Box Hill, Victoria
Encyclopedia
Box Hill is a suburb in Melbourne
, Victoria
, Australia
, 14 km east from Melbourne's central business district
. Its Local Government Area is the City of Whitehorse
. At the 2006 Census, Box Hill had a population of 8,616.
Once a large independent city, Box Hill was absorbed into Melbourne as part of the eastward expansion of the metropolis in the late 1950s. As a result, it once had its own large historic Central Business District
, its own municipality in the former City of Box Hill
and its own suburbs.
Box Hill is known for its multicultural diversity, and its resulting large range of restaurant
s and cafe
s of various international cuisines.
, formerly of Van Diemen's Land
, who in 1838 took up a pastoral lease on the land he had previously explored in the Bushy Creek area. The first permanent settlers, Thomas Toogood and his wife Edith, purchased 5,000 acres (20 km²) in 1841, and Wrighte built a house on his property "Marionvale" in 1844. The Pioneers' Memorial, which can be found in front of the town hall
, is made from a chimney stone taken from Wrighte's original house. It was not until after 1850, however, that Crown lands were subdivided and sold. Traffic along a main road running through the district encouraged the building of a hotel at Box Hill in 1853. Its owner named it the White Horse hotel, and the name was bestowed on the road. Box Hill Post Office opened on 1 February 1861, being the first official use of the name. The postmaster proposed the name, derived from Box Hill, Surrey
, England, near his birthplace.
In 1871 Box Hill township's population was 154 and the district relied on orchards, vineyards and mixed farming. The extension of the railway from Camberwell
, to Lilydale
, in 1882 included a station at Box Hill but there were also stations at Canterbury
, and Surrey Hills
, to the west. They attracted subdivisions and development ahead of Box Hill. Growth came, though, with a school opening in Box Hill in 1887 and the town became the seat of the Nunawading shire council, which met at the Box Hill court house.
In 1895 a market was opened near Box Hill railway station, which improved Box Hill's commercial importance. Box Hill was also the starting point for a tramline to Doncaster
, which ran from 1889 to 1896. This was the first electric tramline in the southern hemisphere. The 1890s also saw the opening of a gas works, several brickworks and a private girls' high school.
Unlike suburbs closer to Melbourne, Box Hill lacked the web of tramlines which promoted residential development beyond the reach of the railway line. In 1916-17 tramlines reached the western edge of what in a short time would be the Box Hill municipality at Burwood
, Mont Albert
, and Wattle Park
. The years after the first world war saw Box Hill's turn for residential growth. A girls' technical school was built in 1924 and a boys' high school
in 1930. During the Second World War a boys' technical school was opened.
In 1933, in its eightieth year, the Whitehorse Hotel was demolished. It had been closed since 1921, when Box Hill prohibited the sale of alcohol in the town area. After the end of the Second World War Box Hill was suburbanised, but Box Hill South and Box Hill North remained comparatively undeveloped.
Post war housing expansion included a Housing Commission of Victoria
estate in Box Hill South. A district hospital was opened in 1956. The shopping area enjoyed growth and prosperity which, ironically, by the end of the 1950s was putting strain on it: there was not enough space for parking. The development of Myer Eastland
and Doncaster Shoppingtown
in the late 1960s took trade away, and the shopping centre regained custom by undergrounding the railway line and station and building Box Hill Central on land which included the old market.
In 1954 the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works
designated Box Hill as one of five district centres for metropolitan Melbourne. The plan has succeeded in Box Hill. In addition to the shopping centre, the Box Hill TAFE and several office buildings have strengthened its centrality in the region. Apart from commercial functions there are large reserves with ovals in three direction about a kilometre from Box Hill Central. Box Hill South lies between Canterbury Road and Burwood East, about two kilometres square. Its proximity to trams was better than Box Hill North's, and its residential growth was substantially pre and early post war. The Box Hill golf club is nearby and a linear park continues along Gardiners Creek
. There are church educational institutions - Kingswood College
(Anglican and then Uniting) and the Christian Brothers' Teachers' College and St. Leo's College (1952 and 1957).
