Endeavour Hills, Victoria

Endeavour Hills Melbourne, Victoria
Population	25,006 (2006)
• Density
Postcode(s)	3802
Area	15.7 km2 (6.1 sq mi)
Location	31 km (19 mi) from Melbourne 6 km (4 mi) from Dandenong
LGA(s)	City of Casey
State electorate(s)	Narre Warren North, Dandenong
Federal division(s)	Holt
Suburbs around Endeavour Hills: Rowville Lysterfield South Lysterfield Dandenong North Endeavour Hills Narre Warren North Doveton Eumemmerring Hallam

Endeavour Hills is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 31 km (19 mi) south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Casey. At the 2006 Census, Endeavour Hills had a population of 25,006.

Endeavour Hills is bordered by the Monash Freeway and Dandenong Creek to the west, Police Road and Churchill Park Drive to the north, Hallam North Road to the east, and Eumemmerring Creek to the south.

Suburb profile

Endeavour Hills is a modern, hilly and leafy residential suburb with an abundance of parks and gardens. It has wide roads, footpaths (sidewalks), leafy naturestrips, street lighting, and underground utilities (electricity, gas, telecommunications and water). The 30-year-old suburb has lots of hills, a variety of trees, shrubs and bird life. Many houses built on steep blocks have views of the surrounding suburbs, some as far away as Frankston, Chadstone and Pakenham and in some cases the CBD.

Endeavour Hills consists of low-density residential housing - single, double and triple level brick houses - built on 1/4, 1/2, 1 or more, acre blocks. A meagre of ground level townhouses/units exist. There are no high-rise buildings and no industries. As at December 2008, the median price of house-land is $350,000.

The median age of Endeavour Hills residents is 34. The median household size is 3.2 people. Approximately 77 percent of people are aged under 50 years, compared with 70 percent in metropolitan Melbourne.

Median Equivalised Household Income has been calculated from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006 Census. Median Equivalised Gross Weekly Household Income for City of Casey was $610, compared the Victorian State average of $600. The employment rate has been calculated from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006 Census. Of those aged 15 years or older and living in City of Casey, 65.6 percent were employed, compared to the Victorian State average of 60.9 percent.

Crime statistics are produced annually by Victoria Police. In City of Casey, there were 768 recorded crimes against the person per 100,000 population in 2006–07, compared to the Victorian State average of 822. In City of Casey, there were 4,476 recorded crimes against property per 100,000 population in 2006–07, compared to the Victorian State average of 5,482.

Shopping and facilities

The main shopping area is Endeavour Hills Shopping Centre, located on the corner of Matthew Flinders Avenue and Heatherton Road. The shopping centre consists of a multi-level carpark, and contains a Coles, Safeway, Big W, Aldi, Homeart, The Reject Shop, EB Games and Dan Murphy's. There are also Banks, Post Office, Pharmacies, Optometrist, Bakers Delight, Travel Agents, Hairdressing Salons, Continental Deli, Liquor Store, Real Estate Sales, Coffee Shops, Endeavour Eatery, as well as various gift, clothing, shoes and specialty stores. New stores include Dick Smith Electronics, Donut King, Sanity, EB Games and Cellarbrations. Domino's Pizza, KFC, a 24 hour McDonald's(with McCafe), Charcoal Chicken, Chinese Restaurant, Flounder's Fish'N'Chips, Ultra-Tune,United Petroleum and Caltex discount petrol are all located just outside.

Around this area are the Endeavour Hills Leisure and Function Centre, Endeavour Hills Library (part of the Casey-Cardinia Library Corporation) and the Endeavour Hills Police Station. The library has recently been expanded. Endeavour Hills is also a short drive from the much larger Westfield Fountain Gate Shopping Centre in Narre Warren and Chadstone Shopping Centre in Malvern East (Melbourne's largest shopping complex).

Just up Raymond McMahon Boulevard, a short walk from the main shopping centre, there is a strip of shops known collectively as The Terrace. Located here are; Accountant, Solicitor, Cheesecake Shop, Johnny Boy's Pizza, Endeavour Spices, Deli and Milk bar, op-shop, Endeavour Cellars, Real Estate Agent and various other stores.

The Endeavour Hills UnitingCare Neighbourhood Centre is located in the Library complex close to the shopping centre. The Neighbourhood Centre is a not for profit organisation auspiced by the Uniting Church. It is an adult learning centre that delivers a range of classes including English, computer, craft and recreational exercise. It also has children's services such as occasional care, 3 year old pre kinder, playgroup and after school activities.

Along Heatherton Road, near Reema Boulevard, there is a Medical Center, Pharmacy, Bakery, Blockbuster, Fitness Centre, and Coles Express petrol station. There are plans to expand this area in the future.

Medical facilities

Endeavour Hills has many Medical Centres, including Pathology and Radiology Centres, Dental Clinics, Specialist Medical Physicians, Psychologist/Psychology/Counselling Services, Dietician, Physiology, Mental Health Services, Occupational Therapy, Osteopathy, Physiotherapy, Speech Pathology, Optometrists, Chiropodists, Podiatrists, Audiologists and Chiropractors.

