Rowville, Victoria

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

---

caption = Footpath in Rowville
lga = City of Knox
postcode = 3178
pop = 34,412 (2006)Census 2006 AUS | id = SSC21577 | name = Rowville (State Suburb) | accessdate = 2007-11-29 | quick = on]
area = 19.5
est = 1882
propval = $428,000 (as of September 2007) [ [http://www.domain.com.au/public/suburbprofile.aspx?suburb=Rowville&postcode=3178 Rowville] , accessed 9 August 2007]
stategov = Scoresby, Ferntree Gully
fedgov = Aston
dist1 = 32
location1= Melbourne
near-nw = Wheelers Hill
near-n = Scoresby
near-ne = Ferntree Gully
near-w = Mulgrave
near-e = Lysterfield
near-sw = Dandenong North
near-s = Endeavour Hills
near-se = Lysterfield South

Rowville is a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. It is situated in the local municipality of the City of Knox.

Rowville is named after the Rowe family, whose property Stamford Park was established in 1882. The Stamford Park homestead has been restored in recent years by Knox Council. Geographically, Rowville is one of the largest suburbs south-east of MelbourneFact|date=December 2007.

Rowville has developed rapidly over the 1980s and 1990s, especially in terms of housing and light industrial activities. Culturally, Rowville is still developing, like many of Melbourne’s outer suburbs. Development has included the construction of the Wellington Village shopping centre on Wellington Road, complementing the Rowville Lakes shopping centre on Kelletts Road.

Stud Park Shopping Centre, opened in 1989, is the largest in the suburb. It houses the Rowville branch of the Eastern Regional Library, and is adjacent to the Rowville Community Centre. In October, the Stringybark Festival is held at the centre. This popular event is organized by the Knox Council, and focuses on environmental sustainability. There are three golf courses within Rowville.

Education

Rowville has one dual-campus high school, Rowville Secondary College, with an Eastern Campus (7-10) and a Western Campus (7-12). Students from the Eastern Campus move to the Western Campus to complete their VCE.There are 4 government primary schools, Rowville Primary, Karoo Primary, Heany Park Primary and Park Ridge Primary, and one Catholic Primary School, St. Simons. When Lysterfield Primary School was relocated to its present site, it was in Rowville, however the boundary between the suburbs has changed and Lysterfield Primary is once again in Lysterfield.

St. Simons Primary School celebrated their 25th-year anniversary in 2006.

Transport

Rowville is a heavily car-dependent community, with most families having at least two cars. Three or four cars per household are not uncommon, depending on the number of children of driving age still living at home. 70% of residents drive cars to work. [ [http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/download?format=xls&collection=Census&period=2006&productlabel=Method%20of%20Travel%20to%20Work%20(full%20classification%20list)%20by%20Sex&producttype=Census%20Tables&method=Place%20of%20Usual%20Residence&areacode=POA3178 Method of Travel to Work- 3178] , Excel Document. ]

The current State Government has proposed that the public transport problems will be resolved by the SmartBus system, which includes special bus lanes on major traffic routes. One SmartBus route, connecting Rowville to Caulfield via Monash University and Huntingdale Station has been established, with the [http://www.doi.vic.gov.au/DOI/Internet/transport.nsf/AllDocs/E6C139D04B890B9ECA2571F800182ECB?OpenDocument Outer Eastern SmartBus] providing a link to Ringwood and Frankston announced by the government to begin operation in 2008.

The general consensus among Rowville residents is that any railway line to Rowville would run east-west along or parallel to Wellington Road linking to the Pakenham (and Cranbourne) rail lines at Huntingdale to provide a form of mass transit to this growing suburb. The stations suggested for the line are Monash University, Rowville Parkway and Stud Park. An alternative route could involve an extension of the Glen Waverley railway line by tunnelling under residential areas and linking to Stud Park along the Dandenong Creek valley.

These suggestions have no official status, and there has been much debate over the Victorian State Government’s decision to permit new motor tollways (such as the north-south EastLink), rather than providing rail services to Rowville.

Sport

* Rowville Football Club in the Eastern Football League
* St.Simons Football Club in the Eastern Football League
* Rowville Cricket Club in the Ferntree Gully District Cricket Association
* Lysterfield Cricket Club in the Ferntree Gully District Cricket Association
* Wellington Golf Links
* Knox United Soccer Club located in Karoo Rd
* Tirhatuan Golf Links
* Eildon Park Tennis Club
* Rowville Tennis Club
* Mossgiel Park Football Club in the Dandenong District Junior Football League
* Rowville Netball Club

Community Service Groups

Rowville is well supported by local community groups

[http://www.apexrowville.org/ Rowville Apex Club]

[http://rotarnet.com.au/users/9/98159/index.htm Rowville Rotary Club]

Governance

FederalRowville is in the Federal Division of Aston which is held by The Honorable [http://www.chrispearcemp.com/ Chris Pearce M.P. Home Page] , [http://www.aph.gov.au/house/members/member.asp?id=A8W Chris Pearce M.P. - Parliamentary Home Page] of the Liberal Party of Australia.

StateRowville is split down the middle with half of the suburb in the State Lower House seat of Scoresby which is held by [http://www.kimwells.com.au/ Kim Wells M.P.] of the Liberal Party of Australia and the State Lower House seat of Ferntree Gully which is held by Nick Wakeling, [http://www.nickwakeling.org.au/ Nick Wakeling M.P. Home Page] of the Liberal Party, following the 2006 election.

CouncilRowville is part of the City of Knox and has 3 ward councillors representing it.

* Taylor Ward - Tony Kamitsis [http://www.knox.vic.gov.au/Page/page.asp?Page_Id=113&h=0 Cr Tony Kamitsis]
* Friberg Ward - Debbie Field [http://www.knox.vic.gov.au/Page/page.asp?Page_Id=112&h=0 Cr Debbie Field]
* Tirhatuan Ward - Mick Van de Vreede [http://www.knox.vic.gov.au/Page/page.asp?Page_Id=114&h=0 Cr Mick Van de Vreede]
* Stamford Ward - Moshga Jebat [http://www.knox.vic.gov.au/Page/page.asp?Page_Id=114&h=0 Cr Moshga Jebat]

Notable Residents

* Camilla Severi, a.k.a. Camilla Halliwell - "Big Brother" contestant in 2006
* John Miller - World-renowned designer
* Chris Pearce - Parliamentary politician
* Michelle Brennecke - Victoria's Secret Model in the 2006 Victoria's Secret Christmas special
* Samantha Downie - Contestant on Australia's Next Top Model, Cycle 4
* Nikolai Volkoff - Former WWF wrestler
* Joe 'Spitfire' Spiteri - Former Socceroo

Popular Culture

* The suburb is the topic of the song “Fourteen Years in Rowville” by Melbourne band TISM, which compares life in Rowville to a prison sentence. [http://www.melbournechat.org/index.php?showtopic=1309]

References

External links

* http://www.rlcnews.org.au/stories/the_changing_landscape/discovering_the_history_of_rowville_and_lysterfield.php