# Vermont South, Victoria

Vermont South is a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, 19 km (12 miles) east of its Central Business District. It had a population of 11,954 at the 2021 census. The eastern boundary is Dandenong Creek, which flows from the Dandenong Ranges through to Port Phillip. The suburb was mostly developed in the late 1960s through till the mid-1970s after developers bought the orchards in the area. Vermont is derived from the French language meaning "green hill".

## History

Before the first European colonialists, the landscape was thickly timbered bushland, occupied by the Wurundjeri, Indigenous Australians of the Kulin nation, who spoke variations of the Woiwurrung language group. They were hunters and gatherers, camping in the creeks and gullies. After settlers decided their fortune was not to be made in the Victorian gold fields, they turned to the land as there was a living to be made supplying the needs of the fast growing Melbourne. The settlers sweated to clear their land and sold the timber for firewood in Melbourne for 10/- a load.
Some carefully carefully burned the timber and sold the charcoal instead. The dusty tracks of summer became quagmires in winter. With the money earned they could purchase supplies to bring home on their return journey. Housewives also made butter to sell at Moran & Catos, grocers in Prahran. The settlers split their own timber for fencing and homes. Some homes were built of wattle and daub with bark roofs. The first crops were hay, potatoes and other root vegetables.
Cash was scarce and barter arrangements were common. The area was first surveyed in 1855 by Clement Hodgkinson, District Surveyor to the Victoria Survey General's Office. By the 1880s, apart from some general farming, orchards dominated much of the area's landscape.The peak of growing fruit was 1930-1939 followed by a steady decline due to labour shortages and lack of markets during 1939–1945.
In 1968, East Burwood was divided into two suburbs; Vermont South and Burwood East. The scheme also rezoned 13 properties (about 424 acres) in Vermont South just north of Springvale Road for residential purposes.Nunawading Council began approving large-scale residential subdivisions with "Residential C" zoning in early 1968. Subsequent rate increases imposed by the City of Nunawading forced many of Vermont South's orchardists and farmers to sell their landholdings to developers.
Council Engineer Bill Sewart drew up a master plan for Vermont South, so as each parcel of land came up for subdivision the plan had to conform with the road layout and other matters set out in the master plan. In conjunction with the Education Department, land was designated for schools - Livingstone and Weeden Drive (Primary) and a secondary site on the south of Burwood Road which ultimately did not proceed. The site was designated for the Shopping Centre, and land between the Centre and Livingstone Road was set aside for "Municipal Purposes".
The Burwood Rise estate, which occupies a 95-acre area between Livingstone and Stanley Roads and around Dalroy Crescent & Consort Avenue, was developed between 1968-1971 and formed the suburb's first major housing project. It aimed to house future customers of the nearby Forest Hill Shopping Centre, which was owned and managed by an affiliate company of Vista P/L;the developer.
   "One Sunday afternoon my wife and I went for a drive looking to buy a block of land. As we drove down Burwood Highway and crossed Springvale Road we noticed display homes, still wrapped in plastic, along the service road. We pulled over to have a look at this new subdivision which was then called Burwood Rise. There were many appealing qualities to the area, the new primary school, a local shopping centre but the best part of all would have to have been the Burvale Hotel - a pub! After the salesman told me this we purchased a block straight away. This all happened in the year of 1969."
   - John Mead viaVermont South Community House: Celebrating 20 years involvement in the local community 1976-1996.

## Commercial

In 1967, a company lead by Samuel Jacobson announced that they would establish a modern, car-oriented hotel/motel complex at the north-east corner of the Burwood Highway and Springvale Road. Works commenced in the second half of 1968 and the premises opened in 1969. The Burvale was popular as a live music venue during the 1970s, performances there included a concert by AC/DC in December 1975. A heritage overlay was proposal by Whitehorse Council in 2015 but was ultimately overlooked.
The Vermont South Shopping Centre opened on 22nd October 1974 and was designed by commercial architects Millar & Bernard Brown. The car-oriented centre originally had 40 specialty stores, a Venture department store, a Coles New World supermarket, a Chinese restaurant and a Mobil service station. The centre was given a highly anticipated overhaul in 2021 which included an internal and external repaint, removal of the aged carpet in favour of wooden flooring and replacement of the dilapidated facia and canopies. Shortly after renovations were completed, $10 million was invested into upgrading the 4216m$^2$ Coles supermarket, which received a new deli, bakery, fresh food section and upgraded click-and-collect facilities.
In 1994, Shell proposed plans to subdivide the site for a 24-hour petrol station, McDonald's restaurant, Blockbuster, a cafe and several shops. The proposal caused controversy and objectors claimed it was a conflict of interest for the council as the sale of the land was conditional on council approving the subdivision. This was completed between 1995 and 1996.
In 2005, construction began at Burwood Highway of the largest Bunnings warehouse in Australia at the time - creating more than 200 jobs for the local community and representing an investment of $25 million. The 16,550m$^2$ site includes a 9,858 main warehouse, a 1,880m$^2$ under cover timber drive-through, a 3,540m$^2$ nursery and 450 car spaces. The main store has approximately 979 bays (or 3 km) of merchandise and featured in a Better Homes and Gardens special. A 2,030m$^2$ Officeworks with 49 parking spaces was completed next to the Bunnings in 2012.

## Statistics
### 2021 Census data

* Population: 11,954 (48.1% male, 51.9% female)
* Number of families: 3,453
* Number of private dwellings: 4,443
* Average number of people per household: 2.8
* Median weekly household income: $1,944
* Median weekly rent: $496
* Average number of motor vehicles per dwelling: 2
* Median age: 46
* Country of birth, top responses: Australia (6,136), China (1,694), Malaysia (500), India (406), Sri Lanka (290) & England (289)
* Religious affiliation, top responses: No Religion (4,515), Catholic (2,072), Anglican (766), Not Stated (673) & Buddhism (669)

## In Film & TV
### Neighbours

The year 1988 marked the debut of a new Channel Ten TV series that would go on to achieve notable longevity: a teen-oriented soap opera simply titled Neighbours. Filming took place at the Forest Hill studios, where the old Holiday Island set was repurposed to represent the fictional Lasseter's Hotel complex. Location filming was primarily focused on the nearby cul-de-sac, Pin Oak Court, which has stood in for the fictional Ramsay Street for over a quarter of a century. Other locations in the fictional city of Erinsborough include a house in Huskey Court (Beverley Marshall's house), the Saxonwood Apartments building (Karl's Apartment), Biralee Pre-School (India's Pre-School), Weeden Heights Primary School (‘Erinsborough Primary School’) and the Burvale Hotel. Singer-songwriter Adele visited Pin Oak Court in March 2017.