Reservoir ( ) 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 Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, north 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 Darebin The City of Darebin () is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. It has an area of and in June 2018 Darebin had a population of 161,609. Municipal offices are located at 350 High Street, Preston. ...

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 ...

. Reservoir recorded a population of 51,096 at the 2021 census. Reservoir is an established suburb with standard brick or

weatherboard Clapboard (), also called bevel siding, lap siding, and weatherboard, with regional variation in the definition of those terms, is wooden siding (construction), siding of a building in the form of horizontal boards, often overlapping. ''Cla ...

homes, and an increasing number of new developments. The suburb contains popular recreation areas and facilities, including Edwardes Lake and the Reservoir Leisure Centre, and is home to the Edwardes Street and Broadway shopping strips.

History

The land which became the suburb of Reservoir was first surveyed by

Robert Hoddle Robert Hoddle (21 April 1794 – 24 October 1881) was a surveyor and artist. He was the first Surveyor-General of Victoria from 1851 to 1853. He was previously the Surveyor-in-Charge of the Port Phillip District from 1837 to 1851. He became ...

in 1837, and was formed from parts of both the Jika Jika Parish and Keelbundoora Parish. The Rose Shamrock Hotel, formerly known as The Rose Shamrock & Thistle Hotel, opened on

Plenty Road Plenty Road is a major urban arterial road through the north-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from the inner suburb of Preston to the township of Whittlesea, just outside the north-eastern suburban fringe of Melbourne. The ...

in 1854. Reservoir post office opened around 1921. Reservoir became a suburb at that time, with the name coming from the three water reservoirs first built in 1863. The reservoirs were collectively known as Preston Reservoir, which continue to form part of the fresh water supplied to Melbourne's inner and western suburbs. The Maroondah Aqueduct was built in 1886–1891, to supply water to the Preston Reservoir from a diversion weir on the

Watts River The Watts River is a perennial river of the Port Phillip and Western Port catchment, located in the Healesville area, in the Central region of the Australian state of Victoria. Location and features The Watts River rises below Mount Vinegar ...

, which was dammed in 1927 to form Maroondah Reservoir. In 1914, Thomas Dyer Edwardes donated an area of of land to the people of the City of Preston, which was developed into Edwardes Lake Park. Between 1919 and 1939, swimming was officially permitted in the lake, overseen by the Preston Lifesaving Club, and regular demonstrations of swimming and lifesaving techniques were given.

Overview

Reservoir aerial panorama facing Melbourne skyline

Reservoir aerial panorama facing north toward the Great Dividing Range

Edwardes Lake in Reservoir with the Preston Athletic Club in the middle of the frame

Edwardes Lake panorama facing the Melbourne skyline

Reservoir is close to the

Northland Shopping Centre Northland Shopping Centre is a major shopping centre in Preston, Victoria, Preston, approximately 11 km north of the Melbourne central business district in Victoria, Australia. It is the largest predominantly single-level shopping centre in ...

, Preston Market,

Sydney Road Sydney Road (in its northernmost part also known as the Hume Highway) is a major urban arterial in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Geography Sydney Road starts at the northern end of Royal Parade at the boundary of Par ...

shops and restaurants and one of three remaining drive-in cinemas in Melbourne, the

Village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

Coburg Coburg ( , ) is a Town#Germany, town located on the Itz (river), Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Ernestine duchies, Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only ...

. The area is experiencing unprecedented growth, with plenty of new developments. Summerhill Shopping Centre in Reservoir facing the Melbourne skyline

Summerhill Shopping Centre in Reservoir facing the Melbourne skyline

In Reservoir, there is a mosque that was built by the Albanian Australian community.

Demographics

The most common ancestries in Reservoir were, according to the 2016 census, Italian 17.1%, Australian 14.8%, English 13.9%, Greek 6.3% and Irish 5.1%. 55.9% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were Italy 8.2%, India 4.4%, China (excludes SARs and Taiwan) 3.2%, Greece 3.0% and Vietnam 1.8%.

Transport

Bus

Twelve

bus routes A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used in ...

service Reservoir: * : Reservoir station –

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora, Victoria, Bundoora. The university was established in 1 ...

. Operated by

Dysons Dyson Group of Companies, operating as Dysons, is a bus and coach operator in Victoria, Australia. The oldest of its subsidiary companies is L.C. Dysons Bus Services, which was founded in June 1952 and is based in Bundoora, Victoria, Bundoora ...

. * : Whittlesea –

via South Morang station. Operated by Dysons. * :

– Reservoir via Elizabeth Street. Operated by

Ventura Bus Lines Ventura Bus Lines is a large bus and coach operator in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, operating a fleet of more than 950 buses on 141 bus routes. History Early history Ventura was founded in December 1924 by Henry Cornwall. The name and co ...

. * : North East Reservoir – Northcote Plaza via High Street. Operated by Dysons. * : Preston – West Preston via Reservoir. Operated by Dysons. * :

Pacific Epping Pacific Epping is a shopping centre in Epping, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. It opened in 1996. It is located on the corner of High Street and Cooper Street, away from Epping railway station, Melbourne, and approximately north of ...

