Templestowe Lower is a suburb of

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 ...

, 14 km northeast 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 Manningham The City of Manningham is a local government area in Victoria, Australia in the north-eastern suburbs of Melbourne and is divided into 12 suburbs, with the largest being Doncaster and Doncaster East. It comprises an area of 113 square kilometre ...

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 ...

. Templestowe Lower recorded a population of 14,098 at the . Its name reflects the fact that Lower Templestowe is situated on the Yarra River, but downstream from the neighbouring suburb of Templestowe. It is bounded in the west by Rose Avenue, Russell Street and Sheahans Road, in the north by the

Yarra River The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, (Kulin languages: ''Berrern'', ''Birr-arrung'', ''Bay-ray-rung'', ''Birarang'', ''Birrarung'', and ''Wongete'') is a perennial river in south-central Victoria, Australia. The lower st ...

, in the east by

Ruffey Creek Ruffey Lake Park (locally Ruffeys) is a park in the City of Manningham, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is situated around Ruffey Lake in a portion of a valley through which the Ruffey Creek runs, forming the border between Doncaster and T ...

and Williamsons Road and in the south generally by Manningham Road. It is home to primary schools and a secondary school; Templestowe Secondary College. Like neighbouring

Templestowe Templestowe is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 16 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Manningham local government area. Templestowe recorded a population of 16,966 at the . The ...

, it is poorly serviced by public transportation, lying geographically between three existing rail lines ( Hurstbridge and Lilydale/ Belgrave). An excellent and frequent

bus service Public transport bus services are generally based on regular operation of transit buses along a route calling at agreed bus stops according to a published public transport timetable. History of buses Origins While there are indications o ...

exists, running from Lower Templestowe into the city or to the nearest train lines.

History

The

traditional owners Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...

of the land that came to be known as Lower Templestowe were the

Wurundjeri The Wurundjeri people are an Aboriginal peoples, Aboriginal people of the Woiwurrung language, Woiwurrung language group, in the Kulin nation. They are the traditional owners of the Yarra River Valley, covering much of the present location of ...

people.

In 1841 Frederic Unwin, a

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

solicitor, purchased 5,120 acres, or eight square miles of land, including most of the present suburb of Lower Templestowe, from the Crown, for one pound an acre under the terms of the short-lived Special Survey regulations. The area was sometimes known as

Unwin's Special Survey In 1841, Frederic Wright Unwin, a Sydney solicitor, purchased 5,120 acres or eight square miles of land approximately 10 km north-east of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The land was purchased from the Crown for one pound an acre under the ...

. Lower Templestowe Post Office opened around 1902 and closed in 1973. Many European immigrants moved to Lower Templestowe in the 1970s.

Points of interest

Lower Templestowe has one shopping centre, Macedon Square and Macedon Plaza. Templestowe Hotel, despite the name, is actually located in Lower Templestowe. Topdown of the nature themed playground at Wombat Bend Park

Topdown of the nature themed playground at Wombat Bend Park

Lower Templestowe boasts two parks by the Yarra River, Birrarung Park and Finns Reserve. Both parks offer walking tracks, and access to the river for swimming and rafting.

Education

Lower Templestowe has 2 government primary schools, Templestowe Valley Primary School and Templestowe Heights Primary School, as well as a Catholic primary school, St Kevin's. There is also a high school, Templestowe College.

Transport

Like all other suburbs in the Local Government Area of Manningham, Lower Templestowe does not have any

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

train A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...

services. Lower Templestowe is served solely by buses in terms of public transport. Lower Templestowe's main roads include High Street, Lynwood Parade, Thompsons Road, Manningham Road and Williamsons Road.

Notable residents

* Kim Brennan, Olympic rower. * Scott Martin, shot putter, who is best known for appearing on

Commonwealth Bank The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), also known as Commonwealth Bank or simply CommBank, is an Australian multinational bank with businesses across New Zealand, Asia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. It provides a variety of fi ...

TV advertisements, which aired during the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were an International sport, international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Melbourne ...

. * Mark Wilson – Ran a dance studio on Thompsons Road until it was burnt down in 2008.

References