Waurn Ponds is a mainly residential southern suburb of
Geelong
Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...
,
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 ...
.
The suburb is bounded by Rossack Drive,
Princes Highway
Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of (along Highway 1) or via the former ...
, the
Geelong to Warrnambool railway, Reservoir Road, Draytons Road, Pigdons Road,
Deakin University
Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia.
Its main campuses are in Melbourne's Burwood suburb, Geelong Waurn Ponds, ...
and Honeys Road. It is home to the main Geelong campus of Deakin University and the regional
Waurn Ponds Shopping Centre
Waurn Ponds Shopping Centre is a major regional shopping centre servicing the southern suburbs of the city of Geelong, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. It is located on the corner of Colac and Pioneer Roads in the suburb of Grovedale, V ...
. There are many schools around Waurn Ponds like Mount Duneed Regional Primary School.
History
The town was named after the Waurn chain of ponds, a watercourse that flows from Mount Moriac over 30 km into the
Barwon River.
[Waurn Ponds Revegetation Project](_blank)
/ref>
'Waurn' meaning "place of many houses" in reference to aboriginal stone houses in the Wathaurong language.
Two early hotels - the Victoria Inn (1845–60) and the Waurn Ponds Inn (1856) were located on the Princes Highway serving travellers on the road. The Albert and Victoria vineyards, owned by David Pettavel, began growing grapes in 1848 and the area was better known as Pettavel in the 1860s.[City of Greater Geelong: Waurn Ponds](_blank)
/ref> The Pettavel Post Office opened on 12 January 1865 and remained open until 1952. The Waurn Ponds Post Office opened on 1 December 1871 and closed in 1968.
A quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envi ...
for limestone was opened in the 1840s, with quarrying continuing from 1964 to today at the nearby Blue Circle Southern cement works. Kilns for making mortar lime operated until the 1970s.
Waurn Ponds Memorial Reserve
The Waurn Ponds Memorial Reserve (Formally Waurn Ponds Aveneu of Honour) is located on the Corner of Cochranes Road and Waurn Ponds Drive, Waurn Ponds. The Aveneu of Honour was planted in July 1919, by the residents of Waurn Ponds as a tribute to the Waurn Ponds World War One Servicemen.
In 1999, the Victorian State Government decided to sell the Avenue of Honour. Local residents and the Victorian RSL President Bruce Ruxton campaigned that the Aveneu of Honour would not be auctioned and that the site be protected. The Victorian State Government overturned the sale of the Waurn Ponds Memorial Reserve and a Committee of Management was appointed with Mr Jack Harriott been the Chair.
A re dedication service was held with a plaque listing the Waurn Ponds W.W.1 Servicemen unveiled. In 2000, another two plaques were added with additional Waurn Ponds Servicemen who served in World War One and another plaque honouring the Waurn Ponds Servicemen and Servicewomen who served in the Second World War.
Today there are plaques acknowledging those that served in the Korean War, Vietnam War, Royal Australian Air Force Nurses and Servicewomen from the Geelong area. The Memorial Reserve is also home to the 3.7 Anti Aircraft Gun which is on display at the Reserve.
An annual memorial service is held on the first Sunday of July to mark the anniversary of the Waurn Ponds Memorial Reserve.
Waurn Ponds Hall
The Waurn Ponds Hall which is located on 225 Waurn Ponds Drive was erected in 1924as mechanics institute and free library. The Hall is now used for many local events and can be hired for private functions. The back of the Waurn Ponds Hall was the original Waurn Ponds State School which was relocated to Grovedale Primary School and later back to the Waurn Ponds Hall as an extension.
Waurn Ponds started to become part of the outer suburbs of Geelong from the 1970s, with the opening of the Deakin University campus and the Waurn Ponds Hotel on the highway. Major development did not begin until the early 1990s, based around Ghazeepore Road. The intervening years have seen housing developments spread across the hillside towards Grovedale
Grovedale is a southern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. At the , Grovedale had a population of 14,869.
History
Toponymy
The locality was originally named ''Germantown'' because several families of German Lutheran origin had settled th ...
.