In 1971, a sister city relationship was forged with Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture
, Japan
. "Box Hill" is the name of a department store in Matsudo (:ja:ボックスヒル)(external site).
Box Hill City was amalgamated with Nunawading City on 15 December 1994, to form Whitehorse City renewing the boundaries that began with the Nunawading parish and subsequent shire. http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/ncas/multimedia/gazetteer/index.html
, Readers book store, Dick Smith, Big W ( to be opened October 2010 (formerly Target)), a selection of fashion retailers, the large indoor Box Hill market, and a large food court. It is also integrated with a bus interchange and the Box Hill railway station
. The neighbouring Centro Box Hill (north section (formerly Centro Whitehorse)), includes Coles
, Harris Scarfe
, Priceline
, EB Games, Game (retailer)
, House, Homeart, another food court, and a selection of specialty fashion retail stores.
In late 2007 the two shopping centres merged. They are now known as buildings "South" (Formerly Centro Box Hill) and "North" (formerly Centro Whitehorse) of "Box Hill Centro", with centre management located in the South building.
Box Hill is also a major transport hub for the City of Whitehorse and surrounding suburbs. Box Hill railway station
is located under the Box Hill Central
shopping centre, and is served by the Belgrave and Lilydale line services. The complex also includes a large bus terminus linking commuters to a variety of destinations across the eastern suburbs.
Tram route 109
runs along Whitehorse Road was extended from Union Road Surrey Hills to Box Hill and opened in May 2003. It runs to Port Melbourne
via the city.
are a local Australian rules football
club playing in the Victorian Football League
and based at the Box Hill City Oval
. This team was formerly known as the Mustangs, named for the city's mascot, the white horse. They are currently affiliated with the Hawthorn Hawks.
Another football team, The Whitehorse Pioneers, competes in the Eastern Football League
.
Box Hill Inter football club Senior men's team once competed in the Victorian Premier League. Now the club only fields juniors and a very successful women's team in the Victorian Women's Premier League. They are reigning champions and have won the title on many occasions in recent years.
Box Hill Athletic Club, founded in 1932, survived through the war years and became powerful after the 1956 Olympic Games held in Melbourne. The Club's original training ground was at Surrey Park, Elgar Road South, an area provided by the Box Hill Council.
After several years of filling in and grading, the area known as Hagenauer's Park was made available for athletics. The home of the Box Hill Athletic Club was officially opened by the Mayor of Box Hill, Cr. E. H. James on Saturday 18 October 1969.
Since 1960, Box Hill Athletic Club has headed the membership tally for all Victorian athletic clubs and has been State League premiers 25 times in men's competition and 13 times in women's competition, including stretches of 17 successive men's premierships and 8 successive women's premierships.
Box Hill has an 18 hole golf course located at 202 Station Street. The course suits golfers of all abilities and new members are constantly being inducted. The club offers junior development programs. The senior pennant team took out the Division 5 VGA (http://www.golfvic.org.au) Pennant Flag in May 2008.
In basketball, the Whitehorse Mustangs (http://whitehorsebasketball.org.au) celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2009, having been formed when the North Box Hill and Surrey Hills clubs merged. The club fields junior teams each Saturday in the Eastern District Junior Basketball Association (EDJBA), with home games played at the basketball stadium of Box Hill High School. It also runs weekly social competitions for both men and women, and fields a championship mens team in the Melbourne Metropolitan Basketball League (MMBL).
The Box Hill Action Indoor Sports Centre [www.boxhillindoorsports.com.au] also provides residents with dedicated facilities for indoor soccer, cricket and netball, as well as hosting birthday parties for children on weekends. The centre also runs junior sport coaching programs for indoor soccer, cricket and netball. They are held regularly on Saturday mornings during school term.
