Tecoma 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 ...

, 35 km east from 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 ...

and 1 km west of

Belgrave Belgrave may refer to: Places *Belgrave, Cheshire, an English village *Belgrave, Leicester an English district *Belgrave, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia ** Belgrave railway line **Belgrave railway station, Melbourne **Belgrave (Puffing ...

, located within the

Shire of Yarra Ranges The Shire of Yarra Ranges, also known as Yarra Ranges Council, is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the outer eastern and northeastern suburbs of Melbourne extending into the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges. It has an ...

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 ...

. Tecoma recorded a population of 2,064 at the 2021 census. The suburb is named after the shrub '' Tecoma'' that grew in the area when the need was identified for a railway station for the timber mill that occupied the site where Tecoma Primary School now stands. The Post Office opened on 7 January 1929, closing in 1976. Tecoma is a small suburb, nestled between

and Upwey, adjoining

Sherbrooke Forest Sherbrooke Forest is a wet sclerophyll forest within Dandenong Ranges National Park, 40 km east of Melbourne, in Victoria, Australia, close to the suburb of Belgrave. It lies within an altitude of 220–500 m asl and is dominated by the t ...

to the north. It is historically recognised as a foothill township of the

Dandenong Ranges The Dandenong Ranges (commonly just The Dandenongs) are a set of low mountain ranges, rising to 633 metres at Mount Dandenong, approximately east of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The ranges consist mostly of rolling hills, steeply weathere ...

, an area of cultural significance and biodiversity.

Demographics

In the 2016 census the population of Tecoma was 2,082, 50.2% female and 49.8% male. The median age was 41. 79.4% of people living in Tecoma were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were England 6.7%, New Zealand 1.5%, South Africa 0.9%, Netherlands 0.6% and United States of America 0.6%. 92.0% of people living in Tecoma only spoke English at home. The other top languages spoken at home were German 0.5%, Russian 0.5%, Dutch 0.3%, Italian 0.3% and Mandarin 0.3%.

History

Until 1925 Tecoma did not have a separate name, only known as part of

Upper Ferntree Gully Upper Ferntree Gully is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 32 km east of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Knox and Shire of Yarra Ranges L ...

, Upwey or as Lower

. The name arose when the residents of 'Lower Belgrave' persuaded the Victorian Railways to build a railway station there, which got named Tecoma after a plant which grew in the locality.

McDonald's controversy

In 2011 a plan by the multinational

fast food Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheated or precooked ingredien ...

chain

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...

to build a 24-hour takeaway restaurant in the main street of Tecoma was met with strong community opposition. The original application for planning approval was rejected by Yarra Ranges Shire Council however McDonald's launched a successful appeal to the

Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) was formed by the ''Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act'' 1998 in the state of Victoria, Australia. As part of the Victorian Justice system the Tribunal sits 'below' the Magistrat ...

and was granted planning approval in October 2012. Construction began in July 2013 and subsequent community opposition and protest led to widespread media attention. Protests and media attention peaked in the final months of construction leading to the April 2014 opening of the store and included

Victoria Police Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It was formed in 1853 and currently operates under the ''Victoria Police Act 2013''. , Victo ...

action against the protesters during construction and a large police presence on the opening day of the store.

Gallery

File:Sandells Road Tecoma.jpg, Olden Sandells Road File:Tecoma1.jpg, Tecoma railway station

References

{{Shire of Yarra Ranges suburbs Suburbs of Melbourne Suburbs of Yarra Ranges

Demographics

History

McDonald's controversy

Gallery

See also

References