Heritage listed sites
Waurn Ponds contains a number of heritage listed sites, including:
* Princes Highway and 110 Lemins Road, Lime Burning Kiln
* Princes Highway, Waurn Ponds Creek Bridge
Geography
Waurn Ponds is home to the quite small Waurn Ponds Creek. It starts around the Mount Moriac region and eventually flows into the Barwon River near Belmont Common.
As of 2007, it is low on water and is no more than 1 meter deep in most sections. It has a large weed problem which makes the creek look uninhabitable. The creek is home to species of fish (many introduced) including Carp
Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...
, Redfin
Redfin Corporation, based in Seattle, operates a residential real estate brokerage in 95 markets in the United States and Canada and in other markets via partner/referral agents. Its business model includes charging home sellers below-average fe ...
, Roach
Roach may refer to:
Animals
* Cockroach, various insect species of the order Blattodea
* Common roach (''Rutilus rutilus''), a fresh and brackish water fish of the family Cyprinidae
** ''Rutilus'' or roaches, a genus of fishes
* California roach ...
, Tench
The tench or doctor fish (''Tinca tinca'') is a fresh- and brackish-water fish of the order Cypriniformes found throughout Eurasia from Western Europe including the British Isles east into Asia as far as the Ob and Yenisei Rivers. It is also ...
, Australian Grayling
The Australian grayling (''Prototroctes maraena'') is a primarily freshwater fish found in coastal rivers in south-eastern mainland Australia and Tasmania. In past decades it has also been known as the cucumber mullet or cucumber herring, for ...
and short finned eel
The short-finned eel (''Anguilla australis''), also known as the shortfin eel, is one of the 15 species of eel in the family Anguillidae. It is native to the lakes, dams and coastal rivers of south-eastern Australia, New Zealand, and much of th ...
s. The creek also is a large habitat of native birds including the pacific black duck. Increase in annual rain will bring the creek back to its original status.
Community groups
The Friends of the Waurn Ponds Creek is a community group that gather on the first and third Sunday of the month to protect and conserve the health of the Waurn Ponds Creek and surrounding area. The Friends first started in 2002 and have won awards for their dedication and work towards enhancing the creek to protect the native fish and wildlife that habitat are along the creek. The Friends plant tress, clean up rubbish and maintain weeds and tree planting sites.
Waurn Ponds has a large linear parkland following the creek. The neighbouring suburb of Grovedale has a skate park
A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, scootering, wheelchairs, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairsets, qua ...
and baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
complex.
Waurn Ponds has a Hall, Tennis Club, Cricket Club and Memorial Reserve to the west of Waurn Ponds.
The Waurn Ponds Tennis Club located on 20 Belperroud Road off Waurn Ponds Drive, is a successful tennis club which has junior and senior competitions in the Tennis Geelong Competition.
The Waurn Ponds Cricket Club located on Waurn Ponds Drive, access from Deskin University was established in 1986 and currently has senior men's team and junior sides. The Club is in the Geelong Cricket Assoctiation.
The boundaries of Waurn Ponds were expanded in 2012 when, as a result of boundary changes related to the development of the nearby Armstrong Creek Growth Area
The Armstrong Creek Growth Area is a southern extension to the urban growth boundary of the metropolitan area of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. It comprises parts of the localities of Grovedale and Marshall south of the Warrnambool railway line, an ...
, an area of land in the west of the current suburb between the Princes Highway and the Geelong-Warrnambool railway line was shifted from the locality of Mount Duneed to Waurn Ponds.
Transport
Waurn Ponds is located on the Princes Highway
Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of (along Highway 1) or via the former ...
that links the suburb with the centre of Geelong
Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...
. It is also the southern endpoint of the Geelong Ring Road, completed in 2009. Anglesea Road heads south through the suburb, linking the area to Torquay
Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignton ...
and Anglesea. Pioneer Road links the region west to Grovedale
Grovedale is a southern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. At the , Grovedale had a population of 14,869.
History
Toponymy
The locality was originally named ''Germantown'' because several families of German Lutheran origin had settled th ...
, the road not being completed eastward across the Waurn Ponds Creek until the mid-1990s.