Aqualink Box Hill (formerly Whitehorse Aquatic and Leisure Centre), run by Whitehorse council, provides residents with an indoor and outdoor pool, basketball courts, a gym, squash, and tennis courts. The surrounding parklands include (aside from a large lake (now filled with water, but once used as a quarry)) a baseball diamond, a football
oval, and cricket pitches.
also provides a number of services to the local community.
The main centre of Box Hill is becoming increasingly higher density, and a proposal was put forward in 2009 for a 38 level residential building in the centre of Box Hill. The tower, however, was not approved, and the site remains dormant.
Box Hill Hospital
serves Box Hill and its surrounding suburbs. The Epworth Eastern private hospital was recently completed next to the Box Hill Hospital.
, Koonung Secondary College
, Box Hill Senior Secondary College
, Our Lady of Sion College
, Roberts McCubbin Primary School, Kingswood College and St. Francis Xavier Primary School. For mature students, Box Hill Institute of TAFE
and St Leo International College provide further education, and buses link Box Hill's terminus to Deakin University
(Burwood campus), Monash University
and La Trobe University
. Swinburne University is approximately a 10 minute train trip towards the city. The University of Melbourne
is approximately 30 minutes by train. There are two kindergartens in the area, St Peter's Anglican Kindergarten Inc, and Kingswood College Early Learning Centre.
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, 14 km east from Melbourne's central business district
Melbourne city centre
Melbourne City Centre is an area of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. It is not to be confused with the larger local government area of the City of Melbourne...
. Its Local Government Area is the City of Whitehorse
City of Whitehorse
The City of Whitehorse is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. It has an area of and has a estimated population of 155,725 people....
. At the 2006 Census, Box Hill had a population of 8,616.
Once a large independent city, Box Hill was absorbed into Melbourne as part of the eastward expansion of the metropolis in the late 1950s. As a result, it once had its own large historic Central Business District
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
, its own municipality in the former City of Box Hill
City of Box Hill
The City of Box Hill was a Local Government Area located about east of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The city covered an area of , and existed from 1927 until 1994.-History:...
and its own suburbs.
Box Hill is known for its multicultural diversity, and its resulting large range of restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
s and cafe
Café
A café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches...
s of various international cuisines.
Settlement
Box Hill was first settled by the squatter Arundel WrighteArundel Wrighte
Arundel Wrighte was a colonist, first Postmaster of Launceston in Van Diemen's Land and founder of Box Hill, Victoria. Arundel Wrighte first settled with his wife and family in Van Diemen's Land, where he was the first Postmaster of Launceston and was engaged in various business and pastoral...
, formerly of Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land was the original name used by most Europeans for the island of Tasmania, now part of Australia. The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to land on the shores of Tasmania...
, who in 1838 took up a pastoral lease on the land he had previously explored in the Bushy Creek area. The first permanent settlers, Thomas Toogood and his wife Edith, purchased 5,000 acres (20 km²) in 1841, and Wrighte built a house on his property "Marionvale" in 1844. The Pioneers' Memorial, which can be found in front of the town hall
Box Hill Town Hall
The Box Hill Town Hall is a landmark civic building located on Whitehorse Road, Box Hill, Victoria, Australia. Designed in the Neo-Grec style by architects JS Gawler and JCA Isbett, the town hall was built between 1934 and 1935...
, is made from a chimney stone taken from Wrighte's original house. It was not until after 1850, however, that Crown lands were subdivided and sold. Traffic along a main road running through the district encouraged the building of a hotel at Box Hill in 1853. Its owner named it the White Horse hotel, and the name was bestowed on the road. Box Hill Post Office opened on 1 February 1861, being the first official use of the name. The postmaster proposed the name, derived from Box Hill, Surrey
Box Hill, Surrey
Box Hill is a summit of the North Downs in Surrey, approximately south west of London. The hill takes its name from the ancient box woodland found on the steepest west-facing chalk slopes overlooking the River Mole. The western part of the hill is owned and managed by the National Trust, whilst...
