Wantirna is a suburb in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Victoria,

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, 24 km east of Melbourne's

Central Business District A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center 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 wit ...

, located within the

City of Knox The City of Knox is a local government area in Victoria, Australia in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. It has an area of and in 2020, Knox had a population of 165,147. This municipality is one of only a handful that survived the widespread mu ...

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 federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

. Wantirna recorded a population of 14,237 at the 2021 census. Its name is derived from the local Aboriginal people’s expression for, "a gurgling stream". The Knox Private Hospital, Westfield Knox shopping centre, and Kieran are located in Wantirna. The EastLink

tollway A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road for which a fee (or '' toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and mainten ...

runs through Wantirna with interchanges at Boronia Road and

Burwood Highway Burwood Highway (and its western section as Toorak Road) is a major transportation link with Melbourne's eastern fringe at the foot of the Dandenong Ranges, linking the suburbs of Hawthorn and Belgrave. The highway is considered a major lin ...

. Wantirna was first settled by Australians of European descent in 1840 when Mrs. Madeline Scott established the "Bushy Park" cattle run on the banks of the Dandenong Creek. During the 1870s other pioneers opened up the area to settlement.Knox City Council – City of Knox Suburb Histories
/ref> In 1912 the need for a school to serve the local area soon became apparent in this small but fast-growing area; the Finger family donated two acres of land on the southern side of Mountain Hwy (then known as Wantirna-Sassafras Rd) and a timber schoolhouse was opened. The Finger and Fankhauser families were prime movers in the erection of the Methodist Church opened opposite the school in May 1914, and a parish hall was built on Burwood Highway in 1924. Wantirna Post Office opened on 1 November 1913, closed in 1977, and reopened in 1983. The Wantirna Reserve was provided by the council in 1925 and a tennis court was built there shortly afterwards. In December 1939, after the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, West Prussia Road was renamed Wantirna Road. Locations in Wantirna, especially Westfield Knox, are occasionally used to shoot the soap opera ''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera that has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons and ...

''. Koomba Park is a large native bushland park spanning the area between Dandenong Creek and the Eastlink Tollway. It is run by Parks Victoria and was opened in 1982. The Victorian Jazz Archive is located in Koomba Park.

Schools

Schools in Wantirna include Wantirna Primary School, Wantirna College, Regency Park Primary School, Templeton Primary School and St Luke's Primary School.

Churches

* Hills Bible Church * Knox Presbyterian Church * The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Stake Centre and the Melbourne Australia Temple (churchofjesuschrist.org)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wantirna, Victoria Suburbs of Melbourne Suburbs of the City of Knox