Public transport to the area is provided by buses operated by CDC Geelong
CDC Geelong, formerly known as Benders Busways, is a bus company operating in Geelong, Victoria, Australia, operating routes as well as charters. It is a subsidiary of CDC Victoria, in turn a subsidiary of ComfortDelGro Australia, in turn a su ...
and McHarry's Buslines
McHarry's Buslines is a family-owned bus company in Geelong, Victoria, dating back to 1932. It operates public transport bus routes in Geelong, and on the Bellarine Peninsula and the Surf Coast, as well as school bus and charter services. The co ...
, under contract to 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 ...
. Routes to the Geelong city centre originate and terminate at Deakin University.
* Route 1 - Deakin University to North Shore and return, via Grovedale
Grovedale is a southern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. At the , Grovedale had a population of 14,869.
History
Toponymy
The locality was originally named ''Germantown'' because several families of German Lutheran origin had settled th ...
, Belmont, South Geelong railway station
South Geelong railway station is located on the Warrnambool line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the southern Geelong suburb of South Geelong, and it opened on 1 November 1883. , Geelong, Geelong West
Geelong West is a commercial and residential suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. When Geelong was founded, the area was known as Kildare but its name was changed to Geelong West in 1875. The main street is Pakington Street. At the 2016 c ...
and North Geelong
North Geelong is a suburb of Geelong in the Australian state of Victoria. The suburb was bypassed by traffic from Melbourne coming from the Princes Freeway by the creation of the Geelong Ring Road, which was complete in 2009. At the , North Geelo ...
- runs every 20 minutes on weekdays and every 30 minutes on weekends. There is a train station running from Melbourne to Warnambol and waurn ponds is one of the stops
* Route 40 - Deakin University to Geelong railway station
Geelong railway station is located on the Warrnambool railway line, Warrnambool line in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. It serves the city of Geelong, and it opened on 1 November 1856. and return, via Grovedale, Waurn Ponds Shopping Centre
Waurn Ponds Shopping Centre is a major regional shopping centre servicing the southern suburbs of the city of Geelong, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. It is located on the corner of Colac and Pioneer Roads in the suburb of Grovedale, V ...
, Marshall railway station
Marshall railway station is located on the Warrnambool line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the southern Geelong suburb of Marshall, and opened on 26 April 2005. , Breakwater
Breakwater may refer to:
* Breakwater (structure), a structure for protecting a beach or harbour
Places
* Breakwater, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia
* Breakwater Island
Breakwater Island () is a small island in the Palme ...
and East Geelong
East Geelong is a residential suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. At the , East Geelong had a population of 3,862.
The post office opened on 6 June 1921. An earlier Post Office dating from 1871 was later renamed Moolap West.
The 81-hect ...
- runs hourly on weekdays but does not run on weekends.
* Route 41 - Deakin University to Geelong railway station and return, via Waurn Ponds railway station
Waurn Ponds railway station is located on the Warrnambool line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the southern Geelong suburb of Waurn Ponds, and it opened on 12 October 2014. , Grovedale, Waurn Ponds Plaza, Waurn Ponds Shopping Centre, Belmont and South Geelong
South Geelong, also referred to as Geelong South, is a southern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. Its local government area is the City of Greater Geelong. At the 2016 census, South Geelong had a population of 993.
The suburb is adj ...
- runs every 30 minutes on weekdays and hourly on weekends.
* Route 42 - Deakin University to Geelong railway station and return, via Waurn Ponds railway station, Grovedale, Waurn Pond Shopping Centre, Highton
Highton is a residential suburb of Geelong, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. With views across Geelong, Corio Bay and the surrounding region, Highton is located along the banks of the Barwon River (Victoria), Barwon River and across t ...
, Belmont and South Geelong - runs every 20 minutes on weekdays and hourly on weekends.
* Route 43 - Deakin University to Geelong Railway station and return, via Highton and Newtown - runs every 40 minutes on weekdays and hourly on weekends.
The Geelong V/Line rail service
The Geelong line is a regional passenger rail service operated by V/Line in Victoria, Australia. It serves passengers between state capital Melbourne and the regional city of Geelong.