, England, near his birthplace.
In 1871 Box Hill township's population was 154 and the district relied on orchards, vineyards and mixed farming. The extension of the railway from Camberwell
Camberwell, Victoria
Camberwell is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 9 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Boroondara. At the 2006 Census, Camberwell had a population of 19,637....
, to Lilydale
Lilydale, Victoria
Lilydale is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 35 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district situated in the Olinda Creek valley. At the 2006 Census, Lilydale had a population of 13,887...
, in 1882 included a station at Box Hill but there were also stations at Canterbury
Canterbury, Victoria
Canterbury is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 10 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Boroondara...
, and Surrey Hills
Surrey Hills, Victoria
Surrey Hills is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 12 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area lies within the cities of Boroondara and Whitehorse...
, to the west. They attracted subdivisions and development ahead of Box Hill. Growth came, though, with a school opening in Box Hill in 1887 and the town became the seat of the Nunawading shire council, which met at the Box Hill court house.
In 1895 a market was opened near Box Hill railway station, which improved Box Hill's commercial importance. Box Hill was also the starting point for a tramline to Doncaster
Doncaster, Victoria
Doncaster is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 15 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Manningham. At the 2006 Census, Doncaster had a population of 17,879....
, which ran from 1889 to 1896. This was the first electric tramline in the southern hemisphere. The 1890s also saw the opening of a gas works, several brickworks and a private girls' high school.
Unlike suburbs closer to Melbourne, Box Hill lacked the web of tramlines which promoted residential development beyond the reach of the railway line. In 1916-17 tramlines reached the western edge of what in a short time would be the Box Hill municipality at Burwood
Burwood, Victoria
Burwood is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 17 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is largely the City of Whitehorse but includes the City of Monash in its south west corner. At the 2006 Census, Burwood had a population of 11,886.-History:The...
, Mont Albert
Mont Albert, Victoria
Mont Albert is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 12 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area are the Cities of Whitehorse and Boroondara. At the 2006 Census, Mont Albert had a population of 4419....
, and Wattle Park
Wattle Park, Melbourne
Wattle Park is a public park in Melbourne, Australia, located in the suburb of Burwood. It is known for its plantation of 12,000 wattle trees. It is currently maintained by Parks Victoria....
. The years after the first world war saw Box Hill's turn for residential growth. A girls' technical school was built in 1924 and a boys' high school
Box Hill High School
Box Hill High School is a co-educational public secondary school located on the corner of Middleborough and Whitehorse Roads in the eastern suburb of Box Hill in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
in 1930. During the Second World War a boys' technical school was opened.
In 1933, in its eightieth year, the Whitehorse Hotel was demolished. It had been closed since 1921, when Box Hill prohibited the sale of alcohol in the town area. After the end of the Second World War Box Hill was suburbanised, but Box Hill South and Box Hill North remained comparatively undeveloped.
Post war
Housing Commission of Victoria
The Housing Commission of Victoria was a State Government body responsible for public housing in Victoria, Australia...
estate in Box Hill South. A district hospital was opened in 1956. The shopping area enjoyed growth and prosperity which, ironically, by the end of the 1950s was putting strain on it: there was not enough space for parking. The development of Myer Eastland
Eastland Shopping Centre
Eastland Shopping Centre is a large shopping centre located in the outer eastern suburb of Ringwood, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, which first opened on 31 October 1967....
and Doncaster Shoppingtown
Westfield Doncaster
Westfield Doncaster is a shopping centre 50% owned by the Westfield Group and 50% owned by LaSalle Investment Management located in Doncaster, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia...
in the late 1960s took trade away, and the shopping centre regained custom by undergrounding the railway line and station and building Box Hill Central on land which included the old market.
