Wallan , traditionally known as Wallan Wallan (large circular place of water), is a town 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 ...

, north of Melbourne's Central Business District. The town sits at the southern end of the large and diverse

Shire of Mitchell The Shire of Mitchell is a local government area in the Hume region of Victoria, Australia, located North of Melbourne. It covers an area of and, in June 2018, had a population of 44,299. It includes the towns of Broadford, Kilmore, Seymo ...

which extends from the northern fringes 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 ...

into the farming country of north-central Victoria and the lower

Goulburn Valley The Goulburn Valley is a sub-region, part of the Hume region of the Australian state of Victoria. The sub-region consists of those areas in the catchment of the Goulburn River and other nearby streams, and is part of the Murray-Darling Basin. T ...

. The township flanks 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 f ...

and is set against the backdrop of the

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills, that runs rough ...

. At the , Wallan had a population of 8,520.

Overview

The fastest growing town and now largest town in the shire, Wallan is a link between the city and rural towns such as Kilmore, Broadford and Seymour. 15 kilometres to the north is a turnoff to Strath Creek which leads through the Valley of a Thousand Hills.

History

A Wallan Wallan Post Office opened on 1 April 1858. A Wallan Railway Station Post Office opened on 1 October 1873, later renamed as Wallan Wallan East and closing in 1992. The first and only surviving store was begun by Hugh and Margaret Sinclair about 1860 with their 2-storey residence. In 1867 Thomas O'Dwyer began a store where the Wallan Hotel now stands. He converted the store to the Woodmans Arms Hotel in 1883. George Wallder and John Kyle supplied meat to the township. The first church erected in Wallan was a wooden building that cost 71 pounds and was opened by the Methodist residents in 1865. Wallan became part of the preaching circuit in 1864 and the following year the modest chapel was built. In the past, Wallan was a small village with only a few houses and a shop, but today it is known for the Hidden Valley Housing Development to the north. Until 1997 this was a private farm, however it has now been developed as a residential estate with a

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

running through the middle. The Wellington Square Shopping Centre, opened in 2004, includes many corporate franchise businesses (mainly Victoria's biggest supermarket chain

Safeway Safeway is an American supermarket chain founded by Marion Barton Skaggs in April 1915 in American Falls, Idaho. The chain provides grocery items, food and general merchandise and features a variety of specialty departments, such as bakery, d ...

), creating competition for the already existing Coles Supermarket across the road. In 2009, Wallan was used as a relief centre for those from surrounding towns affected by the Black Saturday fires.

Education

Wallan offers both primary and secondary education. Wallan Primary School is known for its excellent standing and highly regarded in the community. Private education can be sourced in the nearby town of Kilmore through Saint Patricks Primary and Assumption College and The Kilmore International School y3-y12 teaching the IB diploma. Childcare and Kindergarten programs in Wallan are offered b
Eltham College Kids
Killara Child Care Centre and Dudley Street Child Care.

Transport

Wallan station is well connected with the V/Line train network on the Seymour line. Mitchell Shire also operates a town to station connecting bus service for peak hour commuters. There is a bus service from

Barmah Barmah is a town in the state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Barmah has the distinction of being located north of the border with the state of New South Wales. New South Wales is north of Victoria, with the border being the west ...

that serves Wallan to

Southern Cross station Southern Cross railway station (until 2005 known as Spencer Street station) is a major railway station in Docklands, Melbourne. It is on Spencer Street, between Collins and La Trobe Streets, at the western edge of the Melbourne central busi ...

Growth

Wallan has witnessed substantial growth in housing. Traditionally the growth was in the northern side of the town in the Hidden Valley area. The start of the Wallara Waters estate in Wallan East is a new addition to the town. Being just outside Melbourne's metropolitan boundary, land in Wallan is fairly cheap which has allowed low-income families to make a living while commuting to the city for work. This has led to large growth in the town as it begins to take the form of an

exurb An exurb (or alternately: exurban area) is an area outside the typically denser inner suburban area, at the edge of a metropolitan area, which has some economic and commuting connection to the metro area, low housing density, and growth. It s ...

. The railway station and nearby freeway access gives commuters quick access to the city.

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 ...

has stated in their Metropolitan Rail Network Development Plan that Wallan should be connected to the electric Metro train network by 2033.

Parks

Wallan has parks in prominent locations, and within estates. It also has a small water park (running mainly in the warmer months) located in the town centre at Hadfield park, this is a large adventure playground with a small splash area and ample picnic spaces including sheltered seating with bbq facilities. There are very limited recreational facilities in the town. Walkways have been improved in recent years with re-vegetation of wetland areas along Watson st and storm water mitigation ponds around Wallara Waters. File:Scouts wallan.jpg, File:View from Wallan.jpg, File:View from Wallan Seme.jpg, File:Vline Train departing from North Melbourne.jpg, File:Vline Train at Wallan Station.jpg, File:Wallan Fire Station and Police station.jpg, File:WallanCommunityCentre.jpg, File:KillaraChildCare.jpg, File:HealthServicesWallan.jpg, File:RobsonStadiumWallan.jpg, File:TennisCourtsWallan.jpg, File:HadfieldParkWallan.jpg, File:Hadfieldparkatwallan.jpg, File:BBQatHadfieldPark.jpg, File:PlayatWallan.jpg,

References

{{authority control Towns in Victoria (Australia) Towns in Lower Hume Shire of Mitchell Hume Highway