According to V/Line it carries more passengers than any ot ...
, to and from Geelong and 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 ...
, was extended to the new Waurn Ponds railway station
Waurn Ponds railway station is located on the Warrnambool line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the southern Geelong suburb of Waurn Ponds, and it opened on 12 October 2014. , situated in Sugargum Drive, in 2014. The new station was named Grovedale in the planning stages, despite being physically located in Waurn Ponds, but the official name of Waurn Ponds was announced in July 2014.
An earlier extension of Geelong line rail services in the direction of Waurn Ponds had been considered when funding was set aside for a new station beyond South Geelong station in 2003-04, but that eventually resulted in the new station being built at Marshall
Marshall may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria
Canada
* Marshall, Saskatchewan
* The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia
Liberia
* Marshall, Liberia
Marshall Islands
* Marshall Islands, an i ...
, closer to Geelong, instead.
University
The Deakin University
Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia.
Its main campuses are in Melbourne's Burwood suburb, Geelong Waurn Ponds, ...
campus at Waurn Ponds had the beginnings in the Gordon Institute of TAFE
The Gordon Institute of TAFE is the Technical and Further Education institute predominantly servicing the wider Geelong area. The Gordon opened in 1887 and celebrated 130 years of providing education in 2017.
The Gordon provides education ...
, who purchased land there in 1969. A building for the Applied Sciences was first built, followed by a library and student lodgings in 1975. In 1976 the Gordon Institute was divided into two parts, with academic courses becoming part of the newly formed Deakin University based at the Waurn Ponds campus.
Deakin enrolled its first students at its Waurn Ponds campus in 1977. Today the university is located on a site, has over 1,000 staff and over 4000 on-campus students.Deakin University: Waurn Ponds campus
/ref>
Deakin offers many social groups for students to join, The main Association is DUSA, followed closely by the Deakin Students' Commerce Society Deakin University Student Association#Deakin Commerce Students' Society
Retail
The Waurn Ponds Shopping Centre
Waurn Ponds Shopping Centre is a major regional shopping centre servicing the southern suburbs of the city of Geelong, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. It is located on the corner of Colac and Pioneer Roads in the suburb of Grovedale, V ...
, located on the corner of Colac Road (Princes Highway) and Pioneer Road, is a regional-level shopping centre servicing the southern suburbs of Geelong
Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...
and the surrounding region. It was opened in the early 1990s, and has been continually expanded. The most recent expansion was completed in August 2014, and increased the total area of the centre to 47,000 square metres. There are over 160 different shops.
The Geelong Homemaker Centre, located on the Colac Road (Princes Highway) at the intersection and Pigdons Road, opened in mid-2005. It includes Bunnings Warehouse
Bunnings Group Limited, trading as Bunnings Warehouse or Bunnings, is an Australian household hardware chain. The chain has been owned by Wesfarmers since 1994, and has stores in Australia and New Zealand.
Bunnings was founded in Perth, Wester ...
and Harvey Norman
Harvey Norman is a large Australian-based, multi-national retailer of furniture, bedding, computers, communications and consumer electrical products. It mainly operates as a franchise, with the main brand and all company-operated stores owned ...
stores, as well as a number of smaller stores, such as Supercheap Auto, Beacon Lighting, Snooze, Ray's Outdoors and, most recently, JB-Hi-Fi.
Waurn Ponds Plaza, located at the intersection of Rossack Drive and the Colac Road (Princes Highway), is another shopping centre in Waurn Ponds. It is the location of the office of the federal member for Corangamite, Libby Coker.
See also
* Geelong Ring Road
The Geelong Ring Road (formerly known as the Geelong Bypass and the Geelong Outer Freeway, officially part of Princes Freeway West) is a freeway ring road in Australia beside Geelong's western suburbs from the Princes Freeway at Corio, Victoria ...
* Grovedale
Grovedale is a southern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. At the , Grovedale had a population of 14,869.
History
Toponymy
The locality was originally named ''Germantown'' because several families of German Lutheran origin had settled th ...
References
External links
Victorian Places: Waurn Ponds
{{Authority control
Suburbs of Geelong
Lime kilns in Australia