Donvale, Victoria

Donvale is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Manningham local government area.

It is a leafy and peaceful suburb, with the side west of Springvale Road is described as an extension of the nearby Doncaster East. The side east of Springvale Rd is an area full of low density housing and huge amounts of bushland, especially south of Donvale Christian College. There is little public transportation in Donvale, relying on an old bus service. There are basically no shops in Donvale, so residents go to Tunstall Square in Doncaster East or The Pines instead. Nearby Park Orchards and Warrandyte are known for their bike trails. There are lots of schools, including a special high school in the south of the suburb. The south side of Donvale is heavily influenced by Nunawading and Mitcham. There are very little apartments east of Springvale & Mitcham Roads. Most of western Donvale is influenced by western Manningham, providing a mix of city and country (as with the council motto). East Donvale is closely linked to Warrandyte, and the south-eastern part of Donvale is related to a leafy area of Mitcham. As used by council and cultural boundaries, Donvale is in no way similar to Ringwood as Ringwood is much more crowded and is more comparable to Doncaster. Donvale provides a hybrid experience for families and retirees looking to be close to the city, but also to nature. Small parts of Donvale are in the Ringwood electorate, but most of it is in the Warrandyte electorate.

House pricing is going up from an average of 1 million in 2015 to 1.39 million dollars in 2022 for a 4 bedroom house on approximate. Donvale recorded a population of 12, 644 according to the Australian Census.

History

Donvale Post Office opened on 16 September 1929 and closed in 1972. It now houses the Donvale Historical Society

Donvale is named after the two roads that border the suburb. Doncaster Road and Springvale Road.

Demographics

In the 2016 census the population of Donvale was 12,347. Of this population 52.3% were female and 47.7% were male. The median/average age of the population was is 44 years of age.

Nearly two-thirds (63.4%) of people living in Donvale were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were China 5.6%, Malaysia 3.1%, England, 2.8%, Hong Kong 2.1% and Italy 1.6%.

Two-thirds (66.1%) of people living in Donvale speak English only. The other top languages spoken were Mandarin 6.3%, Cantonese 6.1%, Italian 3.1%, Greek 2.9% and Persian 1.4%.

In terms of religious affiliation, 29.3% indicated no religion, 22.6% indicated Catholic, 8.6% indicated Anglican, 7.9% did not state a religion and 5.9% indicated Eastern Orthodox.

Education

* Donvale Christian College
* Donvale Primary School
* Heatherwood School
* Our Lady of the Pines Primary School
* Whitefriars College

Notable people who live/have lived in Donvale

* Mark "Jacko" Jackson – AFL Footballer and actor
* Greg Evans – Australian television presenter
* Stefan Dennis – Australian actor and singer
* Karl von Möller – Australian cinematographer and director
* Ben Simmons – Basketball Player for Philadelphia 76ers
* Jo Hall – Television presenter ( Nine News)
* Mick Miller (police officer) – Police officer
* Virginia Trioli – News Presenter
* Kevin Borland – Architect
* Lance Franklin – AFL Footballer
* Brendon Smith – Olympic Swimmer
* Paul Roos – AFL Coach and Footballer
* John Blakey – AFL Footballer
* Pat Cash – 1987 Wimbledon Champion
* Randa Abdel-Fattah – Author
* Raymond Edmunds – Mr. Stinky (The Donvale Rapist) – Murderer
* Christian Petracca - AFL player and Norm Smith Medallist

Points of Interest and Historical significance

* Yarran Dheran – Bushland
* Currawong Bush Park – Riparian bushland park
* Antonio Park
* Limassol Court
* Mullum Mullum Stadium And Surrounding Bushlands

Sport

The suburb has two Australian Rules football teams. The first is the Donvale Magpies, competing in the Eastern Football League. The second is the Donvale Crusaders, who compete in the Saturday Football League. However, their home ground is shard with the Mitcham Eagles Football Club, at Heatherdale Reserve, Mitcham, Victoria.

Donvale also has an indoor sports centre, with a gymnasium, complete with a sprung floor and a foam pit. The centre also has two basketball courts, which are played on every Saturday by the children in the Doncaster District Primary School Basketball Association.

See also

* City of Doncaster and Templestowe – Donvale was previously within this former local government area.

References

{{City of Manningham suburbs

Suburbs of Melbourne
Suburbs of the City of Manningham