Wollert 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 ...

, 26 km 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 Whittlesea The City of Whittlesea is a local government area located in the outer northern suburbs of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The city covers an area of , and in June 2018, it had a population of 223,322. History What became ...

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 ...

. Wollert recorded a population of 24,407 at the .

History

"Wollert" is a

Woiwurrung The Woiwurrung, also spelt Woi Wurrung, Woiwurrong, Woiworung, Wuywurung, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Woiwurrung language group, in the Kulin people, Kulin alliance. The Woiwurrung people's territory in Central Victoria (Austral ...

word meaning "where

possums Possum may refer to: Animals * Phalangeriformes, or possums, any of a number of arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi ** Common brushtail possum (''Trichosurus vulpecula''), a common possum in Australian urban a ...

abound", and the suburb takes its name from the land parish in which part of it is situated. From 1836 until the early 1850s, sheep raising was the main activity. Summerhill farm on Summerhill Road was built by Thomas Wilson, in the 1850s. He ran a dairy, pig and sheep farm. When he sold the property in 1886 it was regarded as one of the finest farming properties in Victoria at the time. A bluestone house and outbuildings, a bluestone quarry and dry stone wall in Bindts Road, Wollert are considered of high local significance. Hehr's Pine Park Farm complex in Epping Road illustrates early German building practices the manner of which the resources of the land were put to use and the dairy and horse breeding industries. In 1853, much of the land was subdivided into smaller farm lots, and necessary access roads laid out. During this period Wollert became a dairying community, with significant

dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...

production continuing for the

market until the 1960s. In more recent years, dairying has largely ceased and smaller-scale grazing and Wollert's quarrying and brickmaking facilities represent the suburb's main industries. The first school, established by the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

, commenced in 1852. A bluestone Government school replaced it in 1877 and continued until 1994. The Wollert General Store is still in operation, but the adjacent Dance Palais is no longer is use. Wollert Post Office opened on 1 September 1876, closed in 1895, then reopened in 1902. During the late 1940s, several large Wollert properties were purchased by the

Soldier Settlement Soldier settlement was the settlement of land throughout parts of Australia by returning discharged soldiers under soldier settlement schemes administered by state governments after World War I and World War II. The post-World War II settlemen ...

. They were then subdivided and allocated to eligible ex-servicemen. A

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

was built in 1878 to replace an earlier one built in 1859. This church continued as the Wollert

Uniting Church The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) was founded on 22 June 1977, when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost all the churches of the Congregational Union ...

but later closed. The building has a historic and social value for the City of Whittlesea. Its architecture expresses key characteristics of the Carpenter Gothic style, including timber cladding and lancet windows. In May 2022 Major Road Projects Victoria announced that they will be relocating and restoring the church as part of the Epping Road Upgrade. It will be moved to the Carome Homestead in Mernda. The Patch residential and community development at Bodycoats Road is managed by Jinding property development. Wollertrise is managed by the Dahua Group.

Landmarks

* Australia's largest brickmaker,

Brickworks Limited Brickworks is Australia's largest brick manufacturer, consisting of four divisions – Building Products Australia, Building Products North America, Industrial Property, and Investments. Building Products Australia includes Austral Bricks (th ...

, operates a plant in Wollert. * "The Christian Church in Melbourne" has its meeting hall at Wollert, on the site of the former Government school.

Notable locals

Trent Cotchin Trent William Cotchin (born 7 April 1990) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is a Brownlow Medallist, an All-Australian, a three-time Richmond best and fairest ...

– AFL footballer Cotchin close named after him * Joe Habbaki - International hairdressing award winner with TONI AND GUY Worldwide , https://www.toniandguy.com.au/salons/vic-locations/armadale/ ,

References

{{City of Whittlesea suburbs Australian soldier settlements Suburbs of Melbourne Suburbs of the City of Whittlesea Hume Highway