Balwyn, Victoria

Infobox Australian Place | type = suburb
name = Balwyn
city = Melbourne
state = vic


caption =
lga = City of Boroondara
postcode = 3103
pop = 15,312 (2006)Census 2006 AUS | id = SSC21049 | name = Balwyn (State Suburb) | accessdate = 2007-09-26 | quick = on]
area = 5.6
est =
propval = $1,208,000 [ [http://realestateview.com.au/median/b.html] , accessed 29 September 2007]
stategov = Kew, Box Hill
fedgov = Kooyong
dist1 = 12
location1= Melbourne
near-nw = Kew East
near-n = Balwyn North
near-ne = Mont Albert North
near-w = Kew
near-e = Mont Albert North
near-sw = Hawthorn East
near-s = Canterbury
near-se = Mont Albert

Balwyn is a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, in the state of Victoria. It is in the Local Government Area of the City of Boroondara. The South West part of the suburb is also known as Deepdene. Named after a farm established on the hill overlooking Canterbury Gardens, it means "home of the vine".

The suburb developed in the post WWII boom and was populated by a mixture of professional and working class families, although it is now primarily professional and mercantile, this being the demographic that can afford the higher real estate prices. The initial boom occurred along the Whitehorse Road tramline, which defined the lower class Deepdene factory (such as the Wade handbag and the Jarvis-Walker fishing rod factories) and shop strip and the Balwyn shops around the intersection with Burke Road. South of the tramline was generally elite while the slopes down to the north was populated by aspiring middle classes, workers and frugal professionals such as teachers and bank managers. With Deepdene State School at its Western extreme, it drew a mixed student population that contrasted with the student population of Balwyn High School located in the area that became known as North Balwyn, which was populated later than the rest of the suburb by a more uniformly comfortably-off demographic.

Apart from the significant religious establishments of the suburb, local almost village churches sprang up with the boom of young people post war, one example of which was the Deepdene Methodist Church. Now defunct, the church was a thriving focus for young people's fellowship, a scout troop, fundraising as well as mothers' and other groups that defined a viable neighbourhood. In addition to its social function in nurturing the development of young people given the opportunities of a scholastically elite school, an ever expanding employment market and the excellent public health regime of the era, the church was adopted by the famed Rev Dr A. H. Wood upon his retirement as Principal of the Methodist Ladies' College in Kew. Wood made an indelible contribution to the suburb through this role, and the effect remains evident in the 2000s in the lives of people he influenced at that time.

Balwyn is also home to the exquisite Maranoa Gardens, a native garden developed by citizens. The suburb has been immortalised by the Skyhooks single named after the suburb, 'Balwyn Calling', while The Age newspaper as "arguably Melbourne's most maligned" suburb. [Larissa Dubecki, "Balwyn mauling," "The Age" February 21, 2008. At http://www.theage.com.au/news/in-depth/balwyn-mauling/2008/02/20/1203467173800.html, accessed 03-03-08.]

See also

* City of Camberwell - the former local government area of which Balwyn was a part.Balwyn has its own shopping strip which includes Colombo's, safeway and lots of other things

References

External links

* [http://web.archive.org/web/20041013061613/www.arts.monash.edu.au/ncas/multimedia/gazetteer/list/balwyn.html Australian Places - Balwyn & Balwyn North]
* [http://balwyn.cricketvictoria.com.au/ Balwyn Cricket Club]