Highett 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, 16 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Bayside and Kingston local government areas. Highett recorded a population of 12,016 at the . Located 2 km east of

Port Phillip Port Phillip ( Kulin: ''Narm-Narm'') or Port Phillip Bay is a horsehead-shaped enclosed bay on the central coast of southern Victoria, Australia. The bay opens into the Bass Strait via a short, narrow channel known as The Rip, and is com ...

, Highett is bordered by

Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia *Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region * Hampton, Victoria Canada * Hampton, New Brunswick *Ha ...

/ Sandringham to the west, Hampton East/ Moorabbin to the north and Cheltenham to the east and south.

History

The name comes from

William Highett William Highett (1807 – 29 November 1880) was a banker, landowner and politician in colonial Victoria. He was also a member of the Victorian Legislative Council. Early life Highett was born in Weymouth, Dorset, England, in December 1807. His p ...

, a parliamentarian and local land owner in the 1850s. He purchased Crown land west of Bluff Road, originally part of Dendy's Special Survey, in 1853. The area was mainly used for market gardens up till

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. The

Highett railway station Highett railway station is located on the Frankston line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the south-eastern Melbourne suburb of Highett, and opened on 19 December 1881 as Highett Road. It was renamed Highett on 14 December 1885. History High ...

was built when the line from Caulfield to Mordialloc was opened in 1881. Little development happened after the arrival of the railway; the Highett Post Office did not open until 17 November 1924. The Highett Hall was opened on 11 September 1926 and was used for dances, balls, vaudeville performances and later as a cinema. However it always struggled to find a profitable means to continue operation. It was purchased by the Moorabbin City Council in 1966 and then demolished to make way for the Highett Library, which opened on 1 August 1969. In 1927 a number of Anglicans banded together to open St Stephens Church of England, in Donald Street, Highett. This was the first church built for the local inhabitants of Highett and by 1937 there was also a Catholic church. In 1939 the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) constructed a factory in Highett to build aircraft wings and fuselages to support Australia in the Second World War. The factory continued operation until the end of the war in 1945 when the tradesmen were transferred to the main CAC factory in

Fishermans Bend Fishermans Bend (formerly Fishermen's Bend) is a precinct within the City of Port Phillip and the City of Melbourne. It is located on the south of the Yarra River in the suburb of Port Melbourne and opposite Coode Island, close to the Melbourne ...

and the Bay Road site was closed. Four large

gasometers A gas holder or gasholder, also known as a gasometer, is a large container in which natural gas or town gas is stored near atmospheric pressure at ambient temperatures. The volume of the container follows the quantity of stored gas, with pressu ...

on land near the intersection of

Nepean Highway Nepean Highway runs south from St Kilda Junction in Victoria, Australia to Portsea, close to the eastern shore of Port Phillip. It is the primary road route to central Melbourne from Melbourne's southern suburbs. History Originally known as A ...

and Bay Road were a prominent landmark in the area for most of the 20th century. Highett's most substantial residential growth began in the 1950s. Industry was attracted to the area, including a large CSIRO research facility. A primary school was opened in 1953 and a high school in 1956, although Highett High School is now part of Sandringham College, St Agnes is the suburbs Catholic primary schoo

The strip shopping centre near the railway line expanded, and still remains active. The suburb is undergoing substantial change and rejuvenation with a high number of residential properties being renovated or redeveloped due to the suburb's proximity to Melbourne City and Port Phillip Bay which has attracted a large number of younger families and professionals. In 2011 construction of a substantial new shopping centre and apartment complex began on Highett Road, using land once owned by the CSIRO.

Noteworthy incidents in Highett

In 1925 a parcel train hit a car at the Wickham Road railway crossing, killing nine people inside the car. The gatekeeper was found not guilty of the charge of manslaughter, the jury finding the incident was due to the fault of the system and not through human negligence.

Population

In the 2016 Census, there were 10,454 people in Highett. 66.4% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 4.3%, China 2.1%, India 2.1%, New Zealand 1.9% and Greece 1.6%. 73.9% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Greek 3.3%, Mandarin 2.4%, Russian 1.8% and Italian 1.2%. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 37.6%, Catholic 23.2% and Anglican 9.2%.

Education

File:Stagnesprimary.jpg, St Agnes Primary school Highett File:Stagneschurch.jpg, St Agnes Catholic Church Highett

Sporting clubs, facilities and other attractions in Highett

Highett Cricket Club

Established in 1887, Highett Cricket Club is the second oldest in Kingston City. The Turner Road complex features three ovals, a large clubrooms and a children's playground. The Bulldogs have a long and proud cricketing history, having three times won the Victorian Turf Cricket Association (VTCA) first division premiership. In season 2016/17 the club joined Cricket Southern Bayside. The Highett 1st XI played in Division 2. In all one day matches, Highett players wore the coloured clothing of red white and blue for the first time. Three Highett players have represented Australia in test cricket;

Dav Whatmore Davenell Frederick Whatmore (born 16 March 1954) is a Sri Lanka born Australian cricket coach and former cricketer. A right-handed batsman, Whatmore played seven Test matches for Australia in 1979, and one One Day International in 1980. At ...

, Michael Taylor and Simon Davis.

Bayside Cricket Club

Prior to the 2017/18 season, the Highett Cricket Club merged with the Moorabbin Park Panthers to form the Bayside Stingrays. The amalgamated club currently has 4 senior teams competing in Cricket Southern Bayside (CSB) and 6 junior teams competing in either South East Cricket Association (SECA) or Inner South East Cricket (ISEC). Games are played at Turner Road Reserve in Highett and Dane Road Reserve in Moorabbin.

Public swimming pool

The City of Moorabbin built an Olympic-length swimming pool on Turner Road in Highett in 1964. In the 1990s the pool was extensively refurbished and is now called the Waves Leisure Centre.

Highett Football Club

The suburb has an Australian rules football team, the Highett Bulldogs, which competes in the Southern Football Netball League (SFNL). The club house is situated on the Main Oval of Highett Reserve, which is on Turner Road. Its senior teams participate in SFNL Division 1, and the junior sides participate in the South Metro Junior Football League (SMJFL).

Kingston Farmer’s Market

The Kingston Farmer's Market is held on the first Saturday of each month (except January) on the Sir William Fry Reserve near the intersection of

and Bay Rd.

Cultural references

Highett is the subject of a song by

Barry Humphries John Barry Humphries (born 17 February 1934) is an Australian comedian, actor, author and satirist. He is best known for writing and playing his on-stage and television alter egos Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. He is also a film pr ...

, ''The Highett Waltz'' (1959).

Notable Locals

* Sidney Hobson Courtier, author. * Józef Czulak, a scientist who worked for the CSIRO in the suburb. *

, banker, politician and landowner in the area and after whom the suburb is named.Highett, William (1807-1880), ''ADB'', accessed 11 February 2021.
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References

External links

Bayside City Council websiteKingston City Council website
{{City of Kingston suburbs Suburbs of Melbourne Suburbs of the City of Bayside Suburbs of the City of Kingston (Victoria)