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 metro ...
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
, east 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 Maroondah
The City of Maroondah is a local government area in Victoria, Australia in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. Maroondah had a population of 117,498 in June 2018.
The City of Maroondah was created through the amalgamation the former Cities of Ri ...
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 ...
. Ringwood recorded a population of 19,144 at the 2021 census.
Ringwood has many parks and reserves, most notably, Ringwood Lake. As of July 2012, the average house price in Ringwood was $583,500 and $390,000 for a unit.
As of September 2019, the average sale price for a house in Ringwood was $866,000. For a unit, the average sale price was $533,000. The average weekly rent for a house was $435, and for a unit it was $370.
History
Ringwood village emerged in the mid to late 19th century, following the 1850s land sales. Before this, Ringwood was used primarily for
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...
. The post office opened on 2 August 1875, in the then rural area.
In 1882, the construction of the Hawthorn to Lilydale railway through the suburb caused Ringwood to emerge as a more notable town.
1924 marked major growth for Ringwood. The railway was electrified and the township was further developed. This development boomed post war, causing the City of Ringwood to be declared in 1960.
The Ringwood clock tower was built in 1928 as a memorial to the war. After the successful post-depression subdivisions of land in the area, Ringwood was recognised to be a part of metropolitan Melbourne. Eastland Shopping Centre opened in Ringwood in 1967. It was redeveloped in the late 1990s and again in 2013. Its current state is 131,000 m2 (1,410,000 square feet) of retail and hospitality floor space, car parks and a Hoyts cinema complex. In 2009, the owners of Eastland, Queensland Investment Corporation, planned to commence another redevelopment of the Eastland site. The Arcade near Eastland and the Ringwood Library commenced re-location in 2012. Construction on the new centre began in 2013 and was completed in two stages. Stage one opened on 29 October 2015 and stage two on 5 May 2016.
Ringwood has been the site of a Cadbury chocolate factory since the company's acquisition of MacRobertson Chocolates in 1967. The factory is the company's second largest in Australia and produces chocolate bars, such as Cherry Ripe and Boost, and Easter eggs.
In 2009, the
State Government
A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonom ...
controversially approved the building of a nine-storey housing development near Ringwood Lake, without Council or public consultation.
In 2007, Ringwood became the home of ConnectEast, owner and operator of Melbourne's second toll road, EastLink.
In 2012, major retail chain store
Costco
Costco Wholesale Corporation ( doing business as Costco Wholesale and also known simply as Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores (warehouse club). As of 2022, Costc ...
announced plans to open in Ringwood. Construction is expected to finish mid-2013. It opened 20 November 2013 (Emma Hastings Maroondah Leader 20 November 2013 12:59PM)
Perhaps Ringwood's most global notoriety is the development in 1958 of the "Pride of Ringwood" hop variety, which today flavours Foster's Lager, Victoria Bitter and many other beers around the world. The hops were developed along the
Mullum Mullum Creek
Mullum Mullum Creek is a creek in the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is the main watercourse of the Mullum Mullum Valley, a tributary of the Yarra River and Yarra Valley. For tens of thousands of years it was used a ...
, near the site of what later became
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Kalinda Primary School
Norwood Secondary College
Norwood Secondary College is a secondary school located in Melbourne's eastern suburbs, situated in Ringwood, Victoria, Australia and right next to Mullum Primary School. Norwood Secondary College, in the City of Maroondah, is a single campus co ...
*
Ringwood Secondary College
Ringwood Secondary College is a co-educational public secondary school located in the eastern suburb of Ringwood in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Ringwood Secondary College opened as Ringwood High School in 1954 and was one of the first hig ...
In 2010, Ringwood operated a number of polling booths at the 2010 federal election, distributed mostly across the federal electorates of Deakin and Menzies, with another few allocated to Casey for pre-polling. Traditionally a relatively Liberal-leaning suburb, the combined results across all Ringwood booths produced a primary vote result of 35.7% for Labor, 47.2% for the Liberals and 12.0% for the Greens; on a two-party basis after preferences, the result was 53.02% Liberal and 46.98% Labor.
Ringwood operated a number of polling booths at the 2013 federal election, distributed mostly across the federal electorates of Deakin and Menzies. In a Liberal gain, the electorate that covers most of Ringwood, Deakin, elected
Michael Sukkar
Michael Sven Sukkar (born 11 September 1981) is an Australian politician who served as the Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Housing from 2019, and as the Minister for Homelessness, Social and Community Housing from 2020. He lost his minis ...
with a 3.8% swing and 53.2% of the votes. In the 2016 federal election, Deakin, reelected Michael Sukkar with 55.7% of votes, and a swing of +2.5%. At the 2019 federal election, Sukkar was reelected again for Deakin with 54.7% of votes despite a swing of -1.6 against him.
For Menzies, the 2013 election saw Kevin Andrews win with 64.4% of the votes, and again in 2016 with 60.6% of the votes. He won it for a 3rd time in 2019 with 57.5% of the vote.
Sport
The suburb has three
Australian rules football
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...
teams. The first is the Norwood Norsemen, who are the current Division 1 Eastern Football League (EFL) premiers, whose home ground is Mullum Reserve. The second team is the Ringwood Redbacks who play in Division 3 of the EFL, at Jubilee Park. The third is the Ringwood Jets, who play in the SFL. Their home ground is at Aquinas College.
Ringwood is also the home to Ringwood City Soccer Club. Founded in 1953, the club became the Victorian State League champions in 1959. However, the club has seen very limited success since and they now play in the
Victorian State League Division 5
Victorian State League Division 5 is the eighth level of soccer in Victoria, Australia
Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wa ...
;. The club is based at the Ringwood City Soccer Complex located at Jubilee Park.
Ringwood is further home to the Ringwood Hawks Basketball Club who play in the NBL 1. The Hawks have been a very successful team throughout its history in both senior and junior competitions. The club plays out of the Maroondah Indoor Sports Centre.
Other sporting facilities include:
* Maroondah Indoor Sports CentreMaroondah Leisure Website /ref>
* Ringwood Public Golf Course
* Proclamation Park
* Jubilee Park
* Action Indoor Sports Centre (hosting indoor soccer, cricket, beach volleyball and netball)
* Aquanation Ringwood Regional Aquatic and Leisure Centre (opened Monday 17 August 2015)
Recreation
The Ringwood Field Naturalists Club Inc. (RFNC) is an Australian natural history and
conservation
Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws.
Conservation may also refer to:
Environment and natural resources
* Nature conservation, the protection and manageme ...
organisation. The club was founded in 1961 by Jack HyettRosanne Walker, Hyett, Jack (1915 - 2001) , Encyclopedia of Australian Science, created 8 February 2001, last modified 24 May 2006. Retrieved 6/4/2011 and William (Bill) King, with other notable members, including
Bruce A. Fuhrer
Bruce Alexander Fuhrer OAM (31 December 1930 – 31 March 2023) was an Australian botanist and photographer, specialising in cryptogams. His photographic collection of fungi numbers more than 3000 species.
Early life
Born in Woollahra, Sydney, ...
and Fred Rogers.
The club provides an amateur forum for the study and enjoyment of natural history and travels both locally and within Victoria.
The club logo was designed in 1964 by Jack Truscott, a local artist and Foundation member and features a male
golden whistler
The Australian golden whistler (''Pachycephala pectoralis'') or golden whistler, is a species of bird found in forest, woodland, mallee, mangrove and scrub in Australia (except the interior and most of the north)Ken Simpson, K., & N. Day. (1994) ...
Ringwood is accessible by many major roads and thoroughfares.
Some north-south arterials (from east–west) are as follows;
* Heatherdale Road
* EastLink
* New Street
* Ringwood Street/Wantirna Road
* Great Ryrie Street
* Warrandyte Road
* Kalinda Road
Some east-west arterials (from north–south) are as follows;
* Oban Road
* Ringwood Bypass
* Maroondah Highway
* Bedford Road
* Molan Street
* Reilly Street
* Canterbury Road
Train
Two train stations serve Ringwood, both of which being on the Belgrave and Lilydale lines. The first is Heatherdale in the west near Heatherdale Road, with the other being Ringwood near Maroondah Highway between Ringwood Street and Warrandyte Road.
Bus
Many bus routes terminate at or pass through both Ringwood and Heatherdale stations, as well as serving other areas of the suburb.
Places of interest
Ringwood includes notable places such as:
* Ringwood Magistrates' Court
* Eastland Shopping Centre
* Ringwood Railway Station
* Ringwood Clock Tower
* Realm (Ringwood Library)
Places of worship
*Ringwood Christadelphians
*Norwood Dawn Christadelphians
*Holy Spirit Catholic Church
*St. Paul's Anglican Church
*Ringwood Uniting Church
*First Church of Christ, Scientist, Ringwood
*Ringwood Church of Christ
Gallery
Image:Ringwood Mulu, Mulum Creek1.JPG, Mullum Mullum Creek
Image:Ringwood library.JPG, Ringwood Library pre move
Image:Ringwood Eastland Food Court.JPG, Eastland. Food court
See also
* City of Ringwood – Ringwood was previously within this former local government area.