In 1954 the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works
Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works
The Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works was a public utility board in Melbourne, Australia set up to provide water supply, sewerage and sewage treatment functions for the city...
designated Box Hill as one of five district centres for metropolitan Melbourne. The plan has succeeded in Box Hill. In addition to the shopping centre, the Box Hill TAFE and several office buildings have strengthened its centrality in the region. Apart from commercial functions there are large reserves with ovals in three direction about a kilometre from Box Hill Central. Box Hill South lies between Canterbury Road and Burwood East, about two kilometres square. Its proximity to trams was better than Box Hill North's, and its residential growth was substantially pre and early post war. The Box Hill golf club is nearby and a linear park continues along Gardiners Creek
Gardiners Creek Trail
The Gardiners Creek Trail is a shared use path for cyclists and pedestrians, which follows Gardiners Creek through the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
. There are church educational institutions - Kingswood College
Kingswood College
Kingswood College is coeducational K-12 college operating under the auspices of the Uniting Church in Australia, located in the eastern Melbourne suburb of Box Hill, Victoria, Australia...
(Anglican and then Uniting) and the Christian Brothers' Teachers' College and St. Leo's College (1952 and 1957).
In 1971, a sister city relationship was forged with Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture
Chiba Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region and the Greater Tokyo Area. Its capital is Chiba City.- History :Chiba Prefecture was established on June 15, 1873 with the merger of Kisarazu Prefecture and Inba Prefecture...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. "Box Hill" is the name of a department store in Matsudo (:ja:ボックスヒル)(external site).
Box Hill City was amalgamated with Nunawading City on 15 December 1994, to form Whitehorse City renewing the boundaries that began with the Nunawading parish and subsequent shire. http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/ncas/multimedia/gazetteer/index.html
Shopping
Box Hill has a bustling shopping precinct. These range from the shops along Station Street and Whitehorse Road, to the suburb's two shopping centres. Centro Box Hill, formerly Box Hill Central, features Safeway, The Reject ShopThe Reject Shop
The Reject Shop is an Australian discount variety store chain. Founded in 1981 as a "seconds" store in South Yarra, Victoria, the company currently operates over 190 stores in Victoria, South Australia, New South Wales, Western Australia, Queensland, Tasmania and Australian Capital Territory...
, Readers book store, Dick Smith, Big W ( to be opened October 2010 (formerly Target)), a selection of fashion retailers, the large indoor Box Hill market, and a large food court. It is also integrated with a bus interchange and the Box Hill railway station
Box Hill railway station, Melbourne
Box Hill railway station is on the Belgrave and Lilydale railway lines in Melbourne, Australia. It is located under Centro Box Hill shopping centre near the corner of Whitehorse Road and Station Street in Box Hill. A major bus interchange is part of the same complex, and the 109 tram route...
. The neighbouring Centro Box Hill (north section (formerly Centro Whitehorse)), includes Coles
Coles Supermarkets
Coles Supermarkets is an Australian supermarket chain owned by Wesfarmers. It has 741 stores nationally Coles Supermarkets is an Australian supermarket chain owned by Wesfarmers. It has 741 stores nationally Coles Supermarkets is an Australian supermarket chain owned by Wesfarmers. It has 741...
, Harris Scarfe
Harris Scarfe
Harris Scarfe Department Stores was founded in Adelaide, South Australia in 1849. At its peak, Adelaide was home to several major South Australian department stores , of which Harris Scarfe is the sole...
, Priceline
Priceline (Australia)
Priceline is a health and beauty retailer with stores in every state and territory in Australia. The Priceline brand has two store types; a traditional Priceline and Priceline Pharmacy. As of March 2010 there were over 330 Priceline branded stores throughout Australia...
, EB Games, Game (retailer)
GAME (retailer)
The Game Group plc is a British video games retail company. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap Index....
, House, Homeart, another food court, and a selection of specialty fashion retail stores.