Public and private hospitals with 24-hour Emergency Care/Facilities, Day-Surgery clinics, Ambulance and Fire stations are located nearby at Dandenong, Berwick, Mulgrave and Noble Park.

Recreation

Endeavour Hills has its own skate park located just outside the Leisure Centre. There are also Tennis Courts at Sydney Parkinson Reserve and even better Tennis Courts on Matthew Flinders Avenue (St.Paul's), Football/Cricket Oval at James Cook Drive and the suburb boasts an abundance of parks.

Golfers play at the Churchill Park Golf Club on Churchill Park Drive.

The Casuarina Forest is located within James Alexander Reserve, and the reserve itself boasts some spectacular views where one is able to see as far as Port Phillip Bay. Endeavour Hills is a short walk to Lysterfield Park, Churchill National Park, the Dandenong Police Paddocks and Eumemmerring Creek.

There are also many shared pedestrian/bike paths throughout the suburb.

History

The land in the area was home firstly to the Aboriginal people and was later settled by Europeans, who came after the 1830s. They mainly used the land for farming and cattle runs.

Because of the many pine trees in the area, Endeavour Hills was almost called 'Piney Ridge', or 'Pine Hills'. In 1970, the name 'Endeavour Hills' was coined in honour of the two hundredth anniversary of Captain James Cook's arrival in Botany Bay. The estate was officially opened in 1974 under this name.

The suburb as we know it today began with the development of a small housing estate named Endeavour Hills. The estate was designed to have its own community services for every-day living, such as its own Leisure Center, Shopping Center, Library, Medical Centers, Child Care Centers, Kindergartens, Public and Private Schools. The suburb was created with plenty of parkland, bike paths, and safe playing areas for children. The developers of Endeavour Hills aimed to attract people by offering families a neighbourly and spacious place to live. The catch phrase was 'a better place to live' where everything looked green and the land looked like a sort of paradise.

The original estate sales office was located in what is now the Joseph Banks Medical Centre. A statue of explorer James Cook stood outside; new streets were named around the explorer Cook, his ship the Endeavour, and fellow sailors and explorers. These include James Cook Drive, Thomas Mitchell Drive, Matthew Flinders Avenue and Arthur Phillip Drive.

Endeavour Hills Post Office opened on 5 September 1983.

Education

The first school, James Cook Primary School, opened in 1979.

There are three high schools in Endeavour Hills: a campus of Maranatha Christian School, Gleneagles Secondary College and Endeavour Hills Secondary College, (formerly two campuses of Eumemmerring College).

The primary schools in the area are: Chalcot Lodge Primary School, James Cook Primary School, Mossgiel Park Primary School, Southern Cross Primary School, St. Paul Apostle North, St. Paul Apostle South and Thomas Mitchell Primary School.

The kindergartens in the area are: Allara Kindergarten, Chalcot Lodge Kindergarten, David Collins Kindergarten, Hartley Ridge Kindergarten, James Cook Kindergarten and Reema Kindergarten.

Various child care centres are also in the area.

Transport

There are no train stations in Endeavour Hills. The nearest train line to Endeavour Hills is the Pakenham line, which serves many of the City of Casey suburbs including Berwick, Hallam, Hampton Park and Narre Warren. The suburb is situated closest to Hallam station, although many residents prefer to go to Dandenong (located on the Pakenham and Cranbourne lines), as no buses in Endeavour Hills go to Hallam Station. Therefore the main mode of transport is by car. There are also five bus routes currently servicing the area:

• 842: Endeavour Hills Shopping Centre to Fountain Gate Shopping Centre via Narre Warren North (Cardinia Transit)
• 843: Mossgiel Park to Dandenong Station via Doveton (Grenda's Bus Services)
• 845: Endeavour Hills to Dandenong Station via Doveton (Grenda's Bus Services)
• 849: Mossgiel Park to Dandenong Station via Doveton (Grenda's Bus Services)
• 861: Endeavour Hills to Dandenong Station via Doveton (Grenda's Bus Services)

All bus routes, except route 843, operate via the bus interchange outside Endeavour Hills Shopping Centre. There is also a Nightrider service on weekends, which runs in the early hours of the morning from Dandenong to Cranbourne through most of the City of Casey. Endeavour Hills is located just north of the Princes Highway, and can be reached via the Monash Freeway from the Heatherton Road and Belgrave-Hallam Road exits.

Places of worship

• Australian Christian Church
• Australian Christian Channel
• Assemblies Of God
• Calvary Christian Chapel
• Catholic Archdiocese (Endeavour Hills)
• Church Of Christ
• Grace Community Bible Church
• First Romanian Baptist Church
• St. Andrew's Vineyard Church
• St. Matthew's Anglican Church
• St. Paul Apostle Catholic Church
• South Eastern Christian Centre
• Uniting Church

External links

• Endeavour Hills Local History
• Endeavour Hills Shopping Centre
• Endeavour Hills UnitingCare Neighbourhood Centre