamarine Airport, is the primary airport serving the city of Melbourne, and the second busiest airport in Australia. It opened in 1970 to replace the nearby Essendon Airport. Melbourne Airport is t ...

. Operated by

Kinetic Melbourne Kinetic Melbourne is a bus operator in Melbourne, Australia, operating a fleet of 531 buses on 43 bus routes, as well as seven SmartBus routes. It commenced operations on 31 January 2022, taking over all routes previously operated by Transdev Me ...

. * : Broadmeadows station – Craigieburn via Roxburgh Park (operates Saturday and Sunday mornings only). Operated by

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 ...

Cycling

The

Broadmeadows Valley Trail __NOTOC__ The Broadmeadows Valley Trail is a shared use path for cyclists and pedestrians in the outer northern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Following the path The north end of the trail is most readily accessed from Craigieburn ...

makes its way through the suburb, in a north–south direction.

Train

Roxburgh Park is served by Roxburgh Park station, on the Craigieburn line. The station opened on 30 September 2007, when electrification was extended from

to Craigieburn. The current station is approximately at the site of the former

Somerton railway station Somerton railway station (not to be confused with Fritwell & Somerton railway station, Fritwell & Somerton) was a railway station situated on the Great Western Railway, Great Western Railway's Langport and Castle Cary Railway. It served the to ...

, which opened in 1881 and closed in 1960.

References

External links

City of Hume WebsiteRoxburgh Park Website
{{City of Hume suburbs Suburbs of Melbourne Suburbs of the City of Hume