In late 2007 the two shopping centres merged. They are now known as buildings "South" (Formerly Centro Box Hill) and "North" (formerly Centro Whitehorse) of "Box Hill Centro", with centre management located in the South building.
Transport
Box Hill railway station, Melbourne
Box Hill railway station is on the Belgrave and Lilydale railway lines in Melbourne, Australia. It is located under Centro Box Hill shopping centre near the corner of Whitehorse Road and Station Street in Box Hill. A major bus interchange is part of the same complex, and the 109 tram route...
is located under the Box Hill Central
Box Hill Central
Centro Box Hill North and South is a regional shopping centre complex located in the eastern Melbourne suburb of Box Hill in Victoria, Australia...
shopping centre, and is served by the Belgrave and Lilydale line services. The complex also includes a large bus terminus linking commuters to a variety of destinations across the eastern suburbs.
Tram route 109
Melbourne tram route 109
Tram route 109 or simply The 109 is a public transport service in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It runs between a terminus in Box Hill and a terminus near Station Pier in Port Melbourne...
runs along Whitehorse Road was extended from Union Road Surrey Hills to Box Hill and opened in May 2003. It runs to Port Melbourne
Port Melbourne, Victoria
Port Melbourne is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km southwest of Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government areas are the cities of Port Phillip and Melbourne. At the 2006 Census, Port Melbourne had a population of 13,293....
via the city.
Sport
The Box Hill HawksBox Hill Hawks
Box Hill Hawks Football Club is an Australian rules football club playing in the Victorian Football League. It has an alliance with the Hawthorn Football Club which plays in the Australian Football League....
are a local Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
club playing in the Victorian Football League
Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association , taking its new name as from the 1996 season, is the premier Australian rules football league in Victoria The Victorian Football League (VFL) which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association...
and based at the Box Hill City Oval
Box Hill City Oval
Box Hill City Oval is an Australian rules football and cricket stadium located in Box Hill, Victoria, Australia. It is the home ground of the Box Hill Hawks Football Club which plays in the VFL and the Box Hill Cricket Club....
. This team was formerly known as the Mustangs, named for the city's mascot, the white horse. They are currently affiliated with the Hawthorn Hawks.
Another football team, The Whitehorse Pioneers, competes in the Eastern Football League
Eastern Football League (Australia)
The Eastern Football League is an Australian rules football League, based in the eastern suburbs of metropolitan Melbourne....
.
Box Hill Inter football club Senior men's team once competed in the Victorian Premier League. Now the club only fields juniors and a very successful women's team in the Victorian Women's Premier League. They are reigning champions and have won the title on many occasions in recent years.
Box Hill Athletic Club, founded in 1932, survived through the war years and became powerful after the 1956 Olympic Games held in Melbourne. The Club's original training ground was at Surrey Park, Elgar Road South, an area provided by the Box Hill Council.
After several years of filling in and grading, the area known as Hagenauer's Park was made available for athletics. The home of the Box Hill Athletic Club was officially opened by the Mayor of Box Hill, Cr. E. H. James on Saturday 18 October 1969.
Since 1960, Box Hill Athletic Club has headed the membership tally for all Victorian athletic clubs and has been State League premiers 25 times in men's competition and 13 times in women's competition, including stretches of 17 successive men's premierships and 8 successive women's premierships.
Box Hill has an 18 hole golf course located at 202 Station Street. The course suits golfers of all abilities and new members are constantly being inducted. The club offers junior development programs. The senior pennant team took out the Division 5 VGA (http://www.golfvic.org.au) Pennant Flag in May 2008.
In basketball, the Whitehorse Mustangs (http://whitehorsebasketball.org.au) celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2009, having been formed when the North Box Hill and Surrey Hills clubs merged. The club fields junior teams each Saturday in the Eastern District Junior Basketball Association (EDJBA), with home games played at the basketball stadium of Box Hill High School. It also runs weekly social competitions for both men and women, and fields a championship mens team in the Melbourne Metropolitan Basketball League (MMBL).
The Box Hill Action Indoor Sports Centre [www.boxhillindoorsports.com.au] also provides residents with dedicated facilities for indoor soccer, cricket and netball, as well as hosting birthday parties for children on weekends. The centre also runs junior sport coaching programs for indoor soccer, cricket and netball. They are held regularly on Saturday mornings during school term.
Aqualink Box Hill (formerly Whitehorse Aquatic and Leisure Centre), run by Whitehorse council, provides residents with an indoor and outdoor pool, basketball courts, a gym, squash, and tennis courts. The surrounding parklands include (aside from a large lake (now filled with water, but once used as a quarry)) a baseball diamond, a football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
oval, and cricket pitches.
Recreational
Box Hill is also home to a number of recreational services such as Neighbourhood Houses, a number of Scout Groups, including 11th Box Hill, 10th/13th Box Hill, 6th Box Hill, and 1st Mont Albert Scout Groups. The Box Hill Community Centre, located 1 km South of Box Hill CentralBox Hill Central
Centro Box Hill North and South is a regional shopping centre complex located in the eastern Melbourne suburb of Box Hill in Victoria, Australia...
also provides a number of services to the local community.
Residential
The surrounding suburb also features mature residential developments ranging from medium to high density.The main centre of Box Hill is becoming increasingly higher density, and a proposal was put forward in 2009 for a 38 level residential building in the centre of Box Hill. The tower, however, was not approved, and the site remains dormant.
Box Hill Hospital
Box Hill Hospital
Box Hill hospital is a teaching hospital in Melbourne, Victoria. It is one of the seven hospitals that are governed within the Eastern Health network which provides health care services across the Eastern metropolitan area of Victoria.-Services:...
serves Box Hill and its surrounding suburbs. The Epworth Eastern private hospital was recently completed next to the Box Hill Hospital.
Education
The suburb of Box Hill has several schools, including Box Hill High SchoolBox Hill High School
Box Hill High School is a co-educational public secondary school located on the corner of Middleborough and Whitehorse Roads in the eastern suburb of Box Hill in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
, Koonung Secondary College
Koonung Secondary College
Koonung Secondary College is a secondary state school in Mont Albert North, Victoria, in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. The school takes its name from the near-by Koonung Creek.-Facilities:...
, Box Hill Senior Secondary College
Box Hill Senior Secondary College
Box Hill Senior Secondary College , formerly Box Hill Technical School, is a state-run co-educational senior secondary school. The school has a three-year curriculum, composed of years ten, eleven, and twelve....
, Our Lady of Sion College
Our Lady of Sion College
Our Lady of Sion College is a Catholic school for girls located in Box Hill, Melbourne, Australia.The college educates around 750 girls from year 7 to VCE...
, Roberts McCubbin Primary School, Kingswood College and St. Francis Xavier Primary School. For mature students, Box Hill Institute of TAFE
Box Hill Institute of TAFE
Box Hill Institute is a secondary and tertiary education institute based in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, with additional campuses overseas...
and St Leo International College provide further education, and buses link Box Hill's terminus to Deakin University
Deakin University
Deakin University is an Australian public university with nearly 40,000 higher education students in 2010. It receives more than A$600 million in operating revenue annually, and controls more than A$1.3 billion in assets. It received more than A$35 million in research income in 2009 and had 835...
(Burwood campus), Monash University
Monash University
Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....
and La Trobe University
La Trobe University
La Trobe University is a multi-campus university in Victoria, Australia. It was established in 1964 by an Act of Parliament to become the third oldest university in the state of Victoria. The main campus of La Trobe is located in the Melbourne suburb of Bundoora; two other major campuses are...
. Swinburne University is approximately a 10 minute train trip towards the city. The University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
is approximately 30 minutes by train. There are two kindergartens in the area, St Peter's Anglican Kindergarten Inc, and Kingswood College Early Learning Centre.