– Northland Shopping Centre via

Lalor Lalor is an Irish surname derived from the Irish ''Ó Leathlobhair'', from ''leath-'' “leper; weak, ailing person”. Notable people with the surname include: * Denis Lalor, athlete * Francis Ramsey Lalor (1856–1929), politician * James Fi ...

, Thomastown and Reservoir. Operated by Dysons. * : Pacific Epping – Northland Shopping Centre via Keon Park station. Operated by Dysons. * : Reservoir station – North West Reservoir. Operated by Dysons. * :

Macleod MacLeod, McLeod and Macleod ( ) are surnames in the English language. The names are anglicised forms of the Scottish Gaelic ', meaning "son of Leòd", derived from the Old Norse ''Liótr'' ("ugly"). One of the earliest occurrences of the surnam ...

– Pascoe Vale station via La Trobe University. Operated by Dysons. * : Lalor – Northland Shopping Centre via Childs Road,

and Grimshaw Street. Operated by Dysons. * : Northcote – Regent station via Northland Shopping Centre. Operated by Dysons. *

SmartBus SmartBus is a network of bus services in the city of Melbourne, Australia. Overseen by Public Transport Victoria, the network comprises nine key cross-town and orbital bus routes around Melbourne. Key aspects of the service include more freque ...

: Chelsea station – Westfield

Airport West Airport West is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's central business district, located within the City of Moonee Valley local government area. Airport West recorded a population of 8,173 at the . Bounded by th ...

. Operated by

Kinetic Melbourne Kinetic Melbourne is a bus operator in Melbourne, Australia, operating a fleet of 602 buses on 45 bus routes, as well as seven SmartBus routes. It commenced operations on 31 January 2022, taking over all routes previously operated by Transdev Me ...

Cycling

The

Merri Creek Trail __NOTOC__ The Merri Creek Trail is a shared use path for cycling, cyclists and pedestrians that follows the Merri Creek through the northern Suburb, suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. History The first section of the Trail was opened in 1985 by ...

and

Darebin Creek Trail __NOTOC__ The Darebin Creek Trail is a shared use path for cyclists and pedestrians which follows Darebin Creek in the inner and outer northern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The path consists of an 8 km section north of the W ...

are shared-use recreational paths used by cyclists and walkers that pass through Reservoir.

Road

Reservoir has easy access to the Northern/Western Ring Rd, Hume Highway/Freeway,

Tullamarine Tullamarine ( ) is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Brimbank, Hume and Merri-bek local government areas. Tullamarine recorded a population of 6,7 ...

and

Calder Freeway Calder Highway is a rural highway in Australia, linking Mildura and the Victoria/New South Wales border to Bendigo, in North Central Victoria. South of Bendigo, where the former highway has been upgraded to freeway-standard, Calder Freeway lin ...

s and Eastern Freeway.

Train

The area is serviced by four

railway stations A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing such a ...

on the Mernda line:

Reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

Regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

, Keon Park and Ruthven. The Victorian Government has announced that it will build an underground suburban rail loop, which will include a station at Reservoir.

Tram

Two tram routes service the area: (West Preston to

Victoria Harbour Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbor, harbour in Hong Kong separating Hong Kong Island in the south from the Kowloon Peninsula to the north. It acts as both a major trading hub and tourist attraction of Hong Kong in general. Lying in ...

Docklands), terminating at the southern end of Reservoir on Gilbert Road, and (

Bundoora Bundoora is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Banyule, Darebin and Whittlesea local government areas. Bundoora recorded a population of 28,068 at the ...

RMIT The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (abbreviated as RMIT University) is a public research university located in the city of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia., section 4(b) Established in 1887 by Francis Ormond, it is the seventh-o ...

to Waterfront City Docklands), passing through Reservoir along

Education

St Stephen's Parish Primary School

Holy Name Primary School

Reservoir Primary School

Reservoir East Primary School

Reservoir Views Primary School

Reservoir West Primary School

St Gabriel's Parish Primary School
* Reservoir High School
William Ruthven Secondary College

Sport

* Reservoir Football Club and West Preston Football Club are

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 Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

teams. Both compete in the

Northern Football League The Northern League is a British men's association football, football league in North East England, north east England. Having been founded in 1889, it is the second-oldest football league in the world still in existence after the English Footb ...

.
Northern Rugby Union Football Club

iceHQ ice hockey and figure skating
*

Preston Lions FC Preston Lions Football Club (formerly Preston Makedonia Soccer Club) is a semi-professional association football, soccer club from Preston, Victoria, Preston, a northern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The club ...

play soccer in the

Victorian State League Division 1 The Victorian State League, known as VETO Sports State League for sponsorship purposes is an Australian soccer league based in Victoria that was founded in 1958 and administered by Football Victoria. It consists of five divisions (separated by ...

at B.T. Connor Reserve.
Northern Darts Association

Northside Roller Derby
* Victorian cricketer Ray Harvey lives in Reservoir. * Australian Rules Footballer

Jason Heatley Jason Heatley (born 21 February 1972) is a former Australian rules football full-forward, who played for and during the 1990s. Early career Heatley played with the Wangaratta Football Club in the Ovens & Murray Football League in 1991 and k ...

was born in Reservoir.

References

{{City of Darebin suburbs Suburbs of Melbourne Suburbs of the